UNESCO to celebrate anniversaries of Azerbaijan's prominent figures

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

UNESCO will celebrate the birthday anniversaries of Azerbaijan's prominent figures.

The organization will mark the bicentenary of the great philanthropist and oil magnate Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev and the centenary of the outstanding composer Fikrat Amirov.

The decision was announced at the 41st UNESCO General Conference in Paris.

As a result of joint activities of the Culture Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan's Permanent Mission to UNESCO and the National Commission for UNESCO, the relevant nomination documents were submitted to UNESCO. The events have been included in the program of anniversaries for 2022-2023.

Hajji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev invested in many important projects such as the first textile factory and fisheries. He sponsored the first Azerbaijan National Theater (1883), the first Muslim School for Girls (1896), the first Technical School (1911) and covered all the expenses for the construction of what would later become the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.

He also helped to solve the water crisis in the city by helping to finance the Shollar water pipeline (1916).

Baku's best-known philanthropist allocated 11,000 old roubles for the construction of the head office for the Muslim Benevolent Society in Saint Petersburg, 3,000 roubles for the education of Armenian orphans, 5,000 for the St. Nina's School for Girls in Baku, 10,000 roubles for the construction of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Baku, tens of thousands of roubles for the construction and repair of mosques and madrasas throughout Russia and Persia.

Taghiyev also provided scholarships for many talented young people who strove for higher education in prestigious Russian and European universities. He built a number of schools and gave a lot of attention to mosques since he considered them to be centers for enlightenment, culture and science.

For his outstanding contributions, Taghiyev was twice awarded with the Order of Saint Stanislaus, as well as with a number of other orders and medals from many countries.

Fikrat Amirov wrote the first Azerbaijani lyrical-psychological opera on a contemporary theme.  In the opera "Sevil", the composer used a variety of musical forms in the opera.

Amirov's symphonic Mughams "Shur’ and "Kurd Ovshari" are unprecedented in the history of world music. 

The wide artistic interest of Amirov included operas, ballets, symphonies, symphonic poems, symphonic mugham, suites, capriccio, piano concertos, sonatas, musical comedies, songs, love songs, piano pieces, music for dramatic productions, and movies.

His works revolve around social and ethical issues, disclose the spiritual world of the people and record their life in the past and present. Mankind’s inner world with all its joys and sorrows takes a special place in his works.