Khorasan’s veteran Dotar player Zolfaghar Asgarian passed away on Sunday after being hospitalized for a month with lung infection. He lost consciousness due to a drop in his blood platelet and spent a month in the intensive care unit, MNA reported.
Born in 1932 in Khalil-Abad, Khorasan Razavi Province, Master Asgarian was a renowned Dotar (Iranian traditional stringed instrument) player. He was awarded several Honorary Diplomas at the prestigious Iranian Fajr International Music Festival. He had also participated in numerous music festivals in European countries including Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Dotar (literally meaning ‘two strings’) comes from a family of long-necked lutes and can be found throughout Central Asia, the Middle East and as far as the North East of China in Xinjiang. In Iran, Dotar is played mainly in the north and the east of Khorasan as well as among the Turkmens of Gorgan and Gonbad. The instrument remains the same but its dimensions and the number of its ligatures vary slightly from region to region.
