Music tour from Baku caused a great response from the audience and critics. Large delegation of composers and musicologists led by the chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, an outstanding composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and also famous musicians, including those that perform on Azerbaijani folk musical instruments, relatively little known to the Ukrainian audience – tar, saz, quanun, and komancheh, came to Kyiv. Concert and conference were held in the National Union of Composers of Ukraine. But the main event of the Days of Azerbaijani Music was the program that was presented in the Column Hall of the Mykola Lysenko National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine.
The concert opened with symphonic fresco by Sardar Faradzhev Koroglu. From the very first notes of the composition this music struck listeners to the bottom of their hearts. Of course, Ukrainian audiences were expecting the Eastern color, dynamics, and sensuality. But what they heard at the concert exceeded all their expectations! Koroglu is a son of a blind man, the epic hero of Azerbaijan. He was the leader of the liberation struggle of the peasants in the 17th century. This composition was written for a large orchestra last year. However, despite considerable temporal distance from the prototype era, this music still captivates hearts of the audience, regardless of age and nationality.
The program featured nine compositions of various genres. Vocal opus of the poem My Land by Asaf Zeynally greatly impressed the audience. The soloist of this composition was tenor Gurban Abbasov. This singer is the People’s Artist of Ukraine and the head of the Muslim Magomayev Center of Culture in Kyiv. He is a graduate of Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. Abbasov has been living and working outside Azerbaijan for a long time already. Therefore, he became the “intermediate link” that clearly linked cultures of the two countries in this program.
The concert also featured unique compositions for Azerbaijani folk instruments with the symphony orchestra, which were also presented for the first time in Ukraine. Chinara Mutallibova (qanun) performed Ornaments and Said Pasha-Zadeh (tar) accompanied with the orchestra performed Fairy Tales by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.
Chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan Franghiz Ali-Zadeh in a brief opening statement said: “Our music is an evidence of the fact that in the history of Azerbaijani people there were not only bright and positive moments, but also many tragic ones…” These words were very touching and became like a compass for the author of the project when they assembled the diverse program rich in national color that presented compositions of several generations of composers.
For example, the famous Ukrainian violinist Bohdana Pivnenko specially for this concert has learned and performed Violin Concerto of the classic of Azerbaijani music – Kara Karayev. But there was still another significant trait that marked the unity of Ukrainian and Azerbaijani cultures. Throughout the night musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine performed on the stage conducted by well-known conductor Fahraddin Kerimov. Kerimov studied in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, received training from Valeriy Gergiev, worked a lot abroad. Currently maestro Kerimov is the head of the Uzeyir Hajibeyov State Symphony Orchestra in Baku.
Ukrainian audience had a chance to listen to great compositions, in particular, a very original composition Where are you, Ulyses? by Dzhelal Abbasov or passionate Azerbaijani Dance by Musa Mirzoev, soloists – Gurban Abbasov (tenor), Bohdana Pivnenko (violin), and Chinara Mutallibova (qanun). Azerbaijani Dance was the final composition of the night. The audience loved the concert and gave a round of applause to all the musicians. However, the musical dialogue between our countries will continue. In June Days of Ukrainian Culture will be held in Azerbaijan.
