Iran Musicians Perform from Rooftops Amid Lockdown

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On the rooftop terrace of her Tehran apartment building (photo above), 28-year-old Mojgan Hosseini’s fingers pluck the strings of her qanun, an ancient stringed instrument, bringing life to an Iranian capital stilled by the coronavirus.

With performance halls closed and many isolated in their homes as a result of the Mideast’s worst virus outbreak, Hosseini and other Iranian musicians now find performance spaces where they can. That includes rooftops dotted with water tanks and littered with debris, empty front porches and opened apartment windows. Their music floats down on others stuck in their homes, fearful of the Covid-19 illness the virus brings.

Behnam Emran, a 28 year-old self-taught musician, plays accordion on the roof of his home during mandatory self-isolation due to the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Their impromptu concerts draw applause and offer hope to their listeners, even as public performances still draw hard-line scrutiny in the Islamic Republic.

“We’re not front-line medical workers, hospital custodians, or grocery workers, but I think many musicians — myself included — have felt an obligation to offer our services of comfort and entertainment in these trying times,” said Arif Mirbaghi, who plays the double bass in his front yard.

Musicians long have been a mainstay in Iranian life, dating back to the ancient Persian empires. Legend has it that King Jamshid, the fourth king of the Pishdadian Dynasty, known as the “king of the world,” created music with a four-stringed lyra.

Musician Shiva Abedi, 30, plays kamancheh on the roof of her home during mandatory self-isolation in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Over time, Western influence brought with it the symphonies of Europe. Initially after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, pop and Western-influenced music all but disappeared. Classical music slowly re-emerged in the 1990s and has become increasingly popular. 

Farideh Sarsangi, 28, plays drums on the roof of her home during mandatory self-isolation in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Among those taking to the rooftops are female musicians like 36-year-old composer and tar player Midya Farajnejad. A tar is a long-necked stringed instrument.

“It is not easy for me to stay at home and not be on stage or in studio during quarantine, so I play tar on the roof, to share my emotions with the neighbours,” Farajnejad said during a lull in one recent session.

Composer and musician Midya Farajnejad, 36, plays tar on the roof of his home during mandatory self-isolation in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Others, like 26-year-old accordion player Kaveh Ghafari, agree.

“During these quarantine days, the only place that I feel I can share my music is in my yard with my neighbors as my main audience,” he said. “These days I can feel the power of art more than ever.”

Kaveh Ghaffari, 26, plays accordion at the yard of his house during mandatory self-isolation in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

For Hosseini, the qanun player, the music gives her an outlet she’d otherwise have as a member of Iran’s National Orchestra. Only the occasional motorbike or bird’s chirp could be heard as she played one recent afternoon.

“Since Covid-19 hit Tehran, the rooftop terrace of my apartment has become my stage to perform and my neighbours have became my main audience these days,” she said.

Yasamin Koozehgar, 22, plays cello on the roof of her home during mandatory self-isolation in Tehran Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

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