Azernews.Az

By Naila Huseynli

The concert programme of the 10th International Music Festival dedicated to Uzeyir Hajibeyli to be held with the organization of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, revealed.

This year's festival to be held on September 18-26 will feature musicians and collectives from Russia, the U.S, Turkey, Italy and Slovakia, as well as, the New Life brass quintet named after T. Dokshitser, Dada Gorgud orchestra, Murad Kajlayev, Murad Annamamedov, Sergei Roldugin , Pavel Milyukov, Azer Demirov, Farhad Ashumov and others. About 30 events are planned to be held.

The opening ceremony of the festival will take place at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic Hall on September 18, at 7 pm. The Azerbaijan State Symphonic Orchestra named after U.Hajibeyli and the State Choral Chapel (art director Gulbaji Imanova) will perform under the direction of People's Artist, conductor Fakhraddin Karimov.

A concert for the piano and orchestra dedicated to the 85th anniversary of prominent Azerbaijani composer, USSR People's Artist, academician Arif Malikov will be performed at the opening ceremony. (Soloist People’s Artist Murad Adigozalzade).

Throughout the framework of the festival, series of events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the famous singer, People's Artist of the USSR Firangiz Ahmadova will take place.

The author’s evening of People's Artist of the USSR, outstanding composer Murad Kajlayev will take place in at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic on September 22, at 7pm. The Azerbaijani State Symphonic Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli and the Azerbaijan State Choral Chapel will take part in the evening under the direction of People's Artist of Russia, conductor Murad Annamamedov.

Various performances, concerts and exhibitions will be organized at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Azerbaijan State Musical Theater, Rashid Behbudov Azerbaijan State Song Theater, House Museum of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, State Museum of Musical Culture, "Garabagh Mugam Center" of Agjabadi region.

The premiere of Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s "The Arshin Mal Alan" marionette performance will take place at the Baku Marionette Theater on September 23, at 7:30 pm. Producer-director and artist of the performance is Honored Art Worker Tarlan Gorchu.

The closing ceremony of the festival will take place at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic Hall on September 26 at 7 pm. The concert will feature the Azerbaijan State Symphonic Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli led by conductor Eyyub Guliyev, People's Artist of Russia, famous violinist Sergei Roldugin, the winner of the international competition named after P. Tchaikovsky, violinist Pavel Milyukov.

Born in 1885 in the heart of the ancient Azerbaijani Khanate of Karabakh -- Shusha -- Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s outstanding musical talent started a revolution in the Azerbaijani musical timeline. He was the very musician to introduce an extraordinary innovation in the nation's music culture, to constantly refresh it, and adjust to modern tastes. He was a founder of an opera genre not only in Azerbaijan, but the East and created the first Muslim opera in the Islamic world.

His unique synthesis of Oriental and Western music significantly promoted the classical music traditions in the East and opened a page of classical music patterns.

History recognizes Hajibeyli as an innovator as well as the first to establish a professional music school and Orchestra for Traditional Folk Instruments, to compose the Muslim world’s first opera and operetta, to introduce a woman on stage, to write the country’s national anthem (which is the official anthem of Azerbaijan today), to be awarded the highest artistic title of the Soviet Union.

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