He popularized Persian classical music for a new generation and built a global following, only to be blacklisted by Iran for supporting antigovernment protests.
The Persian classical music singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian, a towering figure to Iranians for both his artistry and his public stand with protesters against the government, died in Tehran on Thursday. He was 80 years old, and had battled kidney cancer for more than a decade. His son, Homayoun Shajarian, also a classical singer, announced the news on his Instagram page with one line that captured the singular place Mr. Shajarian held in the hearts of Iranians, and also his humility: “The dust beneath the feet of the people flew home to meet his true love.” Mr. Shajarian’s appeal crossed generations and political factions, and the news of his death spurred an outpouring of grief from Iranians the world over. In Tehran, thousands of fans packed the streets outside the hospital where he died — people of all ages, wearing masks due to the pandemic, weeping openly and singing some of his most famous songs, derived from Persian poetry and cloaked in political metaphor. “Bird of freedom sing for me, renew my grief,” the crowd sang in unison. “Oh God, oh sky, oh nature, turn our night of darkness into dawn.” President Hassan Rouhani tweeted that “the grateful people of Iran will forever remember this beloved artist and his work.” Iranians in many countries took to social media to post Mr. Shajarian’s music and photos with messages of condolences to an entire people. The internationally renowned artist Shirin Neshat said in a statement to The New York Times, “The voice of Iran has died, a man who didn’t only touch the hearts of every Iranian with the power of his music but became the healing force in a country drowned in political injustice.” In 2009, as protests erupted across Iran in the aftermath of a presidential election that many people considered fraudulent, Mr. Shajarian broke with tradition and took the side of the demonstrators. The government retaliated by trying to block the public from hearing his music, but instead he became more popular.
