THE TAR PLAYER WITH THE HEART OF A COMPOSER

"Ahsan!" ("A fine boy!") exclaimed Mir Abdulxaliq when his nephew Mirza Aliabbas came to bring his uncle the joyous news of his son's birth. "I've come to ask your advice as to a name," Mirza Aliabbas said to his uncle, to which the later replied: "I just told you - Ahsan!"

Ahsan Dadasov was born in 1924, his parent's third child. Unlike his sister Sara's and his brother Mursal's, Ahsan's birth certificate did not show the day on which he was born. The date given in encyclopedias, August 16, was chosen based the recollections of his mother, Xanimanaxanim[a term of respectful address for Azerbaijani women]: "It was very hot, and the grapes were not ripe yet." Ahsan Dadasov celebrated his birthday on August 18, which was his son's birthday. 

Ahsan was ten years old when he began learning how to play the tar, a traditional Azeri stringed instrument. Where the restaurant Sahil now stands there was a bridge. A ferrycalled theDemosfen tied up to the bank, carried passengers to their cottages on the Abseron peninsula, and in the evening returned. Once six neighbor boys took the ship to Zix to celebrate May Day. On the way back Mursalfound a tar under a tree. From that day on playing the tar became the brothers' favorite pastime. Seeing that his sons had taken an interest in music, Mirza Aliabbas took his older son to the tar-player Aliaga. After giving him a few days of lessons, the tar-player told Mirza Aliabbas: "This boy will never become a tar-player."

In 1937 the threat of being politically repressed hung over the Dadasov family.The family, which had miraculously escaped slaughter by Armenians in Baku in 1918, had now been overtaken by the Bolshevist plague.As AhsanDadasov's daughter Xanim Maharramova relates, among those who came to arrest her grandfather Mirza (at that time educated people who wrote and read correspondence were called Mirza)were two Armenians. They ransacked Mirza Aliabbas' entire home, taking not only his books, but also his wife's gold jewelry.

After his arrest hard times began for Mirza Aliabbas' family, who were not even allowed to visit him. They had to stand in line in front of the prison to pass on a parcel for Mirza to prison authorities.Later Ahsan Dadasov would tell his children the sad story of how he, his mother, and brother would take turns standing in endless lines: "We waited for days on end in the cold and snow. We were exhausted."  Only many years later did Ahsan's older brother Mursal find out that their father had actually been sent to Siberia. The family was unable to find out anything about what happened to him after that…

The family's state worsened with each passing day. Xanimana was a homemaker. In addition to her and Mirza's own three children, the family included niece Firangiz as well.The older son Mursal had to find work. A few years later younger brotherAhsan had to begin supporting the family as well. Even though the arrest of the head of the family had been a heavy blow, they were able tokeep on their feet: they continued to work and study. Mursal became an engineer. Sara knew that her parents had dreamed of seeing her become a doctor and therefore choose that profession.

The bay of the family, Ahsan, could not tear himself away from the tar, the instrument that had stolen his heart. Once he saw an announcement for applications to a music school.Without telling his family he applied to it and was accepted.He studied in the class of Anvar Mansurov, the son of the renowned tar-player Mirza Mansur. Very soon Ahsan's fame began to shine through. Composer Uzeyir Hacibayov, who came to listen to the music school's students one day, heard Ahsan Dadasov perform "Sur" on the tar and asked: "What is your name?" Ahsananswered: "Ahsan." Hacibayov replied: "A fine boy indeed!" [Translator's note: as noted earlier, in addition to being a personal name, Ahsan is also an Azeri word meaning "a fine boy", "good job!"] While a student at the music school, young Ahsan also made an impression on Said Rustamov, a famous composer, conductor, and music teacher. 

Rustamov took on Ahsan as part of his orchestra, despite warnings that the boy did not even have a passport. "He doesn't need one if he already has the stamp of a true performer," announced Said Rustamov. 

Ahsan's time as a student were unforgettable and also held a place in his memory. One important incident was the first time he met Qariba xanim. "It was a winter evening. In one of the school's classrooms a 14-year-old girl was rehearsing on the kamanca, a traditional Azeri folk instrument played with a bow. All of a sudden two young men came into the room laughing, turned off the light and ran out. The girl stood up and turned the light back on. The door opened again, the same boys came back in, turned off the light, and went back out. The girl, beside herself with anger, went out into the hall and gave the trouble-makers a piece of her mind. Then she went back into the classroom, turned the light back on, and locked the door. One of the two boys was 17-year-old Ahsan Dadasov," relates the tar-player's daughter. "Sometimes they ran into each other on campus, and every time they did, the young woman turned her back to him. She was still angry at the young man."

