 |
Guseyn GadjibekovSoviet composer, musicologist, teacher, musical and public figure
Date of Birth: 17.09.1885
Country:  Azerbaijan |
Content:
- Biography of Uzeyir Hajibeyov
- Founding Modern Azerbaijani Music
- Protesting Patriarchal Feudal Customs
- Contributions to Music Education and Institutions
- Notable Works and Accolades
Biography of Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir Abdul Huseyn oglu Hajibeyov, a Soviet composer, musicologist, educator, and music activist, was the founder of modern professional music in Azerbaijan. He was born on September 5 (17), 1885, in the village of Agjabadi, near Shusha, and passed away on November 23, 1948, in Baku. Hajibeyov was a People's Artist of the USSR (1938) and an academician of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (1945). He became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1938.
Founding Modern Azerbaijani Music
Hajibeyov studied at the music courses of the Moscow Philharmonic Society and at the Petersburg Conservatory (1914). His first opera, "Leyli and Majnun" (1908), opened a new page in the history of Azerbaijani music. This work marked the beginning of the genre of mugham opera, combining written musical notation with solo vocal improvisation (mugham) based on the text provided by the composer. Hajibeyov went on to write five more mugham operas, including "Asli and Kerem" (1912), "Shah Abbas and Khurshid Banu" (1912), and others.
Protesting Patriarchal Feudal Customs
Hajibeyov's musical comedies, such as "Husband and Wife" (1909), "Not This One, That One" (1910), and the widely popular "Arshin Mal Alan" (composed in 1913; awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1946), served as protests against patriarchal feudal customs.
Contributions to Music Education and Institutions
After the October Revolution, Hajibeyov contributed to the development of musical education in the republic. He established a music school and served as a professor and director of the Azerbaijan Conservatory from 1938 to 1948 (renamed after him in 1949). In 1931, Hajibeyov organized an orchestra of folk instruments, followed by the State Choir in 1936. From 1945, he headed the Research Institute of Azerbaijani Art at the Azerbaijan SSR Academy of Sciences.
Notable Works and Accolades
Hajibeyov created the first mass songs in Azerbaijan, as well as chamber instrumental works, two fantasies for the orchestra of folk instruments, and cantatas. The pinnacle of his creative work was the opera "Koroglu" (1937; State Prize of the USSR in 1941), a heroic-epic piece about a peasant uprising in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. The opera is characterized by the unity of folk imagery and intonation system with classical expression techniques. Its musical dramaturgy is based on monumental choral scenes.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), the composer composed patriotic works, including songs, the cantata "Motherland and the Front," as well as romance-ghazals "Sen-siz" ("Without You") and "Sevgili Janan" ("Beloved") based on the poems of Nizami. He also completed his long-term research on folk modes. Hajibeyov was the author of the anthem of the Azerbaijan SSR (1945) and literary works.
He served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the 1st and 2nd convocations. Hajibeyov was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and various medals.
