Niyazi Zulfugar oghlu Taghizade Hajibeyov (; 20 August 1912 – 2 August 1984) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Azerbaijani conductor and composer.

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1959) and

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(1982).

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 ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

in a family of prominent

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

musicians. His father was the composer

Zulfugar Hajibeyov Zulfugar bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov (, 17 April 1884 – 30 September 1950) was an Azerbaijani composer and a member of a family noted for its musical talents. He was one of the founders of the Azerbaijan Music Comedy Theater ...

. He is the nephew of

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...

, the founder of the Azeri classical music. He played 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 Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, but dropped out due to health problems. He returned to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in 1931. Right after that, he was sent to

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

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 got married. They lived a very difficult yet fulfilling life. The great love of his wife gave him strength to produce most of his masterpieces, which contributed to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

's and the musical treasury of the rest of the world.

Works

Niyazi conducted many of the major symphony orchestras in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

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

, he splendidly synthesized the traditional Azeri folk songs and

mugham Mugham () or Mughamat () is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is an art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugham is a modal system. ...

with western classical symphonic music. Niyazi's most significant works include the opera "

Khosrow and Shirin ''Khosrow and Shirin'' () is a romantic Epic poetry, epic poem by the Persians, Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209). It is the second work of his set of five poems known collectively as Khamsa of Nizami, ''Khamsa''. It tells a highly el ...

" (1942), and the ballet "Chitra" (1960). His symphonic mugham "Rast" achieved worldwide popularity and was included in 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

(1959) and received the Stalin Prize (1951, 1952) and

(1982).

References

External links

Listen to Niyazi
Music Section of Azerbaijan International {{Authority control 1912 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani composers 20th-century male composers Musicians from Tbilisi Eleventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Baku Academy of Music alumni Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Heroes of Socialist Labour Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR People's Artists of Armenia People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Ballet conductors Music directors (opera) Azerbaijani ballet composers Azerbaijani classical composers Azerbaijani conductors (music) Azerbaijani film score composers Azerbaijani male composers Azerbaijani opera composers Soviet Azerbaijani people Soviet conductors (music) Soviet film score composers Soviet male classical composers Soviet opera composers Burials at Alley of Honor

Early life

Works

See also

References

External links