In 1941, when the Great Patriotic War [WW2] began, everyone was drafted, except for the sons of "enemies of the people." In 1943 the Dadasovs were finally called up - not to the front, but to join a construction battalion near Makhachkala. The hard work and tough living conditions effected Ahsan's health. He got very sick and was sent by the battalion doctor to Baku for treatment. There his condition improved, and he was given work again in Said Rustamov's orchestra. Shortly thereafter his brother Mursal was also demobilized after sustaining an injury. 

Fate brought Qariba xanim and Ahsantogether again when they both began performing in the orchestra. She, however, still looked askance at him. While they worked together, though, they got to know one another better, and with time their relationship changed. The young tar-player began to court the young woman and take walks with her. They were so deeply in love that they were called Romeo and Juliette by those around them. However, they were in no hurry to start a family - they thought about continuing their education and ensuring that they could provide for themselves. After finishing music school, Qariba xanim enrolled in the German department of the Institute of Foreign Languages (now the Azerbaijani Linguistic University - Z.F.). After graduating from the institute, she worked there. "But she did not stop playing thekamancain the orchestra," her daughter recalls. Ahsan Dadasov finished his education a little later. He studied Persian at the Oriental Studies department of Baku State University, where he graduated in 1954. That was when he and Qariba xanim were married.

Ahsan Dadasov continued his work in the orchestra. During his tours abroad his knowledge of Persian helped him, especially in Iran, where he could freely converse with local musicians of renown. "I remember when we moved from our grandfather's house. I was three years old. Our father had gotten an apartment on Inqlab Street(now Hasan Aliyev Street - Z.F.)We were moving there. I can't forget the way we all mourned when I was four," continues the famous musician's daughter."My parent's firstborn, my brother Anvar, died of lymphomaat the age of eight. My mother, who was a strong woman, tried to hide her crying, but we saw her red eyes. Our father's hair turned grey early because of his grief. When he performedthemugam[a type of traditional musical composition] 'Sur', 'Bayati-Siraz', and 'Humayun',he had tears in his eyes." A year after Anvar's death their hearts were again filled with hope. Another son was born, who was also named Anvar. 

Ahsan Dadasov became a renowned, beloved, and respected musician. "I never heard of anyoneholding him back,"his daughter said. With his tar he masterfully accompanied such famous folk performers as Xan Susinski, Fatma Mehraliyeva, Zulfi Adigozalov, Hacibaba Huseynov. Ahsan Dadasov was called a tar-player with the heart of a composer. Even though he composedtasnif andrang, traditional song genres in Azeri folk music, out of modesty he never called himself a composer. 

Haci Xanmammadov devoted his first tar concert with a symphony orchestra to Ahsan Dadasov, who was the head performer at the concert. In 1964 with the encouragement of composer Fikrat Amirov and chairman of the Radio Committee Anvar Alibaylihe created the Ensemble of Folk Musical Instruments of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting.At the same time he taught at the Bulbul High School of Music. Ahsan Dadasov's work was continued by his daughter, also a musician, who teaches in the same school where her father once did. 

Ahsan Dadasov's son graduated from the Azerbaijani Petrochemical Institute (now the Azerbaijani State Oil and Gas Academy - Z.F.). Even though he was never given a musical education, he can play the guitar, the reeds, and the piano. His father, who was preparing to teach him to play the tar, said: "The boy should be ten or eleven when he starts, so he can handlethe tar."When his father died, Anvar was only twelve. 

Ahsan never complained about his health. When he suddenly began feeling weak and experience pain in his hand, everyone thought that it was simply his stressful schedule of rehearsals, concerts, and tours. "You're probably tired," was what his doctor said as well. The cause, however, was much more serious - Moscow doctors discovered that he had cancer. Although they hid this from him, as was common policy among Soviet doctors, Ahsan Dadasovknew he was seriously ill, but choose not to think about death at all. His family also believed that he would recover. 

However, on May 29, 1976 his condition worsened considerably, and that very same evening he passed away. The distinguished musician's funeral, held the next day, was attended by an unending procession of people: colleagues, relatives, musician friends, acquaintances, fans…Per his request, Ahsan Dadasov was buried at an old cemetery, beside his mother and son. 

This year will mark the ninetieth anniversary of Ahsan Dadasov's birth. As a tribute to the famous musician the Second Republic-wide Competition of Folk Instrument Performers among those from 16 to 36 will take place. The competition will cover all of Azerbaijan - a country filled with people who still play Dadashov's music.