Afrasiyab Badal bey oghlu Badalbeyli ( az, Əfrasiyab Bədəl bəy oğlu Bədəlbəyli) (19 April 1907, in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

– 6 January 1976, in Baku) was a Soviet Azerbaijani composer, with noble Iranian origins (he was the descendant of Bahman Mirza and

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...

," conductor and music critic, author of the music and libretto of ''Giz Galasi'' ('' The Maiden Tower''), the first Azerbaijani ballet and the first ballet in the Middle East.

Life

Afrasiyab Badalbeyli was born to

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

natives Badal and Rahima Badalbeyli in 1907. At the time, the Badalbeylis were already becoming known as a family of great musicians. His father, Badal bey Badalbeyli was a

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific l ...

expert and a music teacher at a Russo-Tartar school in

; he also helped Uzeyir Hajibeyov, his cousin, to found the first musical theatre in Azerbaijan. Afrasiyab Badalbeyli's paternal uncle Ahmed Badalbeyli (Agdamski) was a renowned opera singer. Afrisiyab's brother

Shamsi Badalbeyli Shamsi Badal oghlu Badalbeyli ( az, Şəmsi Bədəl oğlu Bədəlbəyli) (23 February 1911, Shusha – 23 May 1987, Baku) was an Azerbaijani theatre director and actor. Life and career Shamsi Badalbeyli was born in Shusha to Badal Badalbeyli, a m ...

later became a

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

director. In 1930, Afrasiyab Badalbeyli graduated from the Azerbaijan State University majoring in

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...

The Musician Dynasties of Karabakh
by F.Aliyeva. ''Musiqi Dunyasi'' and continued his education at a music school affiliated with the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

, which he finished in 1938. He began working as a conductor at the

Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre The Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (Azeri: ''Axundov adına Azərbaycan Dövlət Akademik Opera və Balet Teatrı''), formerly known as the Mailov Theatre

in 1930.Living Voices of Azerbaijani History: Afrasiyab Badalbeyli
. ''Voices.musigi-dunya.az'' In 1931, he married ballerina Gamar Almaszadeh who accompanied him to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

while pursuing higher education at a professional ballet school herself. This marriage however ended in divorce leading to Badalbeyli's subsequent marriages.

Career

Badalbeyli's career in music began in 1928 when he composed music for

Jafar Jabbarly Jafar Gafar oglu Jabbarly, ( az, Cəfər Qafar oğlu Cabbarlı, 20 March 1899, Khizi – 31 December 1934, Baku) was an Azerbaijani playwright, poet, director and screenwriter. Life After his father's death in 1902, Jabbarli's mother moved to Bak ...

's staged play ''Od Galini''. He is particularly famous for being the author of the first Azerbaijani ballet, entitled ''Giz Galasi'' ('' The Maiden Tower''), which he composed in 1940. The ballet was dedicated to Gamar Almaszadeh.Azerbaijan's First Ballerina
by Nonna de Gubek. ''Baku Pages''. 1 July 2005 His later works included ''Khalg Gazabi'' ("The Popular Rage", 1941; co-author Boris Zeidman), ''Nizami'' (1948) and ''Soyudlar aghlamaz'' ("Willows Don't Cry", 1971). He wrote librettos for the Azerbaijani opera ''Bahadir va Sona'' and the ballets ''Giz Galasi'', ''Garaja Giz'' ("Nigella") and ''Gizil Achar'' ("The Golden Key"). He composed background music for theatrical plays and being the only libretto translator of the time did equirhythmic Azeri translations of the librettos of the operas by

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

Armen Tigranyan Armen Tigranyan ( hy, Արմեն Տիգրանյան; born 27 November 1985) is an Armenian former football midfielder. He was also a member of the Armenia national team, and has participated in 3 international matches since his debut in an away ...

and

Zakaria Paliashvili Zacharia Petres dze Paliashvili ( ka, ზაქარია ფალიაშვილი, ''Zakaria Paliaşvili''), also known as Zachary Petrovich Paliashvili (russian: Захарий Петрович Палиашви́ли, ''Zacharij Petrovi� ...

. Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s he published several books on the history and development of classical music in Azerbaijan, namely: ''Discussions on Music'', ''

Gurban Pirimov Gurban Bakhshali oglu Pirimov (Primov) ( az, Qurban Baxşəli oğlu Pirimov) (October 1880 in Abdal Gulabli near Shusha, Karabakh, Azerbaijan – 29 August 1965 in Baku, Azerbaijan) was an Azerbaijani folk musician and tar-player. Life and car ...

'', ''Musical Dictionary'', and ''The Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre''. In 1960, he was awarded the title of the

People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

. He remained a conductor at the Opera and Ballet Theatre till his death in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badalbeyli, Afrasiyab 1907 births 1976 deaths 20th-century composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians 20th-century musicologists Musicians from Baku People from Baku Governorate Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Azerbaijani composers Azerbaijani ballet composers Ballet librettists Azerbaijani conductors (music) Azerbaijani musicologists Azerbaijani music critics Soviet Azerbaijani people Soviet composers Soviet male composers Badalbeyli family Musicians of Iranian descent Azerbaijani people of Iranian descent Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR

Life

Career

See also

References