Tradition int'l music festival to return to Gabala

By Amina Nazarli - AzerNews 

Azerbaijan’s marvelous Gabala region will once more invite music lovers from around the world to enjoy the traditional music of the International Music Festival.

The 7th Gabala International Music Festival will feature an unforgettable array of music from July 25 to 31.

The festival is a collaborative project of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

For the past six years, Gabala has hosted popular art collections, soloists, and conductors from all around the world.

This year the festival will bring together many famous musicians from across the globe, including Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Russia, Croatia and Israel.

The festival will feature talented musicians such as Oksana Yablonskaya, Can Carlo Pazolini, Janna Gandelman, Aleksandr Rojdestvenski, Jeremy Menuhin, Paul Meyer, Aleksandr Gindin, Taras Yaqopud and many other excellent performers.

Austria’s Weiner Academy Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Martin Hoselbok, will ring in the opening ceremony scheduled for 12:00am on July 25.

At 9:00pm on the same day, the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, conducted by Giancarlo de Lorenzo, will please audiences with beautiful music from their native Italy.

The Baku Brass wind quintet will perform on July 26, followed by a concert of young artists. A performance by the Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, conducted by Azerbaijani Rauf Abdulaev promises to be the perfect addition to an evening outdoors.

The evening of July 27 will feature the works of Azerbaijani composers, performed by Ulvia Gadjibekova (piano), Farhad Badalbeyli (piano), and Janna Gandelman (violin). Following the mesmerizing dances of the Great Gala Flamenco Show, an exciting performance is sure to captivate the audience.

The Gara Garayev State Chamber Orchestra of Azerbaijan, established in 1964, will be conducted by unparalleled maestro Teymur Goychayev on July 28 and will feature an attractive music program consisting of both an Azerbaijani and foreign repertoire.

Dubrovnik - Trio Guitar is scheduled to perform on July 29. In addition, Azerbaijan’s unique musical and poetic phenomenon – Mugam – shall please the audience with its colorfulness.

“Moscow Virtuosi,” conducted by Paul Meyer and featuring foreign soloists will be held on July 30.

The closing ceremony on July 31 will see a solemn concert program by the “Moscow Virtuosi” conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky, while Andrey Gavrilov will present an amazing performance on the piano.

As a celebration of friendship and music, the Gabala festival seeks to promote Azerbaijani music traditions throughout the world. It also invigorates intercultural dialogue and creates favorable conditions for cooperation among musicians representing different countries.