André Hossein, born Aminoullah Husseinoff (Persian: امين الله حسين; Russian: Аминулла Гусейнов; 1905, Samarkand – 9 August 1983, Paris) was a celebrated French composer of Neo-Romantic music and a tar soloist of Persian-Azari descent.^[1]

His mother was a Persian woman from Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan) and his father was an Azari merchant, originally from the Caucasus. Aminollah Hossein lived for a few years in Persia (Iran) before he left the country for his academic studies.

[edit] Life and education

His son, Robert Hossein, has written that André Hossein studied in Moscow, Russia and later in Germany where he attended a music academy in Stuttgart and the Berlin Conservatory from 1934 to 1937. His fascination with pre-Islamic Persia led him to convert to Zoroastrianism. His newfound religion immensely influenced his musical work in symphonies such as "Persian Miniature", "I love my Country" , and "Symphony Persepolis".^[2][3] He married Anna Minevskaya, a Jewish comedy actress from Kiev,^[4] with whom he immigrated to Paris, France after the October Revolution.^{[5][verification needed]} He spent the rest of his life in France. He also studied privately under Paul Antoine Vidal in Conservatoire de Paris.

However, it has been noted that André Hossein was only thirteen years old during the October Revolution and would therefore not have been married at the time. An Iranian-Canadian music historian and student of the elder Hossein, Farya Pirbizari, has written that Mr. Hossein actually arrived in Moscow as a very young child, leaving for Berlin after the First World War to complete his secondary education and attending the Conservatoire de Paris in the 1920s under Artur Schnabel.^[6]

[edit] Works

In 1935 he wrote his first ballet, Towards the Light. He also composed numerous pieces for the piano, including some études. Aminollah's love for his native Iran is evident in many of his works, especially The Symphony of Persepolis (also known as The Rubble of the Forgotten Empire), which he finished in 1947. Aminollah Hossein also made a symphony on Khayyám poems in 1951.

Other works by him include three piano concertos, Persian Miniature, Scheherezade (Shahrzad), and Arya Symphony. He also composed some film scores, including films directed by his son Robert Hossein, the Paris-born actor and director.

[edit] See also

• Music of Iran
• Persian music

[edit] References

1. ^ (Persian) Life and works of Aminollah Hossein
2. ^ Hollywood and its influence on Iranian society and Film Industry
3. ^ French-Iranian director Robert Hossein to revive Epic Tale of Ben Hur in 2006
4. ^ According to the program Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, presented by Patrick Sébastien on 22 September 2007
5. ^ (Russian) A Pessimist Full of Optimism: An interview with Robert Hossein. Pyotr Rozvarin. Vremya novostei, #47. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 22 December 2007
6. ^ Farya Pirbizari on André Hossein. Retrieved 30 January 2008.

[edit] External links

• His biography
• (Persian) Aminollah Hossein's memorial
• (Persian) 100th anniversary of Aminollah Hossein
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMXX3gUmm4 U.S. Premiere of Hossein's Piano Concerto No. 2