Niyazi Zulfugar oghlu Taghizade Hajibeyov ( az, Niyazi Zülfüqar bəy oğlu Hacıbəyov) (1912–1984) was a prominent
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
Azerbaijani conductor, and composer of the renowned symphonic
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 ...
"Rast".
Early life
Niyazi was born on August 20, 1912 in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
in a family of prominent
Shusha
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, image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg
, image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govha ...
musicians.
His father was the composer
Zulfugar Hajibeyov
Zulfugar Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Zülfüqar bəy Əbdülhüseyn bəy oğlu Hacıbəyov, 17 April 1884 – 30 September 1950) was an Azerbaijani composer and a member of a family noted for its musical talents. He was one o ...
. He is the nephew 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 ...
, the founder of the Azeri classical music. He was playing the violin in "Qırmızı Kadet" Turkish military orchestra in 1921. He studied at the Gnessin Music School in Moscow in 1925-1926.
In 1929-30 he studied at the Central Musical Technical School in Leningrad (now
Saint 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 ...
), but dropped out due to health problems. He returned to
Baku in 1931. Right after that he was sent to
Dagestan where he met his future wife Həchər khanum. Hecher Khanum's family would not approve of the marriage. So she and Niyazi decided to run away and secretly married. They lived a very difficult yet fulfilling life. The great love of his wife gave him strengths to produce most of his masterpieces, which contributed to
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 t ...
's and the musical treasury of the rest of the world.
Works
Niyazi conducted many of the major symphony orchestras in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
New York,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
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 ...
,
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Ulan-Bator and played an important role in making the Azeri classical music known to the world.
Niyazi was also a talented composer. Building upon the traditions 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 ...
, he splendidly synthesized the traditional Azeri folk songs and mugam with western classical symphonic music. Niyazi's most significant works include the opera "
Khosrow 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 ...
" (1942), and the ballet "Chitra" (1960).
His symphonic
mugam
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 ...
"Rast" achieved worldwide popularity and was included to the repertoire of many symphony orchestras around the world.
Niyazi was the conductor and music director of the Azerbaijan State Symphony orchestra for 46 years, from 1938 to his death. He died on August 2, 1984.
[
Niyazi was honored as the People's Artist of the USSR (1959) and received the ]USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1951, 1952) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1982).
See also
*List of People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR
This is a list of People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR (1931–1990); which after 1998, was renamed and rededicated as the People's Artist of Azerbaijan to reflect the new country leadership.
1930s
1931
* Gurban Pirimov (1880–1965), ...
* House-Museum of Niyazi
References
External links
Listen to Niyazi
Music Section of Azerbaijan International
{{Authority control
1912 births
1984 deaths
Azerbaijani composers
Soviet composers
Soviet male composers
Musicians from Tbilisi
People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR
People's Artists of Armenia
People's Artists of the USSR
Soviet Azerbaijani people
Baku Academy of Music alumni
20th-century classical musicians
20th-century composers
20th-century male musicians
Azerbaijani conductors (music)
Ballet conductors
Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR