The Azerbaijan State Orchestra of Folk Instruments ( az, Azərbaycan Dövlət Xalq çalğı alətləri orkestri) is the first notable orchestra of folk instruments in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, affiliated with the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society. It was created in 1931, on the initiative of

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Üzeyir bəy Əbdülhüseyn oğlu Hacıbəyov; russian: Узеир Абдул-Гусейн оглы Гаджибеков, translit=Uzeir Abdul-Guseyn ogly Gadzhibekov; September 18, 1885November 23, 19 ...

, founder of professional

Azerbaijani music Azerbaijani music ( Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of the Azerbaijani people from Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.Энциклоп� ...

, according to principles of the

Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

. The Orchestra of Folk Instruments of Azerbaijan is the first orchestra of folk instruments of such kind in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. It was of great importance in the development of national musical culture of Azerbaijan. Initially the orchestra consisted of only five instruments:

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

kamancha The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

, balaban,

daf Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...

and

naghara The ''nagara'' or ''naghara'' is a drum used in the Middle East. There are several types of naghara, which is considered to be the lead instrument in folk ceremonies and weddings. The naghara differs in size and goes by various names such as ...

. Afterwards, gosha-naghara,

zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...

, tutak,

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

and others were also included in it as well. The orchestra is a permanent participant of many ceremonies on the state level. It successfully tours throughout the world and has performed in many prestigious international festivals. In 2004 and 2005, the orchestra was awarded the Gizil Chang premium of the 19th and 20th Fajr Festival of International Music held in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Conductors of the orchestra

*Hovhannes Ioahannesian (1931–1938) *

Said Rustamov Said Rustamov ( az, Səid Rüstəmov), born Mir-Jabbar Ali oglu Seyid-Rustamzadeh (12 May 1907 in Erivan – 10 June 1983 in Baku), was a Soviet Azerbaijani composer and conductor. Life and contributions Said Rustamov was born in Yerevan where ...

(1935–1975) *Aghaverdi Pashayev, Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan, is the artistic manager and chief conductor of the orchestra.

References

{{Authority control Azerbaijani orchestras Musical groups established in 1931 1931 establishments in the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic