Dusseldorf enjoys Azerbaijani culture evening

/AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

The Evening of Azerbaijani Culture was held in the German city of Dusseldorf on November 4 with the organizational support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Embassy of Azerbaijan.

Some 800 guests came together in Dusseldorf Theatre House to listen to the live Azerbaijani jazz music.

Opening the event, Ambassador Parviz Shahbazov noted that this concert was one of a series of events being held based on an initiative by Azerbaijan's First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva.

Then he informed the guests of the country's rich music culture and development of various music genres saying that Nagorno-Karabakh - the music cradle of Azerbaijan - has been occupied by Armenia.

Referring to Azerbaijan's general development by concrete facts, the diplomat emphasized that Azerbaijan, by its geographical location, has played the role of a bridge between the West and East, linking at the same time the Western and Eastern cultures.

The host of the event provided information about the historical ties between Azerbaijan and Germany, the German heritage existing in Azerbaijan, as well as projects implemented by Mehriban Aliyeva and Heydar Aliyev Foundation inside and outside of the country. The projects are aimed at preserving cultural heritage, promotion of cultural relations and improving conditions for better education of the youths.

Noting that jazz music in Azerbaijan started to develop back in the 30s of the last century, the host underscored that Azerbaijan has a number of strong world-class jazzmen. Baku Jazz Festival is one of the leading music festivals in this genre, and that synthesis of jazz with Mugham is unique.

The grandiose music program performed by Azerbaijani jazzman Elchin Shirinov and jazzmen from the Great Britain Dave Hamblet and Sam Laserson was warmly welcomed by the audience.

The synthesis of popular songs together with jazzmen' performance made the concert more colorful. The concert saw performance of Shirzad Fataliyev by Balaban and Mirjavad Gafarov by Oud.

Guests of the event were presented with a new publication of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation - a book titled "German Traces in Azerbaijan" written by Eva-Maria Auch, a professor, the Head of the Department "History of Azerbaijan" at the Humboldt University in Berlin.

At the same time, a photo-exhibition "German Traces in Azerbaijan" and an exposition consisting of works by winners of an art competition called "Germany Through An Artist's Eyes" were also held during the event.

The event was attended by deputies of the North Rhine-Westphalia Federal Land, representatives of Germany's public and political and cultural circles, the diplomatic corps accredited in this country and mass media.

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has already implemented a number of projects to expand relations between countries and to promote Azerbaijani culture in Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and other countries.

In late October, the State Symphonic Orchestra named after Uzeir Hajibeyli performed the classic music of Azerbaijan in another German city of Hannover.

Previous cultural events held by the foundation abroad included exhibitions on the 20th anniversary of restoration of national independence by Azerbaijan and marking the 870th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Strasbourg, and Rome.