Lily Afshar, Iranian classical guitarist long based in Memphis, has died

Lily Afshar, the Memphis-based virtuoso from Iran who was recognized worldwide as one of the masters of classical guitar, has died.

Acclaimed by the Washington Post for her "remarkable, impeccable" technique, Afshar toured the world, recorded multiple albums and earned just about every honor available in her field, while also teaching at the University of Memphis, where she organized and hosted an International Guitar Festival.

According to the Islamic Republic New Agency and other sources, Afshar, 63, died Tuesday in Iran, where she recently had returned, after a long struggle with cancer. She had retired from teaching earlier this year after 34 years on the U of M music faculty.

In a story Afshar wrote in 2006 for The Commercial Appeal, the performer, educator and composer said she missed the "constant love of family and friends" that typifies Iranian social life, but said she valued "the freedom and unlimited options" available in the U.S. and Memphis, which she described as "open to all kinds of music and art… where I can achieve any goal I set my mind to, dress any way I want to."

A student of Spain's Andrés Segovia, who was probably the world's most renowned classical guitarist until his death in 1987, Afshar was born Lily Afshar Azardad in Tehran, where "I fell in love with classical guitar at age 10," she told The Commercial Appeal.

After hearing a cousin's guitar lesson, "I was so moved by the beautiful sound that I ran home and told my father," Afshar said. "The next day he surprised me with a guitar and a music book. I quit going to my art classes and gave up the idea of becoming a veterinarian. The guitar became my best friend and never left my side."

A member of a wealthy family that Afshar called "very Western" in its relative progressiveness (her mother was a physician, her father was an airline company owner), Afshar came to the U.S. in 1977 to study guitar at Boston University.

When the Iranian Revolution of 1979 ousted the Shah of Iran in favor of hard-line Islamic rule, Afshar decided to remain in the U.S., and did not make a return visit to her home country for many years.

In Boston, "during the hostage crisis, I practiced a lot — eight to ten hours a day," Afshar told The Commercial Appeal in 1990, referring to the 1979 kidnapping of 52 American citizens by Iran's revolutionary government. "I would see that people had written things on walls like 'Death to Iran.' I didn't want to see that any more, so I locked myself up and practiced."

After Boston, Afshar studied at Florida State University, becoming "the first woman in the world to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Music in guitar performance," according to Afshar's biography on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Iran. In 1986, she studied with her idol, Segovia, at the University of Southern California.

Afshar joined the U of M faculty in 1989, but remained "a globally treasured musician," according to a university press release. A striking and glamorous figure in concert, with her long black hair and dark eyes, she traveled around the world to perform, teach, conduct seminars, earn awards and otherwise represent both Iran and Memphis as an ambassador of music — sometimes literally, as when the U.S. Information Agency chose her as an "Artistic Ambassador" to Africa.

Afshar recorded at least seven albums, most of which were released by the local Archer Records label, and which showcased a repertoire ranging from traditional Persian songs to Bach compositions. Her talents were appreciated by rock-and-rollers as well as by classical music mavens: She was a three-time winner of the annual "Premier Guitarist" award from the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

As a reviewer in the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote: "Afshar's classical guitar casts a beautiful spell." More specifically, the magazine Classical Source provided this analysis: "Afshar's fluent technique boasts a seamless legato, strong projection, rhythmic precision and a broad tonal palette, all tempered by a free, improvisatory style."

According to Iranian news reports, Afshar's funeral service was scheduled to be held Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Tonekabon, a city in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lily Afshar, renowned classical guitarist from Iran, has died at 63