An international conference entitled "The Voice of the People's Spirit" (Души народной голос...) dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great Azerbaijani composer and educator Uzeyir Hajibeyli was held at the Scientific Library of the Russian Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS), APA's Moscow bureau reports.
The conference was attended by Russian and Azerbaijani scientists and cultural figures, teachers and students of GITIS, employees of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, and media representatives.
In his speech, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Rahman Mustafayev noted the composer's great contribution to the formation of a professional Azerbaijani music school, the development of world, Soviet and Azerbaijani music, and the strengthening of dialogue and cooperation between Azerbaijani and Russian cultural figures. He emphasized that Uzeyir Hajibeyli was the founder of many reforms in Azerbaijani culture, combining Eastern musical traditions and folklore with the Western classical school: “This tradition was continued by his students Afrasiyab Badalbeyli, Said Rustamov, Asaf Zeynalli, Shamsi Badalbeyli, Niyazi, Jovdat Hajiyev, Tofig Guliyev, Gara Garayev, Jangir Jangirov, Fikrat Amirov, as well as the current young generation of Azerbaijani composers and performers.”
The ambassador also recalled that the composer’s house-museum, which was destroyed during the occupation in Shusha, where Uzeyir Hajibeyli was born, was restored, and that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the house-museum last year.
GITIS Rector Grigory Zaslavsky said that the conference held within the framework of the celebration of the 140th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibeyli is of great importance not only for the institute, but also for Russian culture as a whole. He noted that "GITIS is not only a creative higher education institution, but also an institute that values its scientific work. Uzeyir Hajibeyli's work creates a space for serious and thoughtful discussions."
The rector added that the musical cultures of Russia and Azerbaijan have always developed through mutual enrichment, which makes such events especially important.
People's Artist of the USSR and Head of the Department of Vocal Art at GITIS Tamara Sinyavskaya expressed her gratitude to the conference organizers, noting that such events strengthen cultural ties between the two peoples. She emphasized the importance of the participation of students and young performers who study the history of Azerbaijani music and master its traditions.
Editor-in-Chief of the "Musical World" magazine, Professor Tariyel Mammadov, spoke about the life and creative heritage of Uzeyir Hajibeyli and presented a video dedicated to his work.
Rector of the Baku Academy of Music named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli Farhad Badalbeyli addressed the conference participants via video link. He said that the personality and work of Uzeyir Hajibeyli formed the basis of modern music education in Azerbaijan and inspired a new generation of musicians.
The conference also heard presentations from Angelina Alpatova, Associate Professor of the Department of Music Theory of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, Director of the D.A. Bertman Music Workshop, conductor Yevgeny Volkov, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Music History and Theory of GITIS Flora Rahimova, Honored Artist of Russia Alexander Barmak, Associate Professor of the Department of Music History of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Tamila Janizadeh and others. The speakers noted Uzeyir Hajibeyli's contribution to the development of the Azerbaijani musical theater and his role in the development of the national composition school.
During the event, an interesting discussion was held about the creativity of the Azerbaijani composer with the participation of musicologists, teachers and students.
It should be noted that on October 17, a concert program dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the birth of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the creator of the first opera in the East, was held at the Student Theater of the Russian Institute of Theater Arts. The concert program included romances, arias and ballads from the famous operas and operettas "Firuza", "Arshin mal alan" and "Koroglu", in which the composer combined Eastern melodies and folk intonation with European classical traditions, performed by students in Azerbaijani and Russian.
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