a study of phenomenon of “orchestra” in contemporary musical culture of iran, with emphasis on modeling of possibility of its potential forms *

the confrontation between iranian and western musical cultures and especially taking the idea of western orchestra is a topic that had incongruous dimensions in iranian music. therefore, this process leads up to some questions: what is the relationship between the multiplicity of musical performance and identity of iranian music? and the other question: did such a process in its different dimensions result in alienation in iranian music?  on this basis, the present article tries to shed light on this confrontation and through analysis of the material culture of music, musical system and musical products examines the possibility of alienation in orchestra in contemporary iranian music. this research applies a synthetic approach, through deductive and inductive   methods to construct 12 models in terms of confrontational as well as intercultural musical alienation. each of these 12 confrontational/intercultural models expresses a potential form. these forms must be examined in terms of three identity-making components, i.e. the musical material culture, musical system and musical products. the ultimate purpose of this research is to investigate the confrontation between iranian and western musical cultures by means of explicating the state of this confrontation with standpoint of taking the idea of western orchestra and shaping its different amenabilities in musical culture of iran. in this way, with drawing potential models of orchestra in iranian music and finding some applications for each probability, we first genealogies the history of orchestra in contemporary musical culture of iran, and in the second step investigate the possibility of musical alienation. the results of this research, through a series of models, show that there have been occurred some confrontations between musical culture of iran and of western in recent decades, that resulted in dipolar process in iranian music. some of the confrontations occurred in some of identity-making components of iranian musical culture. in some of the other confrontations the musical alienation did not occur in any of the musical material culture, musical system and musical products. in the other state, the performance of orchestra in iranian music had an interpretational and conscious type to imitative and conscious adaption of orchestra. the hypothesis of this research leads up to this thesis that against the approaches of traditionalism in iranian music that reject all of the confrontations between musical culture of iran and of western, some of confrontations with interpretational approach that intermix with adaptational method, not only do not lead up to musical alienation in iranian music, but result in evolution and creation of iranian music. in the other hand, against the occidentalized approaches in iranian music that insist on taking all of the culture of western music for evolution and creation of iranian music, this thesis emphasis on this fact that the considerable part of confrontation between musical culture of iran and of western in taking the idea of western orchestra not only does not make evolution and creation in iranian music, but weaken, demote and even delete some fundamental characteristics of iranian music.