Uzeyir Hajibeyli — the man who reconciled East and West in one score
Staged in Baku in 1908, “Leyli and Majnun” was the first opera in the Muslim East. Its author also wrote the theory of mugham.
Composers
Jovdat Hajiyev — a pillar of Azerbaijani symphonism
Eight symphonies and the opera “Motherland”, written with Gara Garayev — the most consistent symphonist of the national school.
- Published
- Author
- Əkrəm Babayev
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Jovdat Hajiyev was born in Nukha (today Sheki) in 1917. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory in Shostakovich's class, in the same years as Gara Garayev.
The opera “Motherland”
Written jointly with Garayev in 1945, “Motherland” takes the war as its subject and brought both composers a Stalin Prize.
Two young composers co-authoring a large-scale work is a rare episode in Azerbaijani music history.
Eight symphonies
The symphony became his principal genre. His eight symphonies are the most systematic attempt in Azerbaijani music to fuse national intonation with classical sonata form.
The symphonic poem “For Peace” remains among his most performed orchestral works.
The conservatory
He served for many years as rector and professor of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, training several generations of composers.
Jovdat Hajiyev died in Baku in 2002.
Related articles
Muslim Magomayev — from “Shah Ismail” to “Nargiz”
Uzeyir Hajibeyli's lifelong friend and the second founder of Azerbaijani classical music. The State Philharmonic bears his name.
Zulfugar Hajibeyov — the founder of musical comedy
Uzeyir's elder brother and Niyazi's father — author of the opera “Ashiq Gharib” and a founder of the Musical Comedy Theatre.