He studied Horn at the Tehran Conservatory of Music and basic composition with Parviz Mahmoud, founder of Tehran Symphony Orchestra. For a short period he was the principal conductor of this orchestra in 1940s. Hannaneh also studied composition in Italy and established Farabi Orchestra in Radio Tehran in 1963s. He won the first prize of "Tribune international des compositeurs" (International Rostrum of Composers), 6–11 June 1966 "House of UNESCO", Paris .
Hannaneh also composed soundtracks for Persian films.
Hannaneh's most important works include "The Execrable Capriccio per pianoforte e Orchestra"; "Hezar-Dastan Overture" (on a melody by Morteza Neydavoud; for symphonic orchestra); "In Memory of Ferdowsi" (for soprano and piano), the books "Lost Scales"; "The Even Harmony"; (in Persian), etc.
In addition to being an outstanding composer Morteza Hannaneh was a great teacher and mentor to many. One of his notable students is Canadian composer, conductor and strategist Joseph Lerner.
Hossein Dehlavi
