Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku Music Academy (BMA) has hosted a contest of romances dedicated to Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi.

The competition was timed to the 100th anniversary of the Baku Music Academy. The music contest brought together the 18-35 years-old composers.

After the jury voting, the first place went to Ilaha Israfilova (Ilaha Gismat).

Over the past year, the young composer has successfully presented her musical projects both in Azerbaijan and abroad.

In 2019, Ilaha Israfilova presented her ballet dedicated to Azerbaijani poet Imadaddin Nasimi in New York.

Her other work "Mystic" for Kannel and tar aroused great interest in Estonia.

The composer brilliantly synthesized Azerbaijani and Estonian traditional music styles. The work premiered two years ago. The music piece was successfully performed by Ibrahim Babayev (tar) and Kristi Mühlin (kannel).

Another music project was implemented with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture. The composer's music piece sounded in the pantomime staged by Esin Aslan.

The young composer has also composed the "Dede Korkut" ballet to mark Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. The work on the ballet lasted for five years. The libretto for the ballet in two acts and six scenes was written by Iltifat Hajikhanoghlu.

Some of her music pieces like Scherzo for tar and piano as well as her romance entered the gold fund of Azerbaijani television. Moreover, the composer has initiated the Jasus String Quartet and composed dozens of patriotic songs.

Meanwhile, Farid Fatullayev, Ulker Ashurbeyova and Sara Amirian, Nigar Suleymanova and Elvin Guliyev were also awarded with honorary diplomas.

A contest of romances was also held at the Azerbaijan Composers' Union. The competition was attended by professional composers and young talents.

In their remarks, the secretaries of the Azerbaijan Composers' Union, Honored Art workers Zemfira Gafarova, Jalal Abbasov and others stressed the importance of the poet's legacy and its influence on Azerbaijani composing art.

The winners included Dadash Dadashev, Lala Jafarova and Azer Dadashev. Kamala Alizadeh, Tahir Ibishov and Farid Fatullayev were awarded with the diplomas.

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