Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was an Iranian singer and master of Persian traditional music. He was also known for his skills in Persian calligraphy and humanitarian activities. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct singing style.
His main teachers were Ahmad Ebadi, Esmaeil Mehrtash, Abdollah Davami, and Nour-Ali Boroumand.
He also learned the vocal styles of singers from previous generations, including Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Fariborz Manouchehri, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar and Taj Isfahani.
He cited legendary Persian tar soloist Jalil Shahnaz as highly influential to his development, indicating that he often tried to mimic Shahnaz's playing style in his singing.
Shajarian had collaborated with musicians such as Parviz Meshkatian, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, Faramarz Payvar, Dariush Pirniakan, and Sohrab Pournazeri.
He was recognized as a skilled singer in the challenging traditional Dastgah style.
In 1999, UNESCO in France presented him with the Picasso Award and in 2006 with the UNESCO Mozart Medal.