Baku Music Academy celebrates its centenary in Moscow

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku Music Academy (BMA), which has played an invaluable role in the development of the musical culture and education in Azerbaijan, has passed a glorious and significant historical path.

BMA was founded thanks to the efforts of the great Uzeyir Hajibayli on August 26, 1920 and became a school of skill for highly qualified personnel.

At the initial stage, prominent figures of Russian musical culture invited by Uzeyir Hajibayli made an important contribution to the education of national cadres and the development of Azerbaijan's performing school.

Nowadays, Baku Music is considered the leading higher music educational institution in Azerbaijan.

The Academy has a music school named after A. Bulbul, Music School-Studio,Opera Studio as well as two scientific laboratories.

Many talented  graduates of Baku Music Academy are successfully representing Azerbaijan at international area.

This year Baku Music Academy (BMA) turns 100 years. 

Baku Music Academy has celebrated its centenary at Moscow State Conservatory. 

The evening was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Embassy in the Russian Federation. The host for the evening was People's Artist of Russia Emmanuel Vitorgan.

Speaking at the event, rector of the Baku Music Academy, People's Artist Farhad Badalbeyli expressed his gratitude to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia for holding the event.

He pointed out that the concert gathered musicians like Polad Bulbuloglu, Murad Adigozalzadeh.

"Today, musicians with such surnames as Bulbul, Adigozalzadeh will appear on the stage. All these surnames are associated with Karabakh, Shusha. Now we are going to present you Azerbaijan's musical culture. The culture of Azerbaijan dates back thousands of years, but the professional classical school has come a long way in 100 years," said Badalbeyli.

Farhad Badalbeyli also spoke about the role of Russian composers and teachers in Azerbaijani classical music.

He recalled that Uzeyir Hajibayli studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory while Dmitry Shostakovich was the music teacher and mentor of Azerbaijan's outstanding composer Gara Garayev.

Badalbeyli pointed out that the celebration of BMA's centenary at the Moscow Conservatory is a major event both for Azerbaijan and Russia.  

Rector of the Moscow State Conservatory  Sokolov congratulated Baku Music Academy on its 100th anniversary.

"I want to congratulate my colleagues, my friend Farhad Badalbeyli. The round number 100 says a lot. These are already fundamental foundations for professional excellence and development," he said.

The rector of Moscow Conservatory emphasized that the celebration of BMA jubilee in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory is a continuation of a long and good tradition between the musical world of the two countries. 

Furthermore, People's Artists Farhad Badalbeyli Yalchin Adigozalov, Murad Adigozalzadeh, Samir Jafarov, Alim Gasimov, Murad Huseynov, Yegiana Akhundova, Honored Artists Fuad Ibrahimov, Ilham Nazarov, Elvin Ganiyev, Sahib Pashazade, Azer Zade, Farghana Gasimova, laureate of international competitions Seljan Nasibli, grandson of the great Bulbul Murtuz Bulbul and others.

The concert program included works by the classics of Azerbaijani music Uzeyir Hajibayli, Gara Garayev, Fikrat Amirov, Niyazi, as well as Western European and Russian composers performed by the Russian National Orchestra under the direction of Mikhail Pletnev.

The evening was opened by the great Uzeyir Hajibayli's overture from "Koroghlu".

The concert program ended with the finale of the oratorio "Karabakh Shikestesi" performed by Alim Gasimov and Farghana Gasimova under the baton of  Yalchin Adigozalov.