Amir Hosein Pourjavady earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from CUNY, Graduate Center where he studied with Stephen Blum. He taught at the University of Tehran as well as UCLA for many years. His publications include the edition of several musical treatises, numerous articles, encyclopedia entries, book reviews and CDs. Dr. Pourjavady is also an accomplished Persian setār player and has performed widely with celebrated Iranian musicians.

This book is a remarkable offering which bridges the divides between historical texts and modern practice, and between west, central and south Asian musical worlds with unflaggingly erudite and impressive scholarship.

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesNote on Transliteration and TranslationAcknowledgementsPrefacePart I Historical and Social Contexts1 Centres of Musical Patronage between the Fifteenth and Eighteenth Centuries2 Courtesans and Concubines in Early Modern Iran3 Musical Life in the Nineteenth CenturyPart II Music Theories and Practices4 The Modal System5 Rhythm6 Musical GenresAppendix 1: The Systematist TextsAppendix 2: The Non-Sytematist TextsAppendix 3: An Account of the Modal System and Rhythmic Cycles in Non-Systematist TreatisesGlossaryWork CitedIndex