Esfandiar Monfaredzadeh (born March 14, 1941, in Tehran) is an Iranian musician, composer, and arranger. He began his career as a composer in 1956 on "Radio Iran" and continued for eight years. Before that, he briefly played the oud on "Radio Air Force" and in the theaters of Laleh-Zar. During this time, he simultaneously composed the music for the operas "Takht-e Jamshid" (1966) and "Fath-e Babol" (1967) and the soundtracks for the films "Hengameh" (1968) and "Jahannam-e Sefid" (1968), both directed by Samuel Khachikian.
Monfaredzadeh's most prominent period as a film music composer was his collaboration with Masoud Kimiai, Amir Naderi, and Bahram Beyzai. He composed the music for films such as "Uncle Soleyman" (1972), "Gavaznha" (1973), "Tangna" (1973), "Dash Akol" (1973), "Khodahafez Rafiq" (1974), "Reza Motori" (1970), and "Qeysar" (1969), with the last one being his most famous work. He won awards for the soundtracks of "Qeysar" and "Reza Motori" at the Fajr Film Festival.
Monfaredzadeh's musical collaborations were mainly with Farhad and Googoosh. He was close friends with Masoud Kimiai since childhood.
Despite studying music at the University of Tehran's College of Fine Arts, Monfaredzadeh couldn't complete his education in Vienna due to unforeseen circumstances. In 1965, he also participated in the performance of the opera "Fath-e Babol" at the Ferdowsi Hall of Tehran University's Faculty of Literature, along with Ali Akbar Sadeqi, Reza Naroey, Parviz Atabaki, and a few other artists.
In 1970, along with Ali Akbar Sadeghi, Reza Naroey, Parviz Atabaki, and other artists, he performed in the opera "Fath-e Babol" at the Ferdowsi Hall of Tehran University's Faculty of Literature.
Regarding the iconic anthem "Baharan Khojaste Bad," Monfaredzadeh, at the suggestion of Pendar Akbari, composed the melody for the anthem in 1983. Due to the unavailability of orchestras and the musicians being confined, he single-handedly played all the instruments, initially individually and then combined them. The recorded tape of "Baharan Khajaste Bad" was directly brought from the studio to the venue during the memorial ceremony for Karamat and Khusro, where it was played for the first time.
In reflecting on the enduring popularity of "Baharan Khajaste Bad," Monfaredzadeh expressed that the lasting impact was due to the profound love and sacrifice of intellectuals, symbolizing the dignity of scholars, not the initially rudimentary music and his non-professional singing.
