We invite you to listen to Morteza Varzi discuss and demonstrate his music (real audio).
Morteza Varzi was born in Tehran, Iran. He started violin lessons at age 15, but after his father advised him to play music on a traditional Persian instrument, he began studying setar and then the kemence. Kemence (pronounced KAH-mahn-chay) is the name of a string instruments popular in Turkish music. Its body has an oval shape with three strings. It was a popular folk instrument at the coffee shops and the taverns prior to the 19th century, but then gained an acceptance as an "art" instrument.
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