The conference, led by Vahid Hosseini in March 2024 at the IRCAM Forum Workshops, delved into the Integral System of Harmonic Drones, offering a fresh perspective on comprehending Persian music intonation.

What piqued my interest was the intricate nature of Persian and West Asian music, which poses a challenge in aligning with Western music theory. As an Iranian musician versed in classical music and Western theory, I was especially intrigued by this presentation. I sought to understand how it could illuminate Persian music for non-Iranian audiences.

Hosseini kicked off the conference with a performance of his composition "Sguardi su Shur" for solo cello. He highlighted the difficulty of replicating Persian intervals and capturing the essence of Persian music, stressing that both Western musicians and Persian masters who attempted to explain it within Western frameworks have approached it differently from its intrinsic nature.

While the presentation elaborated on Hosseini's innovative approach to Persian music, I felt that providing a foundational explanation of Persian music beforehand would have been beneficial, particularly for those unfamiliar with it. However, I acknowledge the time constraints of the 30-minute conference, making it challenging to cover everything comprehensively.

In this review, I aim to provide a concise explanation of how Persian music functions, laying the groundwork to delve into Vahid Hosseini's perspective later on.

Persian music operates within the framework of "Dastgahs," intricate systems of melodic structures or modal frameworks that serve as the basis for improvisation and composition. Each Dastgah contains the "Radif," a vast collection of melodic patterns known as "Gusheh," which function as individual motifs. Dastgahs offer musicians a structured environment to explore and develop melodies within specific rules and traditions.

Understanding the conference also requires familiarity with Persian music intervals, which differ from those in Western music. These intervals, smaller than Western semitones, feature unique symbols like "Koron" and "Sori," established by Iranian master musician Alinaghi Vaziri in the early 20th century. To simplify, these symbols can be remembered in the order: Flat, Koron, Natural, Sori, Sharp.

The central premise of the conference was to challenge previous theories categorizing Persian intervals as microtones or assigning them specific fixed ratios. The presenter suggests that the harmonic series generated by the drone set serves as the primary source of intervals within the Radif intonation system. This contradicts earlier theories based on equal divisions, such as the 24-edo system proposed by Alinaghi Vaziri, which divides the octave into 24 equal parts, and ratios like 11:10 proposed by Hormoz Farhat, which do not correspond to the actual drone tuning. Instead, the research suggests that the neutral interval can be attributed to the 13:12 interval, situated almost precisely between minor and major third deviations from the 12-edo system.

While the author's perspective on interval determination may not align entirely with existing theories, the Integral System of Harmonic Drones offers a fresh outlook on the construction of Persian music. This exploration has the potential to deepen our understanding and spark new musical innovations, as evidenced by his compositions.

Although there wasn't enough time for the author to fully expound on how he arrived at this assumption, he also touched upon a philosophical viewpoint regarding non-Western music. He suggested that it shouldn't always be interpreted within the confines of Western music theory. Rather, it should be appreciated as a unique approach to music or even considered an alternative theory of music, without automatically privileging Western music as the benchmark against which all others are measured.