MUSICIAN, PUBLICIST, PLAYWRIGHT, TEACHER

The fourth International Festival named after the great Azerbaijani composer, Uzeyir Hacibayov, which has just ended in Baku, was a huge success. The name and genius of this unique Azerbaijani brought musicians from all over the world to Baku - from Russia, Turkey, US, France, Germany, Argentina, Italy and other countries. At the festival, as in previous years, there were concerts of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra from Germany, the Signium Quartet, the Azerbaijani State Folk Instruments Orchestra, Azerbaijani State Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra conducted by Zahar Bron, the Moscow Virtuosi orchestra and the Q.Qarayev State Chamber Orchestra. All this confirms that music has no frontiers, but it has names. And we Azerbaijanis are fortunate to have bearers of a culture which has always been given publicity by the unforgettable Uzeyir Hacibayov.

On 18 September we marked the birthday of this most talented individual. The highlight of the day was the start of the music festival named after the celebrated composer, the luminary of our musical culture, Uzeyir Hacibeyov. This day is a holiday not only for lovers of music, but also for all our people. Again and again one wants to touch the pages of the life history of this unique individual.

Birth

Abdulhuseyn bay from Shusha (Susa) spent most of his life in Agcabadi. He was the private secretary of the daughter of the last khan of Karabakh, Xursidbanu Natavan, and he managed her estate in Agcabadi. At that time Abdulhuseyn khan and his wife Sirin khan had three children, and they were expecting the birth of their fourth child.

Setting off to visit her husband, Sirin khan travelled via Agdam. She spent a few days with each of her eight sisters who lived there. Arriving in Agcabadi later than expected, it was here on 18 September 1885 that Sirin khan gave birth to her fourth child. One of five children - three sons and two daughters of Abdulhuseyn bay and Sirin khan from Shusha - he became a native of Agcabadi This child was to be the brilliant composer of the future, publicist, playwright, teacher, thinker, academician and public figure Uzeyir Hacibayov.

He spent his childhood in Shusha. Their home was situated in that part of the town that was called Colqala (Outer Fortress). Uzeyir's first teacher was his maternal uncle, Agalar bay Aliverdibayov, who had been well educated in Europe. It was he, a great connoisseur of Azerbaijani music, who inspired Uzeyir's interest in folk music and in the mughams. Since childhood he had closely followed the musical genre in his native Shusha. Enraptured by the singing of Karabakh vocalists and their captivating melodies on the saz, he acquired the treasured secrets of folk musical art.

His parents kept a close eye on Uzeyir bay's education. Thanks to them he was able to study from 1887 to 1899 at the Hasim bay Vazirov Russian-Tatar School in Shusha. When he was 13 in Shusha, at the initiative of Abdurrahim bay Hagverdiyev, and under his direction, the episode Majnun on Leyli's Grave by Cabbar Garyagdioglu was staged. Uzeyir, along with his brothers, sang in the choir. Impressed by this performance, which remained for ever in his memory, many years later he wrote the opera "Leyli and Majnun" - the first not only in Azerbaijan but throughout the East - based on Mahammad Fizuli's inimitable poem of the same name. Abdurrahim bay Hagverdiyev conducted this opera at its premier on 12 January 1908. Uzeyir himself played the violin.

At the age of 14 he went to study at the Gori Pedagogical Seminary up to 1904. The years he spent at the seminary played a huge part in shaping his outlook on life. Here he studied works by the classicists of European music, learnt to play the violin, the cello and brass instrument. He transferred Azerbaijani folk songs to music. He left the seminar in September 1904 and in 1904-05 taught at a school in the village of Hadrut in Cabrayil County.

It was at that time that the wave of Armenian aggression against the Azerbaijanis began. Witnessing the hatred and malice of the Armenians towards Uzeyir bay, the Aqsaqals of Hadrut secretly sent him to Yevlax from where they accompanied him to Baku.

