Morteza Hannaneh was born in 1922 in Tehran, into a highly cultivated family. His musical interest began from early age and in 1934 by insisting of his father he entered the High Conservatory and trained under Qolam-Hoseyn Minbashian by learning music theory and practice. In 1938 after the employment of some Czech masters in Iran, he began to learn French horn from Rudolf Urbanec. Meanwhile he was completing his courses in composition and horn and piano playing. He also composed several pieces for 2 and 4 horns. After graduating from conservatory, by the aid of Parviz Mahmud he learned the art of conducting as a profession. So he continued his music education (especially in composition) under Mahmud, and was appointed as the first horn-player in Tehran Symphony Orchestra which had been founded by Mahmud himself in 1943. He also taught at the Conservatory. After Mahmud and Grigorian, Hannaneh was the third conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. He wrote music for the documentary film called Iran, the Land of the Black Gold. By 1954 he composed Suite of the Coral City and performed it during the first millennium after the birth of Avicenna. After this concert he received a scholarship from Mr. Cerrulli, then the Italian Ambassador to Tehran.
From 1954 until 1956 Hannaneh studied western liturgical music in Vatican High School of Music and at the same time he worked on his new film score called The Bride of Tigris. He studied composition with Maestro Carducci in Roma (1957-1960) and to afford the expenses he contributed in dubbing of Italian films with the late Hoseyn Sarshar and Parvin Zarrinpur. For a period he studied film music under conductors Candelli and Ferrara in Cinecitta. After returning to Iran in 1961, a new period of his career began. Due pezzi per orchestra composed in dodecaphonic style is the most characteristic piece of his music in this period which he soon abandoned to participate in another way to globalize the Iranian music, instead of composing after western composers. In Hannaneh's words, composing in dodecaphonic style is actually adding something more to the western culture, but not necessarily to Iranian culture.
He composed several orchestral, polyphonic and harmonic pieces based on Iranian themes in search of an individual language for his music. He invented the so-called "even" harmony, and was granted the membership of Radio Council of Music and then became the head of it is 1962. He founded the Orchestra of Farabi in radio and as its music director and conductor composed some pieces for the orchestra. In addition, he translated the famous Orchestration by Charles Coquelin into Persian.
Hannaneh was sent to the International Seminar of Radio and Television Composers held by UNESCO and there he performed one of his compositions: Oratorio. Film score The Bride of the Sea and Diamond 33 are among his major works in this genre. After disbanding of Orchestra of Farabi, he founded the Music School of Radio and Television and contributed largely to the training of skilled singers and players for the broadcasting organization. Kakuti, one of his richest scores, is performed during the first Shiraz Art Festival by Television Chamber Orchestra, which brought him the Prix de Grande Massion. In the second Shiraz Art Festival Caprice for Piano and Orchestra was conducted by Farhad Meshkat. Coprice, one of his most powerful works based on Iranian music using his own style of harmony writing, dates back to 1955 during his residence in Rome. It takes numerous changes even until Hannaneh's late years. He was never satisfied with it, hence he called it "the damned Caprice." The third version of it has recently been performed by the composer's son, Amir-Ali Hannaneh, himself an eminent pianist. In 1971 Hannaneh received the best motion picture music award for the film Escape from the Trap. Afterwards he composed music award for The Wearied Wolf (1972-73) and then set aside making soundtracks and involved in musical and historical researches. ...