"WITHOUT KARABAKH, EVEN MUGAM DOES NOT SOUND RIGHT"

The cradle of Azerbaijani music - Karabakh - is under occupation, but the natives of this heavenly region keep alive the good traditions of the Karabakh school of music, of which mugam is considered the apex.

The young singer of Azerbaijani mugham, Ehtiram Huseynov, was born on 18 October 1980 in the village of Hacisamli in Lacin District. Like all "Soviet" children, at the age of seven, Ehtiram went to the first grade at the eight-year school in his native village. As acknowledged by his fellow villagers, he was a big prankster, but was loved in the village. The talent of the young rascal was already known at the time, but the adults often had to persuade him to sing something for them. Ehtiram was capricious, but would agree.

In short, his childhood was carefree, the singer says... Until the war began. In 1992, following the Armenian occupation of Lacin District, Huseynov's family was forced to leave their native village.

So the 12-year Ehtiram found himself in Baku, where he was destined to get a musical education and become a professional singer. He first sang in the children's choir Banovsa (Violet) of the Azerbaijani State Television and Radio Company and then studied in the Agdam music school, which also had to work in Baku because of Armenia's occupation of Agdam. In 1997, he enrolled to study at the Asaf Zeynalli Music College. In 2007, he took part in the national TV show Mugam, organized as part of the Friends of Azerbaijani Culture project with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Second place in this prestigious music competition became Ehtiram's calling card in his further career. Subsequently, the young singer became the winner of the International Mugam Contest. A participant in numerous international festivals and competitions, he is now continuing to study at the National Conservatory of Azerbaijan and is a soloist at the State Philharmonic Hall.

Ehtiram himself is modest - he says it's too early to talk about success and much remains to be done. Still, we managed to persuade him to give us an interview - the young favourite of mugam fans was a guest in our office.

- Ehtiram, what does mugam mean to you?

- Mugam is everything for me. I can't imagine myself and my life without mugam.

- As a child you sang in Afsar Cavansirov's Banovsa choir. How did you come to take up mugam after the choir?

- I loved to listen to folk music from childhood. I regarded Xan Susinski, Arif Babayev, Yaqub Babayev and other venerable representatives of our mugam as my idols. I always wanted to be a performer like them. On the maternal side, I have many relatives with good voices, so my addiction to mugam is probably hereditary. As for my arrival in art, it coincided with the time of our family's displacement to Baku after the occupation of Lacin. We learned that national television was running a music contest called Subh Safaqlari (Dawn), but when I applied to take part, it turned out that talent was not enough - you had to be a student at a music school. But at that point, I didn't have a musical education. However, the juror and composer, Afsar Cavansirov, accepted me into his Banovsa chorus and that's how I became a soloist in the children's choir. But the most interesting thing is that before my time, the choir didn't have mugam in its repertoire. On seeing that I gravitated more to folk music than to children's songs, Afsar Cavansirov allowed me to perform a couple of mugam verses between songs.

And so my life onstage began. Then I went to the Asaf Zeynalli Music College in the class of the folk artist Canali Alakbarov and gradually began to recognize the mysteries of mugam. I should note that for me, there was no other art but mugam from my childhood. Becoming a singer was my biggest dream.

- How did you become a participant in the mugam contest?

- The contest was organized by state television with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation to promote mugam among young people and develop the young generation of singers. So we always feel obliged to point out that it is thanks to the efforts of the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva, that mugam has gained such popularity and young artists are appreciated. Of course, it was very difficult to perform before such distinguished representatives of Azerbaijani mugam as Arif Babayev, Sakina Ismayilova, Mansum Ibrahimov, Alibaba Mammadov and others. It was a big responsibility for us. It was hard to take second place, you had to summon up all your forces. I also want to remind you that victory in this contest depended directly on the participants themselves. Unlike other such events, there was no SMS voting. And so, the organizers deserve special thanks.

- What did this contest change in your life?

- I can say that everything changed. The difference between the previous and current Ehtiram increased. The contest taught me to be more responsible and work on myself more. On the other hand, the contest obliged me not to sit idly. Be sure to work, grow and move forward. So I try to do everything possible to earn the trust of judges, spectators, organizers and teachers.

- Who is your teacher?

- I am currently studying in the class of People's Artist Arif Babayev in the Azerbaijani State Conservatory. From childhood, I dreamt of taking lessons from this remarkable singer. I'll tell you more, you can learn not only mugam, but many human qualities from Arif muallim. He himself constitutes a big school, and I'm trying to learn the lessons of this school.

- You are also the winner of the World of Mugam Second International Festival organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in March this year. Are you still taking part in various festivals and foreign tours?

- Yes, participation in international events plays an important role in the development of any singer's career. Like many of my colleagues, I have visited many countries. Quite recently, in August, we were in Canada, where we took part in the Niagara international festival. This festival was held for the third consecutive year. Bayimxanim Mirzayeva, Gullu Muradova and other young performers of mugam from Azerbaijan were there before me. Traditionally, this festival holds a concert of Azerbaijani mugam on 26 August. This year, apart from me, Azerbaijan was also represented by Ramiz Quliyev, Sahib Pasazada and others. The festival is attended by Jeffrey Werbock - a famous American who plays the tar and kamanca. As you know, Jeffrey has made considerable effort to promote these Azerbaijani instruments and our music not only in the US, but also in Europe. Although he is American, Jeffrey plays our national musical instruments with his usual proficiency.

- You seem happy that you have linked your life to mugam. Is there anything in your life you regret?

- Frankly, the only thing I regret is that we don't have Karabakh today (20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagornyy Karabakh, is under Armenian occupation - R+) ... Not yet. I was a kid, I was only 12 years old when we were forced to leave our home. My village was called Hacisamli, but people knew it as Zavod (Factory) - in Soviet times there was a factory processing rare species of oak tree here. By the way, I once read in your magazine that Armenians are now mercilessly exploiting the forests in the occupied territories. I remember every corner of Lacin District very well. Sometimes, it seems to me that I've just left. Sometimes some parts of other districts remind me of Lacin and my native village. "These places are so similar to our region," I tell my friends without hiding my emotions. For me, without Lacin and Karabakh even mugam doesn't sound right.

- And yet, life goes on. What's new in your career? What do you have in store for mugam fans?

- Recently, I joined the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall as a soloist. In addition, I am participating in a new project of the well-known balaban (national wind instrument - R+) player, Alixan Samadov, who lives in Turkey. This project is also supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The main objective is to introduce Azerbaijani mugam to European listeners in a more understandable form, accompanied by the balaban, tar, kamanca and other national instruments. A few songs are ready as part of the project. They try to cater for musical tastes today. One of the songs is a synthesis of the mugams Azarbaycan Cangisi, Qarabag Sikastasi and Sirvan Sikastasi performed by Alim Qasimov, Elnara Abdullayeva, Gullu Muradova, Sabuhi Ibayev, Asif Karimov, as well as me. The composition will be recorded on a disc in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, German and other languages for sale in other countries.