Habib Samaei

Habib Samaei (Persian: حبیب سماعی, born 1905 – 11 July 1946) was an Iranian musician, Santoor player and music teacher. He has been referred to as the "father of contemporary Iranian santoor playing".

Finally, Habib Samaei died on 11 July 1946, at the age of 41, and was buried in Zahir al-Dawla Cemetery.

Habib Samaei contracted pneumonia in February 1945 due to a cold and fell ill. "Samaei does not have a healthy organ in his body and has been hostile to him as much as possible," said one doctor.

In 1943, he was one of the artists who joined the National Music Association as a founding member and held concerts with other artists.

Habib Samaei, who was introduced as "Samaei" and was the only student of one of the last Santour musicians (Sama Hozour), was one of the first musicians to play on the radio in 1940 after the opening of the Tehran Transmitter Broadcasting Center. From this time on, the public got to know him and his art. At this time, the officials of the country's music department and Ruhollah Khaleqi, who was the deputy director of the music department, tried to transfer him from the position of an army officer to the Ministry of Culture, with the position of santoor student. Sama'i initially agreed to this and trained students in the country's music department, but due to his interest in officer's uniform, he soon regretted it, returned to the army and was transferred to the Ministry of War.

Habib Samaei was born in 1905 in Tehran, Qajar Iran. His father, Habib Sama Hozour, was a famous musician of the Qajar period, and his son introduced Habib to music from the age of four. Young Habib Samaei at this time played the Tombak with his father's Santoor, and because of his small size, he placed the instrument on his pillow and accompanied his father. After the age of six, Sama Hozour began teaching his son's Santoor.