DOCSLIB.ORG

Freestyle in Azerbaijan | Norient.Com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Freestyle in Azerbaijan | Norient.Com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30 Freestyle in Azerbaijan | norient.com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30 Freestyle in Azerbaijan by Gerald Roche Since the collapse of the Soviet regime in Azerbaijan, pop music there has taken on a number of new forms. Traditional styles have been reworked and reinvented as consumer pop styles, and Western pop styles such as hip hop have been taken up enthusiastically by local musicians. These local and global styles have converged in unexpected ways. Azerbaijan sits nestled on the shores of the Caspian sea, at the crossroads of Europe and Southwest Asia. One of several Caucasus states precipitated out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is still, like its neighbours, dealing with the fallout from the redrawing of borders. Of great significance for the country is the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region; formerly part of Azerbaijan under the Soviets, but occupied by Armenia since 1991. The war, at a cease-fire since 1994, has lead to a massive internal refugee problem (almost one in eight people in Azerbaijan is a refugee), plus continued border tension after the three-year-long conflict which claimed tens of thousands of lives. Pop music, however, has never been known to be kept down by war, famine, drought or any other sort of disaster (in fact disaster can and does promote pop music – think of the musical outpouring that followed the tsunami, not https://norient.com/index.php/stories/azerbaijan Page 1 of 4 Freestyle in Azerbaijan | norient.com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30 just the concerts here, but also, for instance, in India). Azeri pop music is no exception. After Azerbaijan emerged from the Soviet juggernaut in 1991, two things relevant to pop music happened simultaneously. First of all, the country opened up to external musics – from the West, and from surrounding countries such as Turkey and Iran. Secondly, Azeri traditional music re- emerged as a popular form. Most notable amongst the re-emerged traditional forms is the mugham. Alim Qasimov, Azerbaijan’s most famous and beloved mugham performers, described the Soviet repression of the style: «Mugham was performed just to show that we Azerbaijanis had this relic in our history.» This situation of manipulation and control of folk music styles was found right across the Soviet Union: wherein music was made to capitulate and serve as evidence in arguments about social evolution and national identity. A significant feature of the style which was pruned during the Soviet era was the length of mugham pieces. Traditionally, mugham was a vocal-focused style which sought to bring out the musical qualities of written poetry. The subject matter was normally romantic love, odes to a distant lover, tales of broken hearts, etc. But this secular material, drawn out at length and given the full passion and force of a virtuoso mugham singer, often took on a sacred bent. Alim Qasimov has even speculated that the mugham was linked to Sufi philosophies and practices. By shortening the length of the mugham, the Soviets reduced the likelihood of the music being used as a tool to induce trance, thereby robbing it of all religious significance, and turning mugham into a simplistic marker of national identity, switching it from a religious tool to a political one. Now, however, moves are being made to shorten the mugham once again, but for very different reasons. The project «Industrial Mugham», completed in 2000, sought to combine the vocal repertoire of mugham with the backing and aesthetic of Western house music. Two singers, sisters Gulyaz and Gulyang Mammadova, teamed up with producer Vahid Mustafayev and keyboardist / composer Aytan Ismikhanova, to produce an album of modified mugham songs. The frame over which the mughams were stretched was rigid, each song had to keep to a strict 130beats per minute («standard» house beat), and needed to last between seven and nine minutes. The formula proved successful with live audiences, but the severely shortened compositions proved not short enough for radio gate-keepers, and Industrial Mugham struggled to receive airplay. One act which did not have trouble receiving airplay at the same time was the Azeri hip hop act Dayirman. Dayirman («The Mill» in Azeri) have now been active for eight years, in which they have produced four albums. Currently, the four-piece is working on their fifth studio release. To date they have been https://norient.com/index.php/stories/azerbaijan Page 2 of 4 Freestyle in Azerbaijan | norient.com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30 extremely successful, regularly rating in the local top 40, and touring throughout the country. In summer they play to huge crowds at massive parties on Azerbaijan’s beaches. They can also be found regularly doing the rounds of Baku’s (Azerbaijan’s capital) hip hop clubs. The band is also well known in Turkey and Poland. Their success has extended beyond the regular arena of pop-stardom, as well. Lyrics from Dayirman songs have even been included in the national school curriculum. Despite all this success, Dayirman have not been able to achieve financial independence with their music. All of the members still must work to support themselves and their families. This is a fate shared by many pop stars not plugged into the massive distribution networks of western record labels, or who choose to sing outside the global pop lingua franca of