Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

A large-scale international event, the 15th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival in Chinese capital from April 23 to May 30 amazed art lovers. The art holiday was held at the Beijing Concert Hall.

Azerbaijani delegation joined in to this beautiful event as it performed national Mugam, created on the basis of historical and cultural traditions - stretching centuries.

The artistic value of Azerbaijani Mugam and its high importance both for national culture and the world community has been universally recognized at international level: in 2003 UNESCO recognized the Azerbaijani Mugam as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Sounds of the ancient Mugam immediately won the hearts of the public.

They came to listen to Mugam in the performance of one of the most famous khanende (singer): Vusala Radjabova and Mugam trio: Elchin Hashimov (Tar folk instrument), Elnur Ahmadov (kamancha folk instrument) and Siyavush Kerimov (nagara).

Azerbaijani People’s Artist, Mansum Ibrahimov also mesmerized the audience with his divine voice.

Addressing the ceremony, Zhao Haisheng, an official of the Chinese culture ministry highlighted the history and current state of Azerbaijani-Chinese cultural relations.

He also stressed the importance of such festivals and concerts in terms of bringing the two nations closer together.

Latif Gandilov, the Azerbaijani ambassador to China, for his part, said such projects contribute to both countries' culture promotion.

The grandiose event saw some talented 42 art troupes and 104 bands from 25 countries and regions, who performed more than 100 indoor shows and 50 outdoor galas.

More than 30 DJs from the US and European countries performed at Beijing Intro Electronic Music Festival at Chaoyang Park in Beijing.

Meet in Beijing Arts Festival was inaugurated in 2000 and has held annually.

The Festival made its debut in 2000, attracting 38 groups of artists, large and small, from 24 countries from around the world. Since the festival has been held annually and has turned into Beijing’s famous cultural brand with the principle of spreading Chinese traditional culture, introducing the essence of overseas arts as well as promoting cultural exchanges between China and the other parts of the world.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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