Ney virtuoso Hassan Kasaii to be commemorated next week

TEHRAN,July 11(MNA) -- Family members, musicians and friends will gather in a ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on July 18 to pay tribute to the late ney (reed flute) virtuoso Hassan Kasaii. The ceremony is co-organized by the Music Office, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Music Museum of Iran, the organizers announced in a press release on Tuesday. Kasaii died of prostate cancer at the age of 84 in Isfahan this year on June 14. A number of master Kasaii’s photos collected by Forugh Bahman will be put on display at an exhibition on the sidelines of the ceremony. In addition, a band composed of Kasaii’s son, Khalil, and Mahmud Rafiian, Shahram Mirjalali and vocalist Taqi Saeidi are scheduled to give a live performance at the ceremony. Brief speeches on the artistic character of Kasaii have also been arranged. Based on his last will and testament, Kasaii was buried in Isfahan’s Takht-e Fulad Cemetery beside the grave of the prominent singer Jalaleddin Taj-Esfahani (1903-1981).