English. Language, indeed, is a core issue for the group. Under the Soviets, media, education and all public affairs were conducted in Russian; all members of The Mill grew up in a Russian speaking environment. As a mark of patriotism and cultural pride, the group rap in the Azeri language. In fact it could be argued that patriotism and cultural pride have played a large part in the band’s success. Malik from Dayirman certainly locates patriotism as an important theme in the work of the band: «The main principle of the group is to touch upon current problems. And patriotism is always a current issue. It is very important for us to sing on patriotic theme because our audience is youth and most of them learn a lesson from us.» One example of the manifestation of patriotism in Dayirman’s work was a concert they played for troops along the Armenian front, where they were told by an Azeri soldier that «most likely their snipers are looking at you right now.» The band’s lyrics also reflect patriotic themes. On their album Azermik, the song For The New Generation directly addressed Azeri youth with a challenge to struggle for the betterment of their country. Despite being written five years ago, the situation that For The New Generation addresses remains similar, according to Malik: «We can’t say that youth don’t have problems now. We are still struggling. The most favorable thing the youth can do for their Motherland and its future is to study and gain knowledge.» The irony of Dayirman’s situation is that, whilst being a strongly patriotic group with obvious pride in Azeri culture, they are expressing their ideas in what is essentially a Western musical style. When I asked Malik about the links between Dayirman’s style and Meykhana (a form of traditional Azeri vocal music) I was told, «our music is totally based on hip hop.» Of course, in the current era of globalisation, it should not be surprising to hear a musical group proclaiming local pride in what is essentially a global style. The final twist in Dayirman’s route through the global soundscape is that, in a way, their take on hip hop may actually capture some of the essence of that most ‘local’ Azeri style, the mugham. Alim Qasimov has said that https://norient.com/index.php/stories/azerbaijan Page 3 of 4 Freestyle in Azerbaijan | norient.com 4 Oct 2021 21:48:30 improvisation is the heart of the mugham. It is the singer’s ability to respond directly to his surroundings and provide an immediately relevant melodic interpretation of a text that gives the mugham its affective power. In a similar way, hip hop music is heavily reliant on freestyling (the spontaneous invention of lyrics). The mugham freestyles melody, the hip hop MC improvises lyrics. For the MC, being able to freestyle demonstrates that they have ‘flow’, that they are able to live in the moment, and express this lyrically. Alim Gasimov, in a similar vein, has said that improvisation means choosing a way of life, a way of living in mugham. It seems that, whilst strictly adhering to an imported, global style, through its local content and strange convergence with the spirit of mugham, Dayirman is providing an authentic bridge between Azeri and global pop music. → Published on October 31, 2007 → Last updated on October 16, 2020 Gerald Roche currently lives and works in China, where he teaches English to ethnic minority students. His research interests include collaborative ethnography and the dynamics of cultural variation on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding highland areas. He has co-authored two books and half a dozen papers on various vernacular traditions of the region, and is also co-editor of the journal Asian Highlands Perspectives. → Topics Place Religion Spirituality Tradition All Topics https://norient.com/index.php/stories/azerbaijan Page 4 of 4.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Alim Qasimov: Una Introducción
    ALIM QASIMOV: UNA INTRODUCCIÓN Alim Qasimov, vocalista de Azerbaiyán que es uno de los artistas más consagrados musulmanes, nació en 1957. Es el más destacado cantante del ‘mugham’, una forma de música clásica muy apreciada en el Alim Qasimov con Yo Yo Ma mundo islámico. Aunque su público principal es el musulmán (ha sido declarado ‘Tesoro viviente de Azerbaiyán, por ejemplo), Alim ha ganado enorme prestigio en el Occidente gracias a su colaboración con el chelista Yo Yo Ma y con Kronos Quartet, cuyo director David Harrington lo considera como uno de los cinco vocalistas más importantes de todos los tiempos. Alim Qasimov con Kronos Quartet El mugham, establecido hace unos mil años, es una forma musical de gran complejidad que entreteje la poesía clásica y la improvisación musical en modos específicos locales. Una suite Discos Corasón, S.A _______________________________________________________________________________________ Altamira 832, Colonia Miravalle, 03580 México, D.F. Tel. (52) 55 32 42 88 (52) 55 39 31 46 E-mail: [email protected] www.corason.com de mugham consiste en una secuencia ya establecida de piezas que llevan a los escuchas en un viaje de extremos emocionales: algunos momentos de intensa tensión dramática entretejidos con otros de descanso e introversión. Alim Qasimov demuestra una intensa sensibilidad y una energía artística explosiva dentro de una tradición que permite la improvisación al lado de una estructura clásica muy bien definida. “Para hacer música, hace falta que se encienda pasión adentro de uno,” explica Alim, “o existe esta pasión o no existe. Yo creo que si los jóvenes tienen esta chispa – llámala inspiración o llámala ardor espiritual, podrán interpretar cualquier estilo de música.