Uzeyir bay arrived in Baku in 1905 where he found a city gripped by the troubles of the Russian Revolution. At a time of an exacerbation of the political struggle the democratically minded Azerbaijani intelligentsia tried to resolve the problems that were hindering the progress of their people. Uzeyir bay sided with his like-minded associates. In 1905-07 he worked as a teacher in the village of Bibieybat, and then at the "Saadat" school. He published in the Azeri language "Questions of Arithmetic" and a "Turkic-Russian and Russian-Turkic Dictionary of Political, Legal, Economic and Military Terms". 

Publicist

Having occupied an eminent place in the history of Azerbaijani literature and music, Uzeyir bay was, first and foremost, a professional journalist. Back when he was a rural school teacher in Hadrut, his work was published in the "Kaspiy" newspaper which, since September 1904, began publishing pieces by Uzeyir bay who wrote under the pseudonym "U". From early September 1905 he began work as a translator on the "Hayat" newspaper. Uzeyir bay's first original article was published in the 59th issue of the newspaper on 7 September. Later he became one of the most energetic authors to have been published in it. After working in "Hayat's" editorial offices for three months, Uzeyir bay left and began working on the "Irsad" newspaper, the first issue of which was published on 17 November 1905. And here he became one of the most active writers and was, as they say nowadays, the paper's parliamentary correspondent. In his satirical articles, short sketches and editorials Uzeyir sharply criticised the work of the Duma.

In 1905-17 Uzeyir bay continued to work in journalism, working closely not only with "Hayat" and "Irsad", but also with the "Taraggi", "Iqbal", "Haqiqat" and "Yeni Iqbal" newspapers and other periodicals such as "Sovgat", "Azerbaijan", "Molla Nasraddin", "Mehteb" and others. He signed his articles with the pseudonyms "Behmankas", "Bisavad", "Filankas", "Musigar", "U", "Uzeyir" and "Uz. Hacibayov".

In 1909-15 he wrote the librettos for the operas "Sheykh Sanan" (1909), "Rustam and Sohrab" (1910), "Shah Abbas and Khurshid Banu" (1912), "Asli and Kerem" (1912) and "Harun and Leyla" (1915). His musical comedies "Husband and Wife", "Not Like This"and "Arshin Mal Alan" reflected the day-to-day life, customs and traditions of pre-revolutionary Azerbaijan.

In 1911 he left to continue his musical education in Moscow where he studied at music courses of the philharmonic society, and in 1913 he studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire.

While he was studying at the Gori seminar he met his first and last love. The Tatar Maleyka xanim was the sister of a seminar friend of Uzeyir bay, Ali Teregulov. On Sundays the friends used to visit the theatre and stroll around Tiflis. Ali often invited Uzeyir bay to his home. It was then that he met and fell in love with Maleyka. The love proved to be mutual and they created a family. And Maleyka's sister married the composer Muslim Magomayev, who was the same age as Uzeyir bay. So two gifted individuals became brothers-in-law.

For some time Uzeyir bay and Maleyka rented an apartment in Baku. It was only in 1915 that they acquired their own place where the museum of the great composer is now situated.

They stood a number of trials together. Probably the most important for them was the lack of children. But Uzeyir bay did not leave his beloved wife just so as to have his own child. They lived a family life full of love and respect, worthy of the subject of an epic film.

Composer

The Armenians fiercely hated Uzeyir bay, already a famous writer, composer and ardent patriot, and wanted to kill him. In 1918 Nariman Narimanov rescued Uzeyir bay from them. During the March genocide of the Azerbaijanis Uzeyir bay's house was shelled by the Armenians. But shortly before these events Nariman Narimanov advised him to leave together with his theatrical troupe and tour Iran. True, at first he refused, saying: "I will not leave Azerbaijan and will not go anywhere." But Narimanov insisted, saying: "We will need you in the future." After that the brothers Uzeyir and Zulfuqar Hacibeyov left for Iran.

