In Persia, western musical influence began to be felt in the second half of the nineteenth century. Naseraddin Shah, who ruled from 1848 to 1896, visited Europe on three different occasions. He and his entourage came in contact with western music mostly at state banquets and ceremonial occasions, when he was received by European monarchs and heads of state. He was quite impressed by the pomp of these ceremonies, to which military bands and orchestras had much to contribute. In the 1860s, after his first European tour, he ordered the establishment of a music school for the creation of an imperial military band. The school,organised and taught by French instructors, was mainly concerned with the teaching of wind instruments as well as the rudiments of western notation and theory.
From Westoxified Music in Persia to Iranian Modern Music: Islamic Revolution in Music