    [Show full text]
  • Layla and Majnun MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP
    03-22 Mark Morris.qxp_2-1 KC ABT 3/14/18 9:49 AM Page 1 The John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts DAvID M. RUBENSTEIN , Chairman DEBORAH F. RUTTER , President opera house Thursday, March 22–Saturday, March 24, 2018 The John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts presents Layla and Majnun MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP MICa BerNas saM BLaCK DureLL r. CoMeDY rITa DoNahue DoMINGo esTraDa, Jr. LesLeY GarrIsoN LaureN GraNT sarah haarMaNN BrIaN LaWsoN aaroN LouX LaureL LYNCh DaLLas McMurraY BraNDoN raNDoLph NICoLe saBeLLa ChrIsTINa sahaIDa* BILLY sMITh Noah VINsoN *apprentice Artistic Director MarK MorrIs Executive Director NaNCY uMaNoFF with THE SILKROAD ENSEMBLE shaWN CoNLeY Joseph GraMLeY MarIo GoToh rauF IsLaMoV XIaoFaN LIu MIraLaM MIraLaMoV KaMILa NaBIYeVa KareN ouZouNIaN KoJIro uMeZaKI ZaKI VaLIYeV GeorGY VaLTCheV JIN YaNG featuring aLIM QasIMoV FarGaNa QasIMoVa The presentation of Layla and Majnun was made possible by the New england Foundation for the arts’s National Dance project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Patrons are requested to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices during performances. The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in this auditorium. 03-22 Mark Morris.qxp_2-1 KC ABT 3/14/18 9:49 AM Page 2 THE PROGRAM Thursday Evening, March 22, 2018, at 7:30 Friday Evening, March 23, 2018, at 7:30 Saturday Afternoon, March 24, 2018, at 1:30 Saturday Evening, March 24, 2018, at 7:30 MEDLEY OF AZERBAIJANI MUSIC: BAYATI SHIRAZ see note on next page Kamila Nabiyeva, mugham vocals Miralam Miralamov, mugham vocals rauf Islamov, kamancheh Zaki Valiyev, tar LAYLA AND MAJNUN Music by uzeyir hajibeyli (1885–1948), arranged by alim Qasimov, Johnny Gandelsman, and Colin Jacobsen Sung in Azerbaijani with English supertitles Choreography and Direction by Mark Morris Scenic and Costume Design by howard hodgkin Lighting Design by James F.