They spent several months in Iran, putting on a number of shows in various towns. In October they returned home and the newspapers congratulated the people on Uzeyir bay's return.

In 1921 Uzeyir bay organized the first music school for young Azerbaijanis in Baku - the Azerbaijani State Turkic Music School. When the Azerbaijani State Conservatoire began operating in 1926 he began teaching there and he organized the first Azerbaijani choir for several voices. In 1931 he became the organizer of the first orchestra of folk musical instruments of the Azerbaijani Radio Committee. On 30 April 1937 the first production of the opera "Koroglu", which is considered to be the peak of Uzeyir Hacibayov's musical career, was performed at the Azerbaijani Opera and Ballet Theatre.

It was impossible not to see Uzeyir bay's talent and not love his works. The leader of the Soviet state, Iosif Stalin, very much loved his operas "Koroghlu" and "Arshin Mal Alan". Through the then Azerbaijani leader Mircafar Bagirov, he even sent greetings to Uzeyir bay, whom he deeply respected.

In 1938, during Ten Days of Azerbaijani Culture and Art in Moscow, Stalin attended three performances of the opera "Koroghlu". Soon Uzeyir bay was to become the first Soviet composer to be awarded the title People's Artiste of the USSR.

In 1945, before the end of the war, the film "Arshin Mal Alan" came to the screens. Shortly before this an Armenian director who was living in the USA also made a film about this work. But "forgetting" that Uzeyir bay was the author, the Armenian director merely pointed out that the film had been made "on Oriental themes". The Azerbaijani leadership informed the USSR leaders about what had happened. However, because the Soviet Union had not joined the International Copyright Convention, Uzeyir bay's rights were not observed. Stalin thought the best solution was to make the film "Arshin Mal Alan" and distribute it all over the world. Screened on his instructions, "Arshin Mal Alan" not only became the answer to the Armenian plagiarist, but also became famous world wide.

In October 1939 Uzeyir bay organized a music festival in Baku on Stalin's instructions. Failing to become winners at the festival, the Armenians wrote a letter to Molotov, accusing Uzeyir bay of nationalism. Molotov sent the letter to Uzeyir bay himself.

The composer genius who had encountered the fierce prohibitions of Soviet power, the dirty insinuations of Armenian nationalists and the threat of being accused of Turkic nationalism suddenly contracted diabetes. Although the state of his health was tightly controlled his illness progressed rapidly. In 1947 his health deteriorated and Uzeir bay was admitted to hospital. There he found himself in the ward of an Armenian doctor by the name of Osipyan. Carrying out the age-old dream of the Armenians, Osipyan did everything possible to kill Uzeyir bay. The health of the great composer, who had lost 18 kg in a month thanks to his "care", weakened considerably, and there were problems with his heart. After an examination in Yessentuki Uzeyir bay, on Stalin's instructions, was moved to the Kremlin Hospital in Moscow. The doctors at the elite state sanatorium in Barvikha reaffirmed the flaws in his treatment and even said he might have to be taken back to Baku.

He arrived in Baku in August 1948. He was put in care home No 2 at Mardakan. On the instructions of Mircafar Bagirov the Health Ministry held a consultation and closely monitored his treatment. Uzeyir bay was sent back home in September 1948 where he died at 2 am on 23 November.

Mourning was held in the republic following his death. Mircafar Bagirov and other Azerbaijani officials carried the coffin containing the body of the great son of our nation from the building of the Academy of Sciences. The procession proceeded on foot along the Avenue of Honoured Burial. A guard of honour stood by Uzeyir bay's grave for 40 days.

The Armenians, who caused Uzeyir bay's death are still today trying to appropriate his works, and after occupying his native town of Shusha they fired at the great composer's house-museum.

Uzeyir bay spent all 63 years of his life in a struggle and remained for ever in the memory of the people as a proud and great individual, worthy of everlasting love.