The upcoming VI International Mugham Festival "World of Mugham" will take place from June 18 to 25.
The winners of the National Mugham Competition, which took place from April 24 to 27, will represent our country at the festival organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Education and the Azerbaijan National Conservatory. International performers can register until May 20 to take part in the festival.
As part of the festival, a series of concerts will be organized in Baku, Aghjabadi, and Shusha.
The music festival kicks off on June 18 with performances by People's Artist Alim Gasimov at the Heydar Aliyev Palace, People's Artist Anvar Sadigov, and Honored Artist Emil Afrasiyab at the National Conservatory.
The festival will carry on its journey on June 19 with concerts taking place at the International Mugham Center, National Conservatory, and Stone Chronicle Museum with the concerts of Honored artist Elchin Shirinov and several mugham performers from Azerbaijan, Daud Khan Sadozai from Afghanistan, and Mahan Mirarab from Iran.
As part of the "World of Mugham" festival, the next performances will take place on June 20 at the Chamber and Organ Music Hall, the International Mugham Center, and the National Conservatory. Renowned Azerbaijani artist Sakina Ismayilova, winner of international competitions Etibar Asadli, Indian musicians Vasumathi Badrinathan and Jyotsna Srikanth, and Kankou Kouyate from Mali will perform in these venues.
On the following day of the festival, June 21, there will be performances by the Cadenza Orchestra of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, pianist Tural Rafael, Majadi Nahhas from Jordan, Ilyos Arabov from Uzbekistan, and Sardor Soliyev from Tajikistan.
On June 22, Mustafa Said and the "Asil" ensemble from Egypt will perform at the International Mugham Center, Firudin Hamidov from Azerbaijan, Varijashree Venugopal, Jyotsna Srikanth from India will perform at the National Conservatory, and the "En Chordais" ensemble from Greece will perform at the Chamber and Organ Music Hall.
On June 24, the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli will perform at the Heydar Aliyev Center, while People's Artist Teyyub Aslanov and pianist Nijat Aslanov will enchant the audience with their concerts at the National Conservatory.
Tickets for the upcoming concerts in Baku will be available for purchase soon at the iTicket.az website and ticket offices.
As part of the festival, a concert featuring mugham performers will take place in Aghjabadi. Shusha, our cultural capital, will host mugham and poetry performances in various locations. An international symposium will be held during the festival, featuring instrumental mughams in the Old City. There will be a mugham marathon where 24 groups will take turns performing non-stop in the same location for 24 hours and an open-air "Mugham hour" will be arranged.
On June 25, the final day of the festival, the "World of Mugham" will conclude with a closing ceremony at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic Hall, named after Muslim Magomayev. Following the awarding of the winners of the International Mugham Competition held during the festival, a concert will be presented. The international jury, consisting of members from Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Turkey, will select the winners for both singing and instrumental performances.
In recent years, significant efforts have been undertaken to safeguard and promote mugham in Azerbaijan. Thanks to the support of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, towards our national culture and the dedicated initiatives in this field, Azerbaijani mughams were included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
It is worth mentioning that since 2009, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, led by Mehriban Aliyeva, has taken the initiative to organize national mugham competitions and international mugham festivals. These endeavors serve the purpose of showcasing and preserving mugham, which holds a special place as our national treasure, within the global cultural landscape.
