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Which works of Azerbaijani classical composers have Armenians plagiarized? -RESEARCH

07 February 2025 15:22 (UTC +04:00)

Since the appropriation of Azerbaijani songs by Armenian musicians has become a regular occurrence, we have already gotten used to it. Therefore, when an Azerbaijani song performed by an Armenian singer appears on YouTube, we are no longer surprised. Some just brush it off, saying, “This is their nature,” while others feel disheartened and shake their heads in disappointment. The Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the other hand, takes the necessary measures every time such incidents occur, providing relevant evidence to have Azerbaijani artists’ works, which are falsely presented as Armenian songs on music platforms, removed.

So, have Armenian classical composers also drawn upon Azerbaijani music and composers' works?

In a statement to APA, musicologist and professor Zumrud Dadashzade noted that Armenian composers’ engagement with Azerbaijani music has deep roots: “At the forefront of this practice is Komitas. Komitas compiled a collection titled ‘Six Dances,’ in which many nations' folk samples were transcribed into notation. Armenians claim that they did not take certain pieces from us, but rather from this collection. Let me say that the Armenians’ appropriation system is quite cunning. At first, they perform our music as Azerbaijani music, then as folk songs, implying that the song’s origin is unclear. After some time, they perform the same piece as an Armenian folk song. In other words, even if the music was initially introduced as Azerbaijani folk music, its attribution is later denied, and ultimately, it is presented as Armenian music.This is their mechanism. Here, we can mention the widely disputed ‘Vagharshapat’ dance by Arno Babadjanian. This piece was created as a piano work using the choral piece ‘They Say There Will Be a Wedding’ from Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s operetta O Olmasın, Bu Olsun (If Not That One, Then This One). Armenians claim that this music was taken from Komitas’s collection.”

According to the professor, another example is the piece “Uzundere” from Aram Khachaturian’s Gayane ballet: “I even checked old publications. In them, “Uzundere” is not presented as Azerbaijani music but rather as a dance widespread in Transcaucasia. Once again, the origin is concealed. It is said that Aram Khachaturian wrote letters to Uzeyir Hajibeyov, asking for permission to use his melodies while working on Gayane. In short, Armenians carry out appropriation in a staged manner.”

Composer Turker Gasimzade states that appropriation of Azerbaijani music is evident in Armenian classical composers as well as in younger generations: “In particular, references to Azerbaijani mugham have become widespread among middle and young-generation Armenian composers. Apart from our mugham, they also attempt to adapt elements of Fikret Amirov’s aesthetic and musical language from time to time. It seems as if they are incapable of creating anything without drawing from Azerbaijani music.”

What is the reason for the Armenians' serial theft of Azerbaijani music? Does the similarity of the music play a role here?

People’s Artist and composer Eldar Mansurov believes that the reason Armenians steal our music is their proximity to us as neighbors: “Anything good they see in us, they immediately take and claim as their own because they have nothing ‘delightful’ of their own. Our music does not resemble theirs. Their music resembles ours! There’s a saying: ‘The best pear in the forest is eaten by the bear.’ Our music is beautiful and memorable, and that is exactly why they steal from us.”

Elnur Mammadli, the press secretary of the Intellectual Property Agency, said that cases of theft and appropriation of Azerbaijani copyrighted works and folklore samples by Armenians is ongoing: "The Intellectual Property Agency regularly works to expose and prevent such facts. Each fact and application is investigated by the Agency, a commentary is prepared based on historical, legal and etymological evidence, and this commentary is disseminated through the media."

According to Elnur Mammadli, as a result of the relevant work carried out by the Agency, the facts of violation of the rights of Azerbaijani authors by Armenians on various digital platforms are confirmed and these rights are restored: “Only last year was the appropriation of works belonging to Bahram Nasibov, Javanshir Guliyev, and Shovkat Alakbarova by Armenians prevented.”

He noted that Armenians have also stolen Azerbaijani mughams and folk songs: “The Intellectual Property Agency is constantly investigating the facts of Armenian appropriation of works by Azerbaijani authors and our folklore samples. The music of Armenian composers A. Tigranyan, A. Spendiyarov, A. Khachaturyan and others contains appropriations of Azerbaijani works.

The issues of appropriation of Azerbaijani works by Armenians are extensively examined in the book "Armenian Stranger Tales" by Kamran Imanov, Chairman of the Board of the Intellectual Property Agency.

The work notes that Armenian intellectual property theft does not only cover Azerbaijani music, dances, and songs. They have also turned to Azerbaijani works when creating large-scale works. For example, the Armenian composer A. Tigranyan repeated classical Azerbaijani mughams in his opera “Anush”. The author of the first Armenian opera “Almast”, A. Spendiyarov, used both the Azerbaijani folk melodies “Novruz Arabi”, “Heydari”, and the theme of Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s musical comedy “If Not That One, Then This One” (“O olmasin, bu olsun”). Based on the Turkish-Azerbaijani musical tradition and under the influence of Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s music, he created the Armenian opera “Almast”.

Kamran Imanov notes, based on historical evidence, that these facts are even acknowledged in the works of Armenian authors. M. Nalbandyan, one of the famous Armenian figures of the 19th century, wrote that “most of Armenian melodies and tunes were borrowed from the Turks (Azerbaijanis)”.
The famous literary critic S. Palasanyan, in his book "Armenian Melodies" in 1868, admitted that "...in general, we consider the songs of the people we are influenced by as our own...".

Kh. Abovyan explained the reason why Armenians sang only in Turkish (Azerbaijani) by the fact that they did not have “epos with songs.” A. Brutyan wrote that “the most famous Armenian mugham performers” came from Baku and Shusha.

Honored Artist and musicologist Zemfira Gafarova believes that since Armenians do not have their own music, they even stole musical instruments from Azerbaijanis: “We haven't been telling them anything for years, now we've started saying that Armenian music is ours, tar is ours, kamancha is ours. We are late to raise such issues. Of course, Armenian composers feed on Azerbaijani music, as well as our composers, and will continue to feed on it.”