    [Show full text]
  • Media and Publications
    Aga Khan Trust for Culture Media and Publications 2009 – Index – Aga Khan Trust for Culture 3 Aga Khan Award for Architecture 9 Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme 33 Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia 41 Museums and Exhibitions 47 Aga Khan Trust for Culture he Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the cultural agency of the T Aga Khan Development Network, shares knowledge and encourages debate about the built environment with emphasis on Muslim societies; proposes exemplars and solutions for contemporary design problems; engages in the revitalisation of local communities with regards to both their social and physical environment; creates and rehabilitates green spaces in urban centres; and, through education and cultural initiatives in the realm of music and the arts, works to properly position the cultures of the Muslim world as an integral part of global cultural heritage. For three decades, AKTC has shared its knowledge and experience through publications presented in this booklet. 3 Mimar Architecture in Development Edited by Hasan-Uddin Khan Published by Concept Media (1981-1992) out of print Mimar was first published in 1981 and had a print run of 43 issues. At the time of Mimar’s inception, it was the only international architecture magazine focusing on architecture in the developing world and related issues of concern. It aimed at exchanging ideas and images between countries which are developing new directions for their built environment. available on www.archnet.org The Hassan Fathy Collection A Catalogue of Visual Documents of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture by James Steele Published by Aga Khan Trust for Culture (1989) out of print In 1985 the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy donated his entire archive to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture to make this collection available to the public for research purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Press Release for Immediate Release Classical Masters Of
    Press Release For Immediate Release Classical Masters of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan perform at London’s Wigmore Hall London, United Kingdom, 14 July 2016 - “Classical Masters of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan,” the second concert in a three-part series at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall entitled “The Other Classical Musics” was held today. The concert, which was co- produced by the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI), brought together Tajik stringed instrument virtuoso Sirojiddin Juraev with the legendary Azerbaijani singer Alim Qasimov, his daughter, vocalist Fargana Qasimova, and the Qasimov Ensemble, which accompanies the two vocalists on traditional Azerbaijani instruments. “The Other Classical Musics,” featuring music from different regions of the Muslim world, was launched in March 2016, and takes its title from the eponymous book, edited by British music critic Michael Church and published in 2015 by the Boydell Press with support from AKMI. Church’s edited volume comprises a survey of 15 “Great Traditions” of classical music from around the world, of which European classical music is only one. Others include the classical raga systems of North and South India; the Central Asian shashmaqom; Persian classical dastgah; and the classical maqām of the Arab world. Alim Qasimov is the world’s most renowned interpreter of mugham, the Azerbaijani “dialect” of a vast domain of sophisticated art song and instrumental music that evolved over at least a millenium in the Eastern Mediterranean, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, North Africa, and Central Asia. Sirojiddin Juraev, born and raised near the city of Khujand, in the Ferghana Valley of Northern Tajikistan, is a master performer of the same domain of art song and instrumental music, but in its Tajik and Uzbek “dialect,” known as maqom.
    [Show full text]
  • It's Been Nearly Twenty Years Since Yo-Yo Ma First Gathered Musicians
    SILKROAD ANNUAL REPORT 2018 – 2019 It’s been nearly twenty years since Yo-Yo Ma first focusing on the creation of new music and collective gathered musicians from many corners of the world art making over the course of seven tours, including to play together in the hills of Massachusetts. It the first international performances of Layla and was an experiment, inspired by a vision for a new Majnun and the premiere of Heroes Take Their artistic language to model the power of radical Stands, an evening-length, multimedia work in five cultural collaboration. parts — a cycle of stories that spans time, space, and human experience. Beyond the stage, we participated The evolution of that experiment continues today, in five residencies and continued our work at Lame with new and expanding urgency. Deer Junior/Senior High School culminating in a student art showcase created in collaboration with Our music began deeply rooted in the lands of the artist Ben Pease. historical Silk Road; today, it is an exploration of difference and collaboration that extends far Together, we aim to celebrate and embrace beyond that time and that place. It is, we hope, difference, paving the way for new artistry and an invitation to listen, to be curious, and to deepened connections, and embracing the roots that collaborate. link us all. These values — listening, curiosity, and Eduardo A Braniff Nicholas Cords collaboration — are essential to what we do on Executive Director Co-Artistic Director stage, in classrooms, and across residencies, and they are habits we believe are critical to living in a Shane Shanahan hopeful, inclusive, and democratic society.
    [Show full text]
  • Aga Khan Music Initiative 2016/17 Performance Programmes
    AGA KHAN MUSIC INITIATIVE 2016/17 PERFORMANCE PROGRAMMES AGA KHAN TRUST FOR CULTURE Music Initiative These performance programmes are curated and produced by the Aga Khan Music Initiative, an interregional music and arts education program with worldwide performance, outreach, mentoring, and artistic production activities. The Initiative supports artists and artistic communities in the Middle East and North Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia that seek to reassemble and further develop diverse expressions of a shared musical heritage in contemporary forms. Working with partners and collaborators around the world, its performance, outreach, and production activities offer a broad platform for contemporary, tradition-inspired music. In parallel, it develops new models for community-based arts education that revitalise cultural heritage as a source of livelihood for musicians while promoting pluralism. The Music Initiative is a programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The Trust, in turn, serves as the cultural development agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the world’s largest private development networks, and the only one that prioritises cultural development on a par with economic and social development in all of its projects and commitments. AGA KHAN MUSIC INITIATIVE SERIES AT WIGMORE HALL “THE OTHER CLASSICAL MUSICS” In the walled cities and wide steppe of the lands of the Silk Route, lineages of master musicians stretching back centuries honed virtuosic vocal and instrumental repertories rooted in local spiritual practices to create profound traditions of classical music. 10 MARCH Forcibly westernised and secularised during 7.30PM THURSDAY the twentieth century, these traditions are In the Footsteps of Babur: now being actively revitalised by a new Musical Encounters from generation of master performers.
