Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra thrills Athens
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra named after Gara Garayev gave a concert at Megaro Mousikis Cultural Complex in Athens on June 6.
The concert, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Azerbaijan's Embassy in Greece, was attended by state and government officials of Greece, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Athens, local media and musicians.
Addressing the audience before the concert, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Greece Rahman Mustafayev called for expanding friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in various spheres.
Mustafayev said that many activities promoting Azerbaijani culture are being held in Greece, which has ancient and rich cultural traditions.
It was noted, this concert is the ninth one held over the last four years, and given the growing interest of the Greeks in the Azerbaijani culture and art, this kind of projects will be continued in a broader format.
"The first event of the "Musical Season of Azerbaijan" was held with an extensive information support," Rahman Mustafayev said. He added that the website www.azerbaijani-culture.gr aims to widely cover the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and its president, Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, as well as a series of events planned to be held in Greece.
Then a concert by Azerbaijani musicians conducted by Azerbaijan People's Artist Teymur Goychayev started.
The concert included works by world-renowned musicians such as Ástor Piazzolla, Pablo de Sarasate, Ernesto de Curtis along with works by famous Azerbaijani composers Uzeir Hajibeyli, Fikret Amirov, Gara Garayev, Jahangir Jahangirov, Niyazi and Vagif Mustafazadeh.
Singers Arzu Aliyeva, Maftun Safarli, as well as Aygun Zeynalova (soprano), Azer Rzayev (tenor), Murad Adygozalzadeh (fortepiano), Elvin Ganiyev (violin), Nijat Masimov (balaban), Elchin Shirinov (fortepiano), Shahriyar Imanov (tar) performed at the concert.
The concert was followed by an exhibition of publications by the foundation in recent years.
Among the publications, there are books on ancient and rich Azerbaijani culture. There are other books devoted to the Azerbaijan National Art Museum, music instruments, manuscripts and various types of folk applied art, and disks devoted to pop, jazz, mugham and classic music, as well as works by Nizami Ganjavi and Mahsati Ganjavi.
The event ended with a dinner-party held in honor of the guests.
Previous cultural events by the foundation in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Strasbourg, and Rome include exhibitions of works marking the 20th anniversary of restoration of national independence by Azerbaijan, marking the 870th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi.