NEWS

Azerbaijan Culture Minister Anar Karimov has met with Azerbaijani artists living in Turkey.

Many political and art figures, including Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Khazar Ibrahim, Azerbaijan's Consul General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul Narmina Mustafayeva, a well-known conductor, teacher at Istanbul Conservatory, People's Artist, Ramiz Melikaslanov, famous drummer, People's Artist   Alikhan Samadov, talented artist, teacher at Istanbul Yeditepe University, Honored Art Worker Teymur Rzayev, director of Istanbul City Municipality Theater, Honored Art Worker Melahet Abbasova and others attended the event held at Turkan Saylan Cultural Center. 

In his remarks, Anar Karimov stressed that the close multilateral ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey also cover the cultural sphere.

The Minister pointed out that the holding of joint projects between the two countries, including cooperation in the field of cinema was on the agenda during his visit to Turkey.

This topic was discussed in detail with representatives of the Turkish film industry.

Furthermore, cultural figures exchanged views on the creative and pedagogical activities of Azerbaijani artists in Turkey.

The meeting discussed the work done to promote Azerbaijani culture and art, and future perspectives.

Anar Karimov also viewed the exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of People's Artist Mikayil Abdullayev and the premiere of the play "Someone is to blame" staged by the Mask-Kara Theater on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the playwright, writer and cultural figure Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev.

During his trips to India, Afghanistan, Hungary, Poland, Italy and other countries, Mikayil Abdullayev painted Bengali Girls, Rajasthani Women, An Old Afghan, as well as portraits of Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl, Renato Guttuso, Giacomo Manzù, etc.

He also painted Azerbaijan's eminent cultural figures like Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Samad Vurgun, Mirza Fatali Akhundov and Farhad Badalbeyli.

Abdullayev's paintings were exhibited in cities such as Paris, London, Berlin, Montreal, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Warsaw, Delhi, Cairo, Brussels. Abdullayev was also the designer of artistic panel in the Nizami Metro Station.

Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev is the author of many works like the epic tragedy in the Azerbaijani language "The Breaking of Unity" (1896),plays like "The Unlucky Young Man" (1900) and "Nymph Magic" (1901), historical tragedy " Shah Qajar" (1907), etc. 

He was also known as one of the first editors of "Molla Nasreddin" weekly magazine.

Beginning in 1906 Hagverdiyev wrote for the satirical magazine. In 1908, he directed Uzeyir Hajibeyov's opera "Leyli and Majnun". 

Between 1911and 1916 he lived in Agdam having dedicated himself mostly to writing fiction.

In the next two years he lived and worked in Tbilisi as a reporter for the local Russian-language newspaper.

Hagverdiyev also translated some Russian writers as Gogol and Ostrovsky as well as European writers Shakespeare, Molière, Schiller and others into the Azerbaijani language.

The Azerbaijan State Television and Radio Broadcasting CJSC (AZTV) and the Turkish Sivas Cumhuriyet University have signed a protocol on cooperation, which also envisages filming a documentary in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

Under the document, the experts of Sivas Cumhuriyet University will organize online trainings for students of the AZTV’s Teleradio Academy, journalists, as well as technical staff involved in the field of media in Azerbaijan.

The training scheduled for March 8-19, 2021, will be conducted by the Training Center of the Sivas Cumhuriyet University under the coordination of the university’s Journalism faculty.

The successful participants of the program will be awarded certificates.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture Anar Karimov has met with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as part of his official visit to the Republic of Turkey.

They hailed the brotherly relationship between the two countries, expressing confidence in its further development. They emphasized the importance of joint projects, noting that the reciprocal visits of delegations will give a new impetus to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation.

Opera singer, People's Artist Elchin Azizov will hold a master class in Moscow on March 6.

The event is open for students and graduates of specialized music educational institutions.

The master class will be held at music school founded by singer Emil Kadirov.

The music school gathers music experts who are passionate about their work.

Elchin Azizov has been a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater since 2008.

He has successfully performed in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta", Sergei  Prokofiev's "The Love for Three Oranges", Georges Bizet's "Carmen", Giuseppe Verdi's  "Don Carlos" and so on.

