LONG LIVE MUSIC!

Qabala, a picturesque part of Azerbaijan, has hosted the 3rd International Music Festival with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The opening of the music festival, where a congratulatory message from the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO, MP Mehriban Aliyeva, was read out, was held in the park of the Qafqaz Resort Hotel.

This year's traditional music festival in Qabala began with the International Piano Competition. Held during the festival from 15 to 22 July, it brought together talented performers under the age of 35 from the US, South Korea, Russia, China, Turkey, Georgia, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Then, the Qabala Festival itself got under way. From 23 July to 5 August, famous musicians and groups from Russia, Britain, Israel, Norway, Holland, Italy, Azerbaijan and other countries performed before the audience. Vivid performances by Yuriy Bashmet with the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra, Boris Berezovskiy, Denis Matsuyev, Sergey Krylov, Anna Samuil, Sergey Leyferkus, Oksana Yablonskaya, Massimiliano Pisapia and other performers will stick in the minds of grateful viewers for a long time.

The idea for the festival was put forward two years ago, when world-famous musicians - pianist Oksana Yablonskaya and her no less eminent son, cellist and conductor Dmitriy Yablonskiy, visited Baku and gave concerts at the best venues of the Azerbaijani capital. Impressed by the preparedness of the Baku audience, the best works of Azerbaijani composers, musical traditions and unique national folklore, they proposed acquainting as many people as possible with the achievements of our culture. And with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, this idea became a reality.

Mehriban Aliyeva pointed out in her message that Azerbaijan plays the role of a cross-cultural bridge between Europe and the East today. It is no accident that classical European and traditional Azerbaijani music and its gem - mugham, which was included on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003 - are played on the Qabala festival stage.

Already a tradition, this festival achieved its main goal in a short time: Qabala became a meeting point for eminent musicians and the Azerbaijani audience. And this time, among its participants were renowned artists and groups from different countries.

The festival opened with the performance of pieces by the famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg - the Norwegian pianist Einar Steen-N?kleberg and the British violinist and founder of the Schubert Ensemble of London, Simon Blendis, performed a sonata for the violin and piano, as well as other well-known works by the famous composer. In the first part of the concert, the rector of the Tbilisi State Conservatory, director of the Georgian foundation for musical competitions, pianist Manana Doijashvili, accompanied by Simon Blendis and a soloist of the English National Opera and London Sinfonietta, Timothy Gill, performed a piece by Schubert. In the second part of the concert, Azerbaijani musicians demonstrated their mastery: the cellist Aleksey Miltykh, the vocalists Sabina Asadova, the honoured artists of Azerbaijan and presidential scholarship holders Avaz Abdullayev, Gulnaz Ismayilova and Yusif Eyvazov. On the same day, the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra directed by Yuriy Bashmet performed on the stage under the open sky. The orchestra was conducted by maestro Rauf Abdullayev, while the soloists were renowned Sergey Leyferkus (baritone), the German State Opera soloist Anna Samuil (soprano), the famous Italian tenor Massimiliano Pisapia and the Russian violinist Alena Bayeva.

During the festival, the well-known Russian Terem Quartet performed as well. Performers also gave concerts away from the festival in Saki and Agdas.

Qabala itself hosted a concert by the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra on the same day. The symphonic piece "Caravan" by the composer Soltan Hacibayov and compositions of Azar Rzayev and Peter Tchaikovsky were played as well. The orchestra was conducted by People's Artist Rauf Abdullayev. In addition to solo performances, the orchestra accompanied the founder of the Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse and president of the Buenos Aires International Violin Competition, Shlomo Mintz (Israel, violin), and the artistic director of the Rachmaninoff Foundation and a number of international festivals, Denis Matsuyev (Russia, piano). On the penultimate day of the festival, Russian, Norwegian and Georgian musicians gave a joint concert on the Qabala stage. The symphonic poem "Finland" by Sibelius, an overture from Rossini's opera "The Barber of Seville" and Cavatina Figaro, Don Giovanni's aria from Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni", Rodrigo's aria from Verdi's opera "Don Carlos" and other pieces were performed at the festival. The orchestra was conducted by Terje Mikkelsen from Norway. 

A report about the festival in Qabala was shown on one of the world's leading TV channels, Euronews.