Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Known as Azerbaijan's cultural capital, Shusha city is the hometown of prominent national composer Uzeyir Hajibayli.

His extraordinary musical talent started a revolution in the Azerbaijani musical timeline. Uzeyir Hajibayli was the first composer of an opera in the Islamic world. He also composed the music of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic's national anthem.

The composer brilliantly combined the western and eastern musical traditions and opened a new page in the history of Azerbaijani music.

The composer was born on September 18, 1885, in Aghjabadi in the family of a local clerk. Later, Uzeyir and his family moved to Shusha.

History behind Uzeyir Hajibayli House Museum

In 1959, a house where he spent his childhood in Shusha was transformed into a museum.

Numerous manuscripts of his works, personal items, and photographs depicting his life and creativity were displayed there.

In 1978, Uzeyir Hajibayli's House Museum was renovated. It was also planned to renovate the museum for the second time in 1983.

Uzeyir Hajibayli's anniversaries and jubilees had been constantly commemorated in the museum at the national level.

In 1985, UNESCO solemnly marked the 100th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibayli's birth. The guests invited from different countries of the world visited Uzeyir Hajibayli's House Museum in Shusha, where the jubilee was celebrated.

Before the Armenian occupation, nearly 1700 exhibits were kept in the house museum. Some 1600 exhibits were destroyed by Armenia.

The museum employees managed to save only 136 personal belongings of Uzeyir Hajibayli, which were transferred to the composer's house museum in Baku.

Among them are his personal belongings - a suit, glasses, a coat - a violin on which Hajibeyli played in the Gori seminary, writing materials, a personal album, photographs, and the wedding dress of his mother Shirinbayim khanum (mode of address).

And the most valuable among the exhibits is a handful of Shusha soil from under the composer's favorite pear tree growing in the courtyard of the museum.

Uzeyir Hajibayli House Museum after Azerbaijan's victory

In 2020, Azerbaijan liberated its territories from the Armenian occupation.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have recently viewed the works to be done at the Uzeyir Hajibayli House-Museum in Shusha.

They also unveiled a statue of the eminent composer in Shusha on August 29.

The statue of the composer was erected in Shusha in 1985 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibayli.

The monument, designed by sculptor Ahmad Salikov, was completely destroyed in 1992 during the First Karabakh War by Armenia.

A new statue of the composer has been made on the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev.

It was reported that the new monument was created on the basis of photos published in the press of that time and kept in the archives.

The bronze statue was erected in Shusha with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The monument was designed by sculptors Aslan Rustamov, Teymur Rustamov and Mahmud Rustamov.

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