Azizov is the winner of the 2nd Prize of the International Opera Singers Contest of Galina Vishnevskaya (2008), and the 4th Prize of the International Opera Singers Contest of Bulbul in Baku (2005).

People's Artist Fakhraddin Karimov will take part in Kharkiv Music Festival of Classical Music.

The chief conductor of the Azerbaijan State Chamber Orchestra will joint the music festival to be held on April 7-24 in Kharkov, Ukraine.

On April 7, musicians from 10 countries, including Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Estonia, Georgia, Slovakia, Poland and Germany will gather in the Big Hall of the Kharkiv Philharmonic to perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Miroslav Skorik.

KharkivMusicFest is an annual classical music festival presenting famous Ukrainian and international artists in the second largest city of Ukraine.

The festival strives to create opportunities to discover classical music for broad audiences by combining Azerbaijan Chamber Orchestra high-quality concerts with other events including lectures, master classes, showcases, conferences, presentations, discussions, community gatherings, among others.

This makes it unique on the map of music festivals of Eastern Europe.

The French news portal Musulmansenfrance.fr has published an article by researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Doctor of the Practical School of Higher Studies (EPHE), specialist in the history of texts and contemporary ideologies Karim Ifrak headlined “Azerbaijan, from “land of fire” to “land of tolerance”.

The article provides an insight into Azerbaijan’s history, its multiethnic, multi-religious and multicultural values. “A multi-faith, multicultural and multi-ethnic country, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan has consistently praised, since its proclamation of independence in 1918, its centuries-old tradition of religious tolerance and social inclusiveness. That is why, firmly attached to these fine values, the present Republic of Azerbaijan is above all a space of tolerance, inclusiveness and pluralism,” the article says.

“Guarantor of sacrosanct religious tolerance, the Republic of Azerbaijan stimulates all types of actions aimed at developing the values of tolerance, inclusiveness and secularism. Also, with the support of the state, sometimes with that of President Ilham Aliyev in person, international events are regularly organized by Baku. A great opportunity to let the whole world know that the ancestral “land of fire” is above all an ancestral “land of tolerance”. This is particularly the case of the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, on the program every two years, recognized by resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO as a key global platform for the promotion of intercultural dialogue. The case also of the “Baku Process”; this unique event which brings together, with a view to strengthening intercultural dialogue, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and the member states of the Council of Europe. A long list of events to which you can add the World Summit of Religious Leaders, the Eurovision Song Contest or the World Forum of Open Societies,” the article mentions.

The article also hails the activity of the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism saying the Center whose mission is to preserve the cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the country makes Azerbaijan a showcase for multiculturalism internationally.

A delegation led by Azerbaijan`s Minister of Culture Anar Karimov has visited the Heydar Aliyev Park in Ankara.

He laid a wreath at a monument to the national leader in the park.

Rauf Hajiyev Music School  No. 15  will hold a virtual concert "Tragedy of the 20th century" on February 25.

The event is dedicated to the 29th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, a largest massacre in the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The concert will feature works by Azerbaijani and foreign composers.

The event will be streamed on YouTube at 12:00.

On the night of February 26, 1992, Armenian armed forces, directly supported by the 366th regiment of the former USSR, stationed at that time in the town of Khankendi in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan attacked, from five directions, the town of Khojaly.

Some 613 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the massacre, and 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.

TV series about Muslim Magomayev has been nominated for the 9th Prize of the Association of Film and Television Producers.

It will compete for the award in the category "Best Original Music for a TV Series". The award ceremony will take place on March 26. The list of contenders includes 26 projects in 21 nominations.

TV series tells about beautiful love story of Muslim Magomayev and opera singer Tamara Sinyavskaya. 

The main roles in TV series were played by Milosh Bikovich and Irina Antonenko. The film cast also included Ksenia Babkina, Svetlana Ustinova, Maria Shalayeva, Nikita Tarasov, Alena Ivchenko, Maxim Lagashkin and others.

The film was directed by Dmitry Tyurin and Roman Prigunov, script writers - Daria Vorotintseva and Nina Shulika. It was shot by the media companies Mediaslovo and Amedia Production.

