looks pretty cool. nice lens to have gotten so close to the action.

those are some interesting looking instruments

Good Picuture!

Good picures! But what type of performance it is ?

Is the 2nd shot zoomed in from the 1st?

Nice shot ! I specially like the first one with the whole hall.

Hi
The setar is a peaceful instrument, i like that.
Nice picture

There are few musical acts that I have botered with for years, but these folk look interesting and a class act for the eyes as well.

Nice presentation and good photos of it.

Thanks for letting us know what Iran can send us that's up.

They don't look very comfortable. Couldn't they afford chairs?

Very detailed ..beautiful shot .I put it up as my desktop background .And already my fellow workers are bombing me with questions ?! BTW Alizadeh is awesome artist .

How nice for you to hook up with your friend! I do enjoy this type of music as it is very stirring. My favorite middle eastern restaraunt usually has some great music like this playing.

Great photo of the theater.

It looks like it was a lot of fun. I like both pictures very much :)

Fantastic light! Wish I had the knowledge to take advantage of such light conditions with my 350D.

these photographs should come with a music file attached .. looks like an interesting performance

Thank you for sharing Sam. I acquired a Ghazal cd recently & have Endless Vision, with Hossein Alizadeh on my wish list.

The carpets are wonderful. If you are lucky enough to see many nice carpets I'd love to view some through your lens.

nice detailed shot with great colors !

1- It's a concert of Iranian Classic Music, and Hossein Alizadeh is one of the best musicians in this field and of course he is so famous in the world.
All these instruments are Iranian, you may find some similar instruments in some part of Middle East or Central Asia, as most of them may have the same historical background.

2- From left I'm trying to name the instruments:
Tonbak
se-tar or tar (not sure)
singer (man)
se-tar (not sure)
singer (woman)
kamancheh
not sure about the last one

3- the instrument which is there and no one is playing it at the moment of the photo is named as "daf" not oversized drum, and is played by fingers.

4- they are not uncomfortable like this, it is not strange for Iranian to sit on the ground or for these musicians to sit on the ground and play, however they have chairs and sofas at their homes, but this scene is decorated like this to have a traditional look. Also their cloths look like traditional Iranian cloths, although they wear suit and tie in formal occasions in Iran or out of Iran.
So, don't think they can't afford chairs, all those Iranian carpets you see on the scene costs much more than a very expensive set of chairs. Those carpets are again a symbol of Iran, making these nice carpets is one of the most famous arts of Iran.

5- About the basket, I'm not sure what is in the basket, but I guess there are some fruits, but I'm completely sure there is no snake in that basket. This concert doesn't have any relation to India which you may see some snakes come out of a basket with the sound of a sort of instrument in cartoons or films, which I'm not sure if something like that is real or not about India. But here in Iran there was never a dance of snakes!!

I just explained these points for those who may find this concert a bit different from the ones they have seen. And I hope all those comments are because the writers didn't know about these sort of instruments or music or traditions, not just teasing another culture.

At the end, Nice photos, thanks!

Where you levitating over the audience for the second shot or is it an enlargement of the first? Phenomenal detail if you were upstairs at the rear of the auditorium!

Nice shot.
What is a Setar? I thought it is the Indian instrument called Sitar but I don't see anyone playing that.

to Navin:

Sitar is different from se-tar, actually the Indian one is 30-tar and this one is 3-tar.

and 3-tar is a very popular Iranian instrument which lots of young people go and learn to play it.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, darya, and for showing such grace. The photo is beautiful, and as a lover of music, I wish I could have been there.

The subtle lighting brings out the vibrant colors in this theatre. Nicely done.

Thank you Darya for providing the information.

The very last instrument played by the young man is called a rebab (a string instrument originated in the 8th century).

They are all very very talented and dedicated to their work. My aunt was actually the first female singer since the revolution to be granted the authority to sing in public. (This occurred in Iran a few years back). She is a person of great respect like all other traditional Iranian artists who are keeping our music alive.

Sam, great pictures. I am an avid viewer of your blog. Please let me know if you have any other pictures from the night. I would love to forward them to my aunt and Mr. Alizadeh. We should really take pride in the work of our artists.

With all sincerity.

This concert was my first taste of Iranian music.

I was mesmerized by the skill, talent and emotion produced by these musicians. I did not understand the meaning of the words, but I could feel the emotion.

It was a great show.

I am very saddened by the ignorance of some of the comments posted. I hope that Sam removes them.

grs

thank you Sam for your nice pictures.
Instruments from left to right:
Tonbak
Setar (that is not Indian Sitar)
Voice (the instrument that is at left of male singer on the earth, is "Gheychak")
Shourangiz (Alizadeh innovated it)
Voice
Kamancheh
Robab