The radif is the traditional repertoire of Persian classical music: a body of several hundred short melodic pieces (gusheh), organized into seven modal systems (dastgah) and five secondary modes (avaz), handed down from master to student. Learning the radif is the foundation of a musician's training and the basis for improvisation in performance.
In 2009 UNESCO inscribed the Radif of Iranian music on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing it as a cultural heritage of all humanity.
In the articles below, three masters of Persian music, Hossein Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Parviz Meshkatian, discuss the radif.