Uzeyir Hajibeyov

Who is Uzeyir Hajibeyov?

Uzeyir Hajibeyov was a composer, conductor, and educator born in the town of Aghjabadi, widely regarded as the founder of professional Azerbaijani classical music. In 1908 he composed "Leyli and Majnun," based on the epic poem by Muhammad Fuzuli, which premiered at the Taghiyev Theatre in Baku and is recognized as the first opera of the Muslim East, blending the traditional Azerbaijani mugham musical improvisation with Western operatic form in a way that had never been attempted before. He went on to compose further operas and musical comedies, and founded key institutions of Azerbaijani musical life, including what became the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, shaping generations of the country's musicians. Hajibeyov also composed the melody of the national anthem originally adopted by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918-1920, which was restored as the national anthem of independent Azerbaijan after 1991. Through his synthesis of Eastern and Western musical traditions and his institution-building, Hajibeyov is remembered as the central figure in the creation of Azerbaijan's modern professional musical culture, and his birthday is marked as a national holiday, Music Day, in Azerbaijan.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Uzeyir Hajibeyov" · Hajibeyov, U., Leyli and Majnun opera program notes and history, hajibeyov.com archive · UNESCO, biographical materials on Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Azerbaijani musical heritage