Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The 9th Silk Way International Music Festival will take place in Sheki from June 27 to July 1.

A press conference ahead of the festival took place on June 25, Trend Life reported.

The art director and chief conductor of the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Teymur Goychayev, Chairman of Azerbaijan Union of Composers, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Firangiz Alizade, the director of the State Opera and Ballet Theater, Honored Art Worker Khafiz Guliyev, the conductor of the Model Military Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, Samed Vekilov, second secretary, diplomat for cultural and educational relations of the Hungarian embassy in Azerbaijan Mihai Gruber, director of the Baku Institute of Yunus Emre Cihan Ozdemir and honored art worker, musicologist Sureyya Agayeva attended the event.

Addressing the event, Firangiz Alizade stressed the extensive geography of Silk Way International Music Festival.

"Music collectives, soloists from 27 countries have already taken part in the festival, including representatives of the U.S., Turkey, Iran, Japan, China, South Korea and other countries," she said.

Emphasizing that all music programs within the festival are organized at a high level, Firangiz Alizade said that the hallmark of the festival in Sheki is the venue for concerts.

"Sheki is a unique place, traditionally the concerts of the festival are held against the backdrop of magnificent architectural monuments. This is an essential feature of Silk Way International Music Festival that distinguishes it from other festivals," she added.

The press conference participants spoke about the festival program, noting that on June 27, the Marhal Summer Theater will host an opening ceremony of the festival. The event will feature the performance of the Model Military Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.

The program of the festival includes a concert of Zirve ensemble the State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev, Sib-duo (Russia), Murager ensemble (Kazakhstan), Turkish ensemble, Hajnalka Hajdara-Herczeg & Tamas Hajdara dance duo accompanied by Magos ensemble (Hungary), mugham opera Asli and Kerem by Uzeir Hajibeyli, mugham concert featuring Elnur Zeynalov (khanende), Sanan Aliyev (tar), Anar Yusubov (kamancha).

The 9th Silk Way International Music Festival will close with the performance of the Azerbaijan State Orchestra of Folk Instruments together with the soloists of TURKSOY countries.

The 10th International symposium of the research group "Magam" of the International Council for Traditional Music of UNESCO will also be held within the framework of the festival.

Silk Way International Music Festival is organized by Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Azerbaijan Union of Composers and Sheki Executive Power.

Notably, a chamber concert and an exhibition of works by young artists were held in Azerbaijan Union of Composers as part of the festival on June 25.

For centuries Sheki, which is located along the route of the ancient Silk Road, was an important center of art and commerce.

Sheki is a unique place set in a picturesque mountain area rich in green valleys, springs, purest rivers, water falls and mineral water springs, dense woods and alpine meadows.

Rightly called the architectural reserve of the country, Sheki has its own theatre, a historical museum, caravanserais, mosques, minarets, bridges, the house-museum of the Azerbaijan writer and philosopher M.F.Ahundov.

Sheki is also a major center of crafts and has many shops, where, one can buy jewels and engravings by local craftsmen. The city still has street names that indicate the ancient professions – Duluzchular (potters), Zargarlar (jewelers), Halvachylar (confectioners), etc.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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