[custom_adv] On the rooftop terrace of her apartment building, 28-year-old fingers pluck the strings of her qanun, an ancient stringed instrument, bringing life to an capital stilled by the coronavirus. [custom_adv] With performance halls closed and many isolated in their homes as a result of the Mideast's worst virus outbreak, and other Musicians now find performance spaces where they can. [custom_adv] That includes rooftops dotted with water tanks and littered with debris, empty front porches and opened apartment windows. [custom_adv] Their music floats down on others stuck in their homes, fearful of the COVID-19 illness the virus brings. [custom_adv] Their impromptu concerts draw applause and offer hope to their listeners, even as public performances still draw hard-line scrutiny in the Republic. [custom_adv] “We’re not front-line medical workers, hospital custodians, or grocery workers, but I think many musicians — myself included — have felt an obligation to offer our services of comfort and entertainment in these trying times,” said Arif Mirbaghi, who plays the double bass in his front yard. [custom_adv] The homeland has been hard-hit by the virus with more than 76,000 confirmed cases, including more than 4,700 fatalities. [custom_adv] Musicians long have been a mainstay in life, dating back to the ancient Persian empires. Legend has it that , the fourth king of the , known as the “king of the world,” created music with a four-stringed lyra. [custom_adv] Over time, Western influence brought with it the symphonies of Europe. Initially after the 1979 Revolution, pop and Western-influenced music all but disappeared. Classical music slowly re-emerged in the 1990s and has become increasingly popular. [custom_adv] But women still cannot sing before audiences including men and hard-liners have broken up concerts that pushed the cultural limits imposed by theocracy. Outside of , officials increasingly break up performances.