The music of Iranian composer Emanuel Melik Aslanian will be performed by one of his former students at a free concert at the Rancho Bernardo Library.

Homa Massih Yazdani, who has lived in Rancho Bernardo for 30 years and taught piano at her private studio until retiring in 2021, will present “Music and Tale” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11. It will be in the library’s second-floor community room, 17110 Bernardo Center Drive.

Malik Aslanian, who died in 2003 in Iran, was a classically trained musician inspired by Persian and Armenian music.

Massih Yazdani will perform five of his compositions that have a story she can relate to the audience, she said.

The selections are “Homage to Rachmaninoff,” a piece called “Fantasia” that is based on a popular Iranian folk song, “Variation on Popular Armenian Dance Music,” a song called “The Butterfly” that is based on Persian music and “Finaleto,” the final part of his Dialogue piano concerto.

“These are the pieces (I selected) because I am relating the story to the music to make it more understandable,” she said. “I heard the stories from him myself.”

She will also analyze parts of the music and have a slide show with corresponding visual images.

Massih Yazdani grew up in Tehran, Iran. She started taking piano lessons at the Music Conservatory of Tehran at age 8 after encouragement from her mother.

“My mother played the violin, but did not like it,” she said. “(She played violin because) her father said a piano was very expensive. But she bought me a piano and encouraged me even when I did not want to practice. I am very glad she did because it ended up being something good (for me).”

After high school, Massih Yazdani continued her music studies in Vienna, where she studied piano under Dieter Weber. Upon returning to Iran, she enrolled at the University of Tehran Fine Arts Faculty, where she studied under Emanuel Malik Aslanian and earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. She continued taking piano lessons from him after graduation.

During the 1979 Iranian Revolution, her family left their homeland and moved to Germany, where she had a career in piano performance and teaching. In 1992, her family immigrated to the United States and three years later settled in Rancho Bernardo.

She said post-revolution Iran was completely different from the country where she grew up. Music was banned for a couple decades and when it was finally allowed to return, could only be performed by men.

“Women cannot perform on stage, they cannot sing, it is still banned for women,” Massih Yazdani said.

Because of this, Malik Aslanian’s music was not performed in Iran for a long time. It is his former students who live around the world who are performing and educating others about his works, she said.

“Most of his students are very accomplished musicians and we are trying to promote his music … because he had a philosophy message that is good for the community,” Massih Yazdani said.

That message includes how people can have a good quality of life and improve themselves, she said.

Seating at the concert is on a first-come basis. For details, call 858-538-8163.