Mugham Center to hold musical evening dedicated Shirulla Imanov

On April 11, International Mugham Center will host an evening dedicated to the 115th anniversary of the mugham singer and tar player Shirulla Imanov (January 13, 1909 - February 4, 1976) as part of the "Unudulmayanlar" (Unforgettable) project.

The concert program, organized by the International Mugham Center, will feature renowned figures in culture and art who will share their memories and present compositions.

The artistic part will include performances by Honored Artists Tayyar Bayramov, Arzu Aliyeva, international and republican mugham competition laureate Kamilah Nabiyeva, Nisbet Sadrayeva, Malik Hasanov, Mirali Mirizade, and Vusal Gasimov.

The performances will be accompanied by an instrumental ensemble consisting of Rustam Muslimov (tar), Elnur Salahov (kamancha), Mekhta Mukhammedalizade (qanun), Rafael Asgarov (balaban), and Amil Mustafayev (naghara). To purchase tickets, visit iTicket.Az

Two premieres significantly influenced Shirulla Imanov's choice of artistic path in his youth: the opera "Ashug Garib" by Zulfuqar Hajibayov, which was first staged at the Azerbaijan State Theater of Musical Comedy in Baku in 1916, featuring such luminaries as Huseynqulu Sarabski, Huseynagha Hajibabayov, Ahmad Badalbayli, and Rubaba Muradova; and the 1919 staging of the first opera by Muslim Magomayev, "Shah Ismail."

At that time, he promised himself that he would someday perform on stage. Years later, his dream came true. He became a soloist at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and the Muslim Magomayev State Philharmonic. His creativity was closely linked to the national opera, as Shirulla Imanov accompanied on the tar in performances of Muslim Magomayev's opera "Shah Ismail," Zulfuqar Hajibayov's "Ashug Garib," and Uzeyir Hajibayli's "Sheikh Sanan," and also performed as a khanende in "Ashug Garib."

He shared his experience with young musicians and vocalists at the Asaf Zeynalli Music School. During World War II, alongside other artists, he performed extensively for soldiers and the wounded in hospitals. And in Baku, at home, in Chamberkand, he often arranged mugham evenings with friends.

Shirulla Imanov performed and socialized with masters of mugham such as Khan Shushinski, Talat Gasimov, Hajibaba Huseynov, Abulfat Aliyev, Bakhram Mansurov, Mammadali Aliyev, Gurban Pirimov, and musicologist and researcher Firudin Shushinski, among others.

He also accompanied and toured with well-known performers of folk songs and mugham, such as Shovkat Alakbarova, Jabbar Garyagdioghlu, Shahmali Kurdoglu, Sara Gadimova, Rubaba Muradova, Fatma Mekhraliyeva, Tukazban Ismayilova, Shovkat Mammadova, and others.