Alireza Mortazavi was born in Isfahan, Iran in 1976. His childhood was dedicated to mastering the Santur, a traditional Iranian instrument. His talent was recognised from an early age and he was awarded prizes at important national music festivals. Later, he went beyond the given boundaries of his own musical tradition, a tradition where even interpretations are played according to rigorous rules. Mortazavi says: „ I have attained the innermost source of my music; it's waves are a reflection of my life.“ Here lies the prime motivation for his concentration on improvisation. His musical reflections mirror his spiritual reflections. His growing awareness of the Western tradition and his contacts with European music have extensively widened his musical and spiritual horizon. The music of the soul is what concerns him most: this is what he tries to express in his playing, by creating an atmosphere of spirituality that goes beyond the effects of the instrument alone. In this sense, his work is directed towards the creation of a universal language of music and instrumental sound. At present, Mortazavi lives in Italy and is studying musicology. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Alireza+Mortazavi">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.