NEWS

Baku Music Academy (BMA) has hosted a scientific-creative conference within Jazzery Voices project.

Rector of the Baku Music Academy, People's Artist Farhad Badalbeyli greeted the conference participants, Azertag reported.

The musicologist Natavan Huseynova (the Netherlands) and jazz musician Irina Ebralidze (Georgia) joined the meeting virtually. 

Badalbeyli  praised the Jazzery Voices project, noting the latest achievements of acclaimed jazz musicians Emin Afrasiyab, Isfar Sarabski, Etibar Asadli and others. 

Irina Ebralidze discussed some aspects of  the jazz vocal studies, while  Natavan Huseynova provided insight into the Azerbaijani jazz in the first half of the twentieth century. 

Next, professor of the Baku Music Academy Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Lala Rzayeva made a report on "Jazz Pianism", while Doctor of Philosophy in Art History Aybaniz Novrasli discussed Azerbaijan ethno-jazz trends.

Musicologist, publicist, actress Fariza Babayeva made report on the issues of Azerbaijani jazz art, postgraduate of the Baku Music Academy Jamila Amirova spoke about modern Azerbaijani jazz pianists, Doctor of Philosophy in Art History, jazz researcher Turan Mammadliyeva touched upon some issues of jazz management in Azerbaijan.

The conference was followed by the performance of  laureate of international jazz festivals Elbay Mammadzade. The musician performed a music piece "Illustration".

Notably, Jazzery Voices project features concerts of professional and young jazz musicians, conference, research seminar, master classes and much more. 

Initiated by the Culture Ministry, the large-scale project is timed to the 100th centenary of the Baku Music Academy.

For many years, BMA has successfully promoted Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage. Since its establishment, Baku Music Academy has trained many generations of world-famous musicians.

With a rich history spanning 100 years, Baku Music Academy offers a high-quality education for many young talents.

Since 1991, eminent pianist and composer Farhad Badalbeyli  has been the rector of the Baku Music Academy.

The Academy also holds a number of concerts with participation of world-famous musicians.

Meanwhile, the final concert "Jazz says Victory" will be held at the International Mugham Center on November 6.

Georgian musician has given a master class on jazz for Azerbaijani students.

Lecturer at Pop-jazz Faculty of Tbilisi State University Irina Ebralidze shared her knowledge and jazz music secrets with young talents who study at Baku Music Academy (BMA), National Conservatory, the State University of Culture and Arts and Sumgayit Music College.

The master class was held virtually as part of the Jazzery Voices project. 

Initiated by the Culture Ministry, the project includes concerts of professional and young jazz musicians, an international scientific-creative conference on "Issues related to jazz art in Azerbaijan", a master class on jazz vocal performance and a research seminar.

The Jazzery Voices project will end on November 6 at the International Mugham Center with a gala concert titled "Jazz says Victory". 

At the online meeting, associate professor of the BMA's Theory Department of BMA, Doctor of Philosophy in Art Criticism Turan Mamedaliyeva spoke about Jazzery Voices, which is aimed at discovering talented youth and creative growth.

Irina Ebralidze praised the talents of the Azerbaijani students and pointed out the skills that still need to be worked on.

The master class was accompanied by the laureate of international jazz festivals Afgan Rasul. The event aroused great interest among students.

A meeting of the Second Election Group chaired by Azerbaijan has held at the UNESCO headquarters.

The meeting, chaired by Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador Elman Abdullayev, was attended by the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Gabriela Ramos and many others, Azertag reported.

After the approval of the agenda, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to UNESCO Alexander Kuznetsov made a statement on the results of the 212th session of the Executive Council as Vice-President of the Second Election Group of the UNESCO Executive Council.

Next, Gabriela Ramos briefed on the activities of the sector led by UNESCO during the General Conference and the activities to be carried out within the General Conference.

She expressed hope that UNESCO's recommendations on the ethics of artificial intelligence would be adopted at the forthcoming General Conference, and called on countries to vote for the adoption of these recommendations.

Touching upon intercultural dialogue, Gabriela Ramos thanked Azerbaijan for the Baku Process and spoke about the country's support for UNESCO in the field of intercultural dialogue.

The meeting continued with speeches and exchange of views by representatives of member countries.

The sides agreed that Bulgaria will be the next chairman of the Second Election Group from January, 2022.

Azerbaijan and UNESCO have been enjoying successful cooperation since 1992.

In 2003, the parties signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education, and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

Many Azerbaijani cultural sites have been included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower, and Shirvanshah's palace were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, while since 2007 the Gobustan National Historical-Artistic reserve was also listed among these heritages.

Shaki, an important city at the crossroads of the historic Silk Roads was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Baku.

In 2017, UNESCO recognized Azerbaijan's dolma as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Art of crafting and playing with kamancha, presented jointly by Azerbaijan and Iran, was also inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Moreover, the Pomegranate Festival, Art of miniature were inscribed in UNESCO Representative List in December 2020.

UNESCO also successfully celebrated the 600th anniversary of the death of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi and the 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan.

The 4.4 Festival of Short Performances has opened at the State Academic Musical Theater. 

The festival is being held for the first time and is co-organized by the Culture Ministry and Teatro.az with the support of the State Academic Musical Theater and the International Union of Theater Critics.

The first day of the festival brought together well-known theater actors, directors and playwrights.

The main goal of the festival is to increase the number of dramatic performances reflecting the courage and heroism of the Azerbaijani soldiers.

It also focuses on reviving the work theaters which were previously suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The five-day festival features theatrical productions, workshops and panel discussions.

The festival's theatrical performances cover the military theme.

The duration of each production is 15 minutes. The winners will be awarded with a cash prize.

A minute of silence was observed at the festival's opening ceremony. The attendees paid tribute to the Azerbaijani martyrs, who fought heroically for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Next, the festival`s director, theater critic Elchin Jafarov introduced the festival's jury members Honored Art Workers  Israfil Israfilov (chairman), Aydin Talibzade, Ali Amirli, theater director Mehriban Alakparzade, People's Artist, famous theater and film actor Parviz Mammadrzayev.

Head of the Culture Ministry's Arts Department Farah Ajalova addressed the event. 

" When we received an offer to hold the festival, we were very pleased to support this initiative. The festival became the first theatrical project dedicated to the glorious victory in the 44-day Patriotic War. It is remarkable that many applications have been sent to the festival. This indicates that the festival's initiative has been accepted with enthusiasm and success," said Ajalova.

The project manager Vidadi Gafarov and art director Emin Aliyev said that the festival involves new theater performances that have not been shown anywhere before.

"Theater teams from Baku and the country's regions, including 1 state, 6 private and 5 independent theaters, are taking part in the festival which reveals new talents. A total of 22 theater performances will be presented as part of the festival," said Gafarov.

The ceremony was followed by the presentation of the theatrical performances.

The world-famous American Metropolitan Museum of Art has distorted the historical facts about the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi.

According to Report's American bureau, the museum's website notes that Nizami Ganjavi lived and worked in Ganja from 1141 to 1209. However, in the museum's exposition, the poet's name appears on the list of representatives of Persian literature. The museum displays the originals of many famous poems by Nizami, included in Khamsa (Five). The scoreboard containing information about these works also provides no mention that Nizami is an Azerbaijani.

In response to Report's inquiry, the Metropolitan Museum of Art said that changes to the information on works exhibited in the museum can only be made by a court decision.

It added that an official appeal is required from the relevant structures operating in the author's homeland to investigate the case.

Hopefully, the relevant authorities will send an official appeal to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art with a request to correct this mistake.

A documentary "Fulya" has been premiered in Azerbaijan.

The film tells about CNN-Turk TV military reporter Fulya Ozturk and cameraman Khalil Kahraman who have played a major role in conveying the truth about the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War to the world.

The Culture Minister Anar Karimov, military reporter Fulya Ozturk, public and cultural figures attended the film screening.

Speaking at the event, head of the Culture Ministry's Audiovisual Communication and Interactive Media Department Rufat Hasanov noted that the film "Fulya" was among the winners of "Great Retur" competition of short feature films.

Fulya Ozturk, in turn, spoke about the events that she had witnessed during the Patriotic War. 

Ozturk stressed that the creation of this film is very important in terms of covering the history of the Second Karabakh War, as well as informing the world community about the missile strikes of the Armenian armed forces against the civilian population in Ganja, Barda and other parts of Azerbaijan. 

The Turkish journalist told how she witnessed large-scale provocations of the Armenian Armed Forces, crimes committed against the Azerbaijani civilian population. 

The event continued with the film screening. 

The filming process started in June at CNN Turk's headquarters in Istanbul and continued in Ganja, Tartar, Barda, and Fuzuli.

The documentary was co-produced by Azerbaijanfilm Studio and Turkey's Dada Yapım company.

The filming team includes film directors Aykut Tashkin and Tahir Tahirovich, cameraman-Cengizhan Durmaz, producers- Ozcan Dada and Fariz Ahmadov.

The documentary has been shown in cinemas in Turkey since October 8.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population and Azerbaijan`s Independent and Inclusive Theater "OYUN" are working on a joint film.

The film "Old Suitcases" is based on real events, it tells about people in whose fate the war left a deep mark, Trend Life reported. 

