Consists of digitized sound recordings donated by an anonymous donor to the Sound and Moving Image Library. Digital material represents 100% of total collection. Parallel collection held at the British Library. The Golha (‘Flowers of Persian Song and Music’) radio programmes were broadcast on Iranian National Radio between 1956 and 1979. The programmes consist of a mixture of musical pieces, poetry, and literary commentary. They were the brainchild of Davoud Pirnia, a one-time Assistant Prime Minister who harboured a deep love for Persian culture and its rich literary and musical traditions, and who devoted himself to producing the Golha programmes upon his retirement from political life in 1956. The foremost literary, academic and musical talents of his day offered Mr. Pirnia their collaboration and support, and many of the greatest Iranian vocalists of the twentieth century saw their careers launched on these radio programmes.