Famous for his beautiful voice, Muslim Magomayev made great contribution to the Azerbaijani music. His creative activity occupies a special place in the country’s music history.

The idol of millions became famous around the USSR at the age of 19 after a stellar performance at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. He became known in Europe after a successful performance at the Youth Festival in Helsinki, Finland.

A very important stage in mastering his vocals skills even further was his training in the La Scala Opera Theater in Milan. Muslim's stay in Italy – a country of innumerable art treasures and the home of belcanto – in the 1960s was not only beneficial for his singing, but also affected his inner world.

At the age of 30, Magomayev was one of the youngest recipients of the highest artistic title, People's Artist of the USSR. He also received numerous awards for his contribution to opera and popular music in the Soviet Union.

The legendary singer also wrote songs, film soundtracks and music for theater performances. In addition, he played in films and acted as a host in television and radio broadcasts. He also loved to paint pictures, but called it his hobby.

In his later life, Magomayev struggled with a serious heart condition. In 1998, Magomayev officially ended his musical career and gave only a few performances together with his wife.

One of the greatest singers of the 20th century died of a heart failure in Moscow on October 25, 2008, and was laid to rest in Baku.

National chess players will compete at European Cup on March 27-31. 

Members of the Vugar Hashimov club, including Rauf Mammadov, Vugar Asadli, Aydin Suleymanli, Ahmad Ahmadzade, Ulvi Sadigov will take part in the virtual chess tournament. 

The captain of the team will be FIDE coach Anar Allahverdiyev.

It should be noted that the team that will take part in the continental cup will consist of 4 main and two reserve players. Their average rating should not be less than 2000.

The chess players will compete in the qualifying round on March 27-28 and in the playoffs on March 29. The finals will take place on March 30-31.

Chess for centuries has been a popular game in Azerbaijan with ancient roots closely related to traditions. The country could preserve these traditions as chess remains to be a crucially popular sport for now.

The first references to chess in Azerbaijan can be found in the works of the 12th century poets such as Khaqani and Nizami as well as in the works of one of the nation’s most respected literary personalities Fuzuli.

The 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku is an excellent example of the great attention paid to the development of chess games in the country.

Nearly 2,000 chess players from 175 countries took part in the tournament.

The national chess players have always been taking high places at top-ranked tournaments.

Shahriyar Mammadyarov is a three-fold European Team Champion (2009, 2013 and 2017) and gold medalist at the 2012 Chess Olympiad on the third board.

He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2003 and repeated his victory in 2005, becoming the only two-time champion, achieving a 2,953 performance rating after eight rounds. After winning the Essent Tournament in 2006, Shahriyar achieved world fame.

In June 2016, Mammadyarov won the 3rd Shamkir Chess Tournament, the Vugar Hashimov Memorial. He defeated Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri in the last two rounds, which put him in a tiebreak situation with Caruana. He defeated Caruana in the tiebreak, thus giving him tournament victory.

GM Eltaj Safarli won the Azerbaijan Championships in 2010 and 2016. Safarli played in the silver medal-winning Azerbaijani team at the European Team Chess Championship in Porto Carras in 2011 alongside Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Rajabov, Vugar Hashimov and Qadir Huseynov, previously winning a bronze medal in 2007 and gold in 2009.

Teymur Rajabov has earned the title of Grandmaster at the age of 14, making him the second-youngest grandmaster in history at the time. In 2003, Rajabov gained international attention after beating the world No. 1 Garry Kasparov in the Linares tournament, followed by victories over former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Ruslan Ponomariov all in the same year.

He also won the European Team Chess Championship with Azerbaijan in 2009, 2013 and 2017. His major individual achievements include joint first place at 2008 Elista Grand Prix, 2017 Geneva Grand Prix and 2019 FIDE World Cup.

Despite his short life, Vugar Hashimov had made a remarkable contribution to the chess history of Azerbaijan.

He played for Azerbaijan's national team in the Chess Olympiads in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008.

Hashimov won a bronze medal in the European Team Championship in 2007 and became the European Champion with the national team in 2009. He was the European vice-champion in the national team in 2011, and the winner of the Reggio Emilia tournament in 2010-2011.