Arif Malikov (also Melikov;

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 ...

, 13 September 1933 – Baku, 9 May 2019) was an

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

composer. He graduated from the

Conservatory as a music

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

in 1958. He shot to fame in 1961 when his first major composition " Legend of Love" was staged at the

Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Kirov may refer to: *Sergei Kirov (1886–1934), Soviet Bolshevik leader in Leningrad after whom all other entries are named *Kirov (surname) Places Armenia *Amrakits or Kirov *Taperakan or Kirov Azerbaijan * Kirov, Baku * Kirov, Lankaran *Kirov, ...

in Leningrad (present day

St Petersburg 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 ...

) and received nationwide acclaim. The ballet has been staged in several countries in Europe and is regarded as one of the finest works emerging from the former Soviet Union. The ballet " Legend of Love", is based upon the legend of "

Farhad and Shirin Khosrow and Shirin ( fa, خسرو و شیرین) is the title of a famous tragic romance by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), who also wrote Layla and Majnun. It tells a highly elaborated fictional version of the story of the love ...

", a story of unrequited love that was immortalized by

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

poet Nazim Hikmet. Malikov went on to write music for two more ballets, including "Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet)" Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet) ("Dvoe" or "Two") (1967) and "Poem of Two Hearts" (1981), five symphonies & eight symphony poems. He also wrote scores for a large number of films and plays and was familiar with practically all genres of music composition. Malikov was conferred the highest award that an artist could get in the former Soviet Union — The

People's Artist of the USSR 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 significan ...

. He was also honoured with a concert hall named after him at Turkey's

Bilkent University Bilkent University ( tr, Bilkent Üniversitesi) is a private university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by Prof. İhsan Doğramacı in 1984, with the aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is constan ...

. He was an Honorary Doctor of

Khazar University Khazar University ( az, Xəzər Universiteti, which directly translates as Caspian University) is a private university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Campuses Khazar University owns four campuses in the city of Baku and two campuses in regions of ...

(2012), Baku. Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union (late 1991), Malikov settled in

, where he taught music in the

Azerbaijan State Conservatoire The Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music (Azeri: ''Hacıbəyov adına Bakı Musiqi Akademiyası'') is a music school in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in 1920 in Baku and was previously known as the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. H ...

. He was a founding member of Eurasian Academy. He died on 9 May 2019, at the age of 85.Умер народный артист СССР Ариф Меликов

References

External links

*

" by Arif Malikov with Aida Huseinova, in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 13:1 (Spring 2005), pp. 32–35. {{DEFAULTSORT:Malikov, Arif 1933 births 2019 deaths Recipients of the Istiglal Order Azerbaijani composers Musicians from Baku People's Artists of Azerbaijan People's Artists of the USSR Soviet composers Soviet male composers Soviet Azerbaijani people Baku Academy of Music alumni Recipients of the Heydar Aliyev Order Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR