Iranian ney (reed flute) virtuoso Hassan Kasaii died at his home in Isfahan at the age of 84 on Thursday after having suffered from prostate cancer for the past 12 years.

Based on his last will and testament, he was buried near the traditional singer Jalaleddin Taj-Isfahani (1903-1981) in Isfahan’s Takht-e Fulad Cemetery early Friday morning, his son Javad confirmed.

A memorial service will be held at Isfahan’s Seyyed Mosque on Sunday, the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency reported on Friday.

Kasaii was born in 1928 in Isfahan. He gave his first solo performance on stage in a play in Isfahan when he was only 20. He composed his first musical piece named “Salam” a year later at 21, a tune, which became one of the most famous hits years later.

Tar virtuoso Hossein Alizadeh remade the same piece and recorded it in one of his albums several years later.

In 1950, Kasaii brought the ney to orchestral music for the first time and also began his collaberation with an orchestra of the Isfahan military radio station.

He continued his cooperation with orchestras of several other radio stations led by masters of music Abolhassan Saba, Hossein Yahaqqi and Homayun Khorram.

Kasaii’s international performances began in 1967, and he made several trips to Germany, Britain, France and the Netherlands where he gave performances on several radio programs during the 1980’s.

In the 1990’s, his career flourished again and he was selected and honored as an eternal figure in music in 2002.
Source : TehranTimes