For twelve years, The Festival of Arts Shiraz / Persepolis in Iran hosted musical, theater and dance performances mixing traditional Persian arts with contemporary avant-garde works by Western composers, including electronic music by Xenakis, Stockhausen, Cage, Tudor and Mumma. A proposed center for the arts, designed by Xenakis, unfortunately never came to fruition. A new generation of Iranian musicians was inspired by the presence of visiting artists, some studying abroad to further the

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... y's art institutions. Iran during the final days of the Shah also presents a situation where artistic expression co-existed in an ultimately untenable balance with the political repression of Iranian citizens.