ARCHITECT OF AZERBAIJANI MUSIC

American music historian Neil Edmunds compared him with Glinka. "As the founder of the Azerbaijani musical education he can be compared with the Rubinstein brothers", Edmunds wrote about Uzeyir Hacibayov, the great Azerbaijani composer, conductor and teacher.

This year will mark 128 years since the birth of the great composer. Numerous events, including those held on the National Music Day, are dedicated to this momentous date every year. This year, the opera season will traditionally be opened with Hacibayov's Leyli and Majnun.

The trailblazer

In the first half of the 20th century, several successful composers worked in Azerbaijan yet Hacibayov reached especial fame. In an interview with R+, Farah Aliyeva, doctor of arts and professor at the Baku State Musical Academy, said that Hacibayov's tremendous success should be attributed to the fact that not only did he become the founder of opera in the East and in Muslim world on the whole, but also created the Azerbaijani national opera. "Hacibayov created the so-called Mugham-Opera, merging Western and Russian traditions with the national music - Mugham. All main arias in his operas are sung in this style, something that naturally earned Hacibayov well-deserved popular admiration."

She recalls that Baku awaited the premiere of Leyli and Majnun with much enthusiasm. Many people tried to help with the production. Well-known philosopher, doctor and painter of the beginning of the century, Ali Bay Huseynzada, provided counsel for Hacibayov and even painted decorations for his opera. Engineer Imran Qasimov allowed Hacibayov to use his flat for rehearsals and was also the first to play the role of Leyli's father. "It can be said that everybody around him were aware of his great talent, the masterpiece he was creating and the horizons he was opening for the national music. It is for this reason that they spared no efforts to help him," she said.

There were purely technical difficulties as well, says Aliyeva, related to the merger of the two musical traditions. "When Uzeyir decided to seat tar players with the orchestra, a conflict happened as the two had different opinions about playing and tempo. As a result, the tar players left. Hacibayov was forced to quickly replace tar by violin and write a new passage for it. Instead of conducting, he took up the violin and stood in the orchestra. Abdurrahim Bay Haqverdiyev had to conduct that day.

On the very first day of the premiere in 1908, people realized that something unusual happened in the country's cultural life. The opera has since been opening the theatre season for over 100 years.

Another noteworthy feature of Hacibayov's talent is that he remains popular to this day, and not only among those who love classical chamber music. His operettas, such as "If Not That One, Then This One and the Cloth Peddler are loved by people of all ages and musical tastes."He was a patriot of his country, did not shy away from national music and traditions and did not try to make his art pretentious," says Aliyeva. "As is known, since his childhood he played on the tar and other national instruments. In Shusha [Susa], where he lived, musical traditions were always strong."

Teacher

Speaking about Hacibayov's talents one cannot overlook his tremendous contribution to teaching and reforms in the Azerbaijani culture. He authored various dictionaries, scientific articles and books. Throughout the existence of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic he was the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper, Azerbaijan. On 29 October 1918, he published his first article in the newspaper. In 1945, he published his theoretical thesis called the foundations of the Azerbaijani national music.

Hacibayov was a strict teacher and was particularly discerning about falsity. Addressing young Azerbaijani composers in one of his books he pointed to common mistakes: "superficial stylization fails to lend a genuine national intonation to a musical piece; just the contrary, it deprives it of truthfulness, sincerity and aesthetic and artistic value. I believe that the actual point is something else. Every nation wants its composers to create their music in a language they are familiar with. To do this, composers need to know this musical language exceedingly well." At the same time, Hacibayov always tried to help his students as much as he could.

"He grew up in an environment where talented people were valued," Aliyeva said. "When he embarked on his artistic path he was greatly aided by Ahmadbay Agaoglu, a statesman and educator, and the whole generation of Azerbaijani intellectuals supported his initiatives. Therefore, when he became a recognized master he supported his talented students as much as he could. In the difficult war years he always invited his students to his house."

As is known, Hacibayov was the first among the Azerbaijani artists to allow a woman, Sovkat Mammadova, to sing in his opera. Having discovered her talent he organized a charity concert to collect funds to sponsor her studies in Italy. Hacibayov's students included Afrasiyab

Badalbayli, Said Rustamov, Asaf Zeynalli, Samsi Badalbayli, Niyazi, Covdat Haciyev, Tofiq Quliyev, Qara Qarayev, Cahangir Cahangirov, Fikrat Amirov and Safiqa Axundova.

"The rare combination of a powerful composing gift and extraordinary qualities of a playwright enabled Hacibayov to express his ideas through vivid artistic forms. His wonderful music was the most convincing and passionate promoter of the best ideas of the time which penetrated the souls of the people and stirred the most elevated feelings in them," Qara Qarayev wrote about him in his memoires.