"Silk Road" musical festival to kick off in Azerbaijan
By Nigar Orujova
The fifth International Musical Festival of "Silk Road" will kick off in Azerbaijan with a ballet based on a piece from the symphonic Mugham "Rast" by famous Azerbaijani composer Niyazi.
The event to be held in the northern city of Shaki on July 1-5 will pay some special attention not only to the countries of the "Great Silk Road", but also to the Turkic-speaking countries.
The Chairman of Azerbaijan Composers Union, Professor Firangiz Alizadeh said: "We annually organize the international music festival "Silk Road". This year we celebrate the anniversary of the festival, and so we want to hold it on a large scale."
"The festival program includes performances of the soloists of Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Istanbul ensemble "Modern folk Muzic", Indian group "Nrityarupa", Azerbaijan ensemble of ancient musical instruments, Baku Marionette Theatre, Chinese song and Dance Ensemble," she underlined.
Alizadeh expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijan Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Executive Authority of Shaki for their support in organizing the festival.
The advisor to the Culture and Tourism of the Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan Seyit Ahmet Arslan said that in previous years the representatives of Turkey participated in the festival.
"This year, Turkey will be present by famous ensemble "Modern folk Muzic". Hopefully, guests of the festival will like their performance," he said.
Head of Culture and Tourism Department of Shaki region Mirvari Zeynalova noted that festivals organized in previous years were held at a high level.
The program of the festival will also include a fashion show of national costumes of 11 Turkic-speaking countries and special musical performances organized by the International Organization of Turkic Culture TURKSOY.
Moreover, the festival will witness an exhibition of the artists from Turkic-speaking countries.
Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, Head of the Azerbaijan ensemble of ancient musical instruments Munis Sharifov stressed that the team is looking forward to perform in Shaki.
For the first time, the festival will be attended by guests from Northern Cyprus, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Art groups from India and China will give their theatrical performances of the national traditional arts for Shaki residents and guests of the festival. The performances will include dances, singing, playing on the national instruments, choral music, as well as exotic national costumes and ancient rites.
The final day of the festival will feature the gala concert of Russian Symphony Orchestra "Hermitage" from St. Petersburg.
As part of the festival, a concert of the winners and participants of Eurovision song contest is also expected, which will definitely bring new emotions, colors and rhythms to the cultural event.
Artists from seven countries will show on the canvases their observations of the festival.
Shaki has been one of the major cities along the Silk Road for centuries. The city boasts of its great silk factory that produced silk products for over four centuries.
The "Silk Road" Festival in Shaki is a joint project by Azerbaijan's Composers Union and the executive power of Shaki. It was also supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Foundation supporting the national heritage of Azerbaijan.