Uzeyir Hajibeyli was born in Azerbaijan on September 18, 1885, and grew up in the cultural capital of the ancient Azerbaijani Khanate of Karabakh — Shusha.
Major accomplishments include:
- establishing a unique tonality of the Azerbaijani classical music by combining Eastern and Western musical traditions
- linking the language of the Azerbaijani mugham (intricate art form that ties poetry and music in distinct modes) with Western forms and genres
- writing the first opera in the Islamic world in 1908 and the first operetta in 1910
- founding the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire (now the Baku Academy of Music) in 1920
- establishing the Orchestra of Azerbaijani Folk Instruments in 1931
- publishing the first Azerbaijani music theory book (The Principles of Azerbaijani Folk Music) in 1945 and many others
Surely, most of all, as the American music historian, composer, pianist Robert Greenberg puts it: “what is of greatest importance is his music, which is a delight. It is tonal, infused with energy and a folk sensibility but extremely refined and well written.”
“Contending Urbanization Through Satire: Late Imperial Baku as Seen in Uzeyir Hajibeyov’s If Not That One, Then This One In 1806, the city of Baku was a sleepy port town of about 3,000-5,000 Turkic and Persian Muslims, governed by a local Khan who swore fealty to the Qajar state. Compared to the cities of Shamakha to the north and Shusha to the west…” Read more