The plot of the film connects the stories of the First and Second Karabakh Wars. The main storyline is the theme of women and war. 

People's Artists Mammadsafa Gasimov, Parvana Gurbanova, Honored artists Gulzar Gurbanova, Gizilgul Guliyeva, Shafag Aliyeva, Zemfira Abdulsamadova, Nasiba Eldarova, as well as Konul Gasimova, Rasmiya Nurmammadova, Zulfiya Gurbanova, Zumrud Gasimova, Ulviyya Aliyeva, Rada Nasibova, Turkay Jafarli, Ragim Rahimov, Elmira Huseynova, Sariya Mansurova, Aygun Fatullayeva, Oksana Rasulova, Zarina Gurbanova, Javanshir Maharramov, Namiq Aliyev, Vugar Hajiyev and actors of "OYUN" theaters.

 The filming process is taking place in Baku, Astara, Lankaran and Khizi.

The scriptwriter of the film is Sevda Sultanova, film director - Saida Akhvardiyeva, photographer- Shahmar Gahramanov, production designer - Afshan Asadova, composer - Honored Artist Vugar Jamalzade, producer - Tahir Aliyev, project manager Parvina Ismayilova.

The film will be presented to the audience by the end of this year.

Ganja City Children's Art School has presented a music number entitled "Nizami - 880".

First, the director of the school Ramail Atayev said that a series of events were held in the cultural institutions of the Ganja Regional Culture Department within the "Nizami Ganjavi Year", Azertag reported.

The music number prepared by Gunay Huseynli and Masud Karimov, included songs, romances and the poet's ghazals. 

Gulmira Hamzayeva, Adila Huseynova, Javahir Ismayilova, Zaur Dadashov delighted the audience with the music pieces of Uzeyir Hajibayli, Fikrat Amirov, etc. 

Art school students Aysu Abbasova and Murad Mammadli (tar) performed "Aisha's Dance" and "Waltz" from Gara Garayev's ballet "Seven Beauties".

The school's "Ganja Buds" dance ensemble (artistic director Khalig Aliyev) presented a beautiful dance, while actor of Ganja State Puppet Theater Mahammad Hajiyev appeared on the stage in the role of Nizami Ganjavi.

At the end, the head of the Ganja Regional Culture Department Vasif Jannatov thanked the school administration and teaching staff for holding the event.

Nizami's legacy is of great importance for Azerbaijani culture. The poet, who started his creative activity with lyrical poems - gasidas, gazals and rubais, has gained popularity all over the world. He dedicated his whole life to lyrical poems, and different philosophical problems.

The works of Nizami Ganjavi were translated into many languages. The rare manuscript copies of his works are kept and preserved like precious pearls in famous libraries, museums and literary foundations in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, Tashkent, Tabriz, Tehran, Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi, London, Paris and others.

In Khamsa (Quintet), the poet revealed the living pages of history. The attack of the Russians on Barda city, a fairy tale of the Russian Princess, the beautiful Shirin amazons, battles, described in various poems of Nizami - all this is historically and geographically related to medieval Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.

Nizami Ganjavi passed away in 1209 in his native city of Ganja. A grandiose tomb was raised over his grave.

Karabakh's Chalabi carpet woven within the framework of the Qarabağ ilmələrdə (Karabakh in patterns) project, which symbolizes Azerbaijan's victory in the forty-four-day war, is in Shusha.

This carpet was the first Karabakh carpet woven here after the liberation of Shusha.

The Karabakh carpet will be presented to the Shusha carpet museum, which can keep it as an exhibit in the future.

The Karabakh carpet will be demonstrated in Shusha ahead of the Victory Day.

The first loops on the carpet were made by Azerkhalcha employees who took part in the Karabakh war. While in Sumgayit, the mother of the martyred general, National Hero Polad Hashimov, also tied a loop on the carpet.

The carpet was made by the designers of Azerkhalcha and it reflects the ancient Azerbaijani patterns.

Azerbaijan’s acclaimed pianist, Honorary Artist Isfar Sarabski and his band gave a concert in Brussels, Belgium.

Co-organized by the House of Azerbaijan in Belgium and the Federation of Azerbaijanis in Belgium in partnership with the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan, the concert entitled "Victory" was dedicated to November 8 - Azerbaijan’s Victory Day.

Representatives of the European Commission, as well as members of local community and Azerbaijani diaspora attended the concert.

Isfar Sarabski was accompanied by Moscow-based musicians Sasha Mashin (drums) and Makar Novikov (bass).

The performances by musicians, that have once again highlighted Azerbaijan’s unprecedented victory in Karabakh, were greeted with rapturous applause from the audience.

The concert program also featured a photo exhibition dedicated to the Victory Day.