CULTURE
National Music Day marked in Azerbaijan
Baku, September 18 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijan marks National Music Day on the 128th anniversary of acclaimed composer Uzeyir Hajibayli.
Azerbaijani public and art figures have today visited a monument to great composer Uzeyir Hajibayli at the Alley of Honors.
Addressing the event, Azerbaijani Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev spoke about the activities of the great composer, as well as national leader Heydar Aliyev`s role in marking National Music Day on his birthday. He also noted that 2013 was the 100th anniversary of the "Arshin mal alan" operetta by Hajibayli.
For the fifth year running, Baku and the country`s regions are hosting an international music festival dedicated to Uzeyir Hajibayli to celebrate the date.
According to the minister, this year, the festival, due on September 18-28, will be joined by famous conductors and soloists, young artists, and music bands from Russia, Turkey, Germany, France, the United States, Slovakia and Lithuania.
The Baku city culture and tourism department has prepared an action plan to celebrate the date.
Culture centers, museums, music and art schools will hold lectures, workshops and concerts on this occasion.
Moreover, young musicians will demonstrate their skills in the Uzeyir Hajibayli House-Museum in the frame of the "Guests of Uzeyir`s House" project.
Hajibayli`s "Leyli and Majnun", the first opera in the Muslim world, composed and performed in 1908, revolutionized Azerbaijani music.
After this opera, contemporary Azerbaijani music embarked on its triumphal ascent, with such creations as "Sheikh Sanan", "Asli and Kerem" and "Shah Ismail" operas, and the "Arshin mal alan" operetta, which were staged in more than 60 countries.