Iranian pianist Ramin Bahrami is a convert to Christianity, whose story was recently featured on the website of the Italian publication Famiglia Cristiana. His childhood in Tehran unfolded under the Khomeyni regime and in the shadow of the bloody Iran-Iraq war, which broke out on September 21, 1980, and would leave over a million dead in eight years.
Iranian musician: “I became a Christian because of Bach’s music”
Beauty saves, and the spiritual journey of pianist Ramin Bahrami is a moving testament to that.
Source: Metin Aktas / ANADOLU AGENCY via AFP
One day, at the age of 6, while air raid alarms were constantly sounding, Bahrami listened to a record brought from Paris by a family friend. The music was that of Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, and it would change his life.
Bahrami tells Famiglia Cristiana:
Bahrami's father, an engineer in the Shah's time and a pianist himself, was imprisoned on charges of being an opponent of the new regime. He was still in prison when Ramin and his family emigrated to Europe. They did not know they would never see him again.
Arrival in Italy and his father’s death
The family’s initial plan was to travel to Germany, the homeland of Ramin’s paternal grandmother, but the first country that welcomed them was Italy, thanks to a scholarship he received to study at the Milan Conservatory, obtained through the Italian embassy in Tehran.
It was while in Italy that the family received news of Ramin’s father’s death. He tells Famiglia Cristiana:
Bach led him to Catholicism
However, Bach—in whose notes he feels the living presence of God—was the conduit for his conversion to Catholicism. He told the Italian website:
Existential crisis and rebirth through faith
The musician relates how he later overcame a moment of great existential crisis upon returning from a tour in Mexico. He was in a very bad way: he had even thought of quitting the piano.
He was in Veneto (Italy) to give a church concert. He describes the scene for Famiglia Cristiana:
Multiple sclerosis
For 20 years now, Bahrami has been living with multiple sclerosis, which he now considers a traveling companion. He explained to Famiglia Cristiana’s reporter Donatella Ferrario:
Marian devotion
Bahrami goes on to talk about his devotion to the Virgin Mary:
Learning to pray from Pope Francis
Humanity is going through a dark and crucial time today, which makes Bahrami appreciate more than ever the need for prayer:
The following video shows Bahrami playing the piano in a 2020 performance of music by Bach:
