THE GREAT UZEYIR

Azerbaijan has marked the 125th anniversary of the prominent Azerbaijani musician and public figure Uzeyir Hacibayov. The celebrations started at the Heydar Aliyev Palace on the anniversary of his birth - 18 September. The concert programme included excerpts from landmark works by the great Uzeyir - the opera "Koroglu", the operettas "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" and "Arsin Mal Alan", as well as other of the maestro's works with their unique power, national colour and romantic charm.

The festival opening was attended by People's Artist of the USSR Fidan Qasimova and People's Artist of Azerbaijan Xuraman Qasimova, as well as by guests - soloists of the Kazakh State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Gulzat Daurbayeva, and of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet Theatre, Senol Talinli.

The stunning "Canlibel" overture and chorus, dances from the opera "Koroglu" and  arias and scenes from the operettas were performed masterfully by the Uzeyir Hacibayov State Symphony Orchestra headed by Rauf Abdullayev, the State Choir headed by Gulbaci Imanova, conductors, soloists and artists from the opera and ballet, pantomime and musical comedy theatres, which, in the last three years, have revived such of the maestro's great works as the operetta "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" and "Arsin Mal Alan", previously not seen by audiences for years.

The following day, the Musical Comedy Theatre staged the operetta "Arsin Mal Alan". Like several other theatres, it devoted the start of the 138th theatrical season to the memory of Uzeyir Hacibayov and his 125th anniversary. During the music festival, the Azerbaijani State Opera and Ballet Theatre presented the opera "Koroglu". The leading roles were performed brilliantly by young artists - Honoured Artist and winner of the Bulbul First International Vocal Competition, Hasan Enami (Koroglu), and Ilaha Afandiyeva (Nigar). The musical director and conductor of the performance was People's Artist, Professor Cavansir Cafarov. The Puppet Theatre hosted their premiere performance of "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" to mark Uzeyir's birthday. In this unusual version of the famous operetta, the puppet characters performed alongside live actors, and the role of Masadi Ibad was played by Yasar Nuri. Puppets for the performance were made for the theatre by the well-known Russian artist Tatyana Melnikova.

Celebrations to mark the anniversary of the famous Azerbaijani composer were joined by musicians from other countries. For example, on 22 September the CIS Youth Symphony Orchestra appeared on stage at the Azerbaijani Muslim Magomayev State Philharmonic Hall. The young musicians performed works by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Bizet and "Arazbari" by Uzeyir Hacibayov. It should be noted that this team was created on the initiative of the CIS Foundation for Interstate Humanitarian Cooperation, with support from the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic Hall, three years ago with the aim of preserving and developing traditions of symphonic music performance and strengthening mutual understanding and communication between creative young people. Another memorable and outstanding event in the festival was a soiree of piano music at the Azerbaijan State Art Museum. Honoured artist Murad Huseynov played works by Azerbaijani and foreign composers.

A special place in the anniversary celebrations was reserved for the presentation of numerous publications released under the auspices of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation - the immortal works of Uzeyir Hacibayov and his followers, analytical studies and notes. The presentation was crowned by a truly invaluable work - the score of the maestro's opera "Asli and Karam", published for the first time. The Opera and Ballet Theatre orchestra has performed this work for many years from fragmented and hand-written copies, and now the score, painstakingly recreated by a team of musicians, is a worthy gift dedicated to the memory of the great Uzeyir.

Another gift to true connoisseurs of music was the presentation of the first edition of the score for the Lezginka dance. It was written in 1932 for an orchestra of folk instruments (tar, kamanca, balaban and daf). At this time, the composer wrote Cargah and Sur fantasias specifically for the newly-created orchestra of folk instruments. The museum received this manuscript from the archives of the conductor Asraf Hasanov. It is assumed that the manuscript was handed over to the conductor by Uzeyir himself. The "Lezginka-Sonatina", written by Hacibayov in 1943, is kept at the composer's house museum. It is not known whether this work was performed during his lifetime. After his death, however, it was first performed by the orchestra of folk instruments at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Art under the direction of Gulaga Zeynalov. This was an initiative by the State Museum of Musical Culture in 2003, more than 60 years after the work was composed, during the "Secrets and Discoveries" project. 

During the Uzeyir Hacibayov-125 International Music Festival, the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre staged the opera "Leyli and Macnun". The first opera in the East, which has been central to the theatre's repertoire for 102 years, was presented to the public under the direction of Honoured Artist Hafiz Quliyev.

The production designer of the famous stage work was People's Artist and state prize winner, Rafiz Ismayilov, while the choirmaster was Sevzixan Sardarov and the choreographer was Honoured Artist Yulana Alikisizada. The principal roles were performed by Honoured Artist Gulyaz Mammadova (Leyli) and a young soloist at the theatre, Sabuhi Ibayev (Majnun). The audience, as always, was enthralled by "Leyli and Majnun" and greeted the cast with enthusiastic applause.

The final event of the music festival was a concert by the TANG string quartet from Singapore, which was held at the International Mugham Centre on 28 September.