    [Show full text]
  • Sadlers-Wells Mark-Morris Program V3.Pdf
    Welcome Photo: Cameron Slater Welcome to Sadler’s Wells and to these UK premiere filled singing is perfectly suited to the heart-breaking performances of Layla and Majnun by Mark Morris events we see unfold on stage. The result is truly Dance Group. exceptional and utterly breath-taking, and I am proud that Sadler’s Wells is a co-commissioner of the work. Based on the Azerbaijani opera of the same name composed by Uzeyir Hajibeyli at the beginning of the I hope you enjoy the show. 20th century, Layla and Majnun was born out of a collaboration involving Mark Morris, the late Howard Hodgkin and the Silkroad Ensemble. It is an incredibly moving interpretation of an ancient love story that was described by Byron as the “Romeo and Juliet of the East” – beautifully told through the dancers’ movements and the equally arresting music played and sung live by the award-winning musical collective Alistair Spalding CBE founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Artistic Director and Chief Executive Morris is an absolute master of translating the musicality of the piece into the physicality of the choreography, while the expressive and emotion- Front cover photo: Susana Millman Supporting Sadler’s Wells At Sadler’s Wells, we support the creation and presentation of contemporary dance from around the world, irrespective of genre, and always to the highest possible standards. None of this would be possible without donations from the public and the generosity of our members and private supporters. As a registered charity, we fundraise so that we can do more of: • presenting
    [Show full text]
  • Coke Studio Pakistan: an Ode to Eastern Music with a Western Touch
    ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Coke Studio Pakistan: An Ode to Eastern Music with a Western Touch SHAHWAR KIBRIA Shahwar Kibria ([email protected]) is a research scholar at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Vol. 55, Issue No. 12, 21 Mar, 2020 Since it was first aired in 2008, Coke Studio Pakistan has emerged as an unprecedented musical movement in South Asia. It has revitalised traditional and Eastern classical music of South Asia by incorporating contemporary Western music instrumentation and new-age production elements. Under the religious nationalism of military dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the production and dissemination of creative arts were curtailed in Pakistan between 1977 and 1988. Incidentally, the censure against artistic and creative practice also coincided with the transnational movement of qawwali art form as prominent qawwals began carrying it outside Pakistan. American audiences were first exposed to qawwali in 1978 when Gulam Farid Sabri and Maqbool Ahmed Sabri performed at New York’s iconic Carnegie Hall. The performance was referred to as the “aural equivalent of the dancing dervishes” in the New York Times (Rockwell 1979). However, it was not until Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s performance at the popular World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in 1985 in Colchester, England, following his collaboration with Peter Gabriel, that qawwali became evident in the global music cultures. Khan pioneered the fusion of Eastern vocals and Western instrumentation, and such a coming together of different musical elements was witnessed in several albums he worked for subsequently. Some of them include "Mustt Mustt" in 1990 ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 and "Night Song" in 1996 with Canadian musician Michael Brook, the music score for the film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and a soundtrack album for the film Dead Man Walking (1996) with Peter Gabriel, and a collaborative project with Eddie Vedder of the rock band Pearl Jam.
    [Show full text]
  • Statesmen and Public-Political Figures
    Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan P R E S I D E N T I A L L I B R A R Y CONTENTS STATESMEN, PUBLIC AND POLITICAL FIGURES ........................................................... 4 ALIYEV HEYDAR ..................................................................................................................... 4 ALIYEV ILHAM ........................................................................................................................ 6 MEHRIBAN ALIYEVA ............................................................................................................. 8 ALIYEV AZIZ ............................................................................................................................ 9 AKHUNDOV VALI ................................................................................................................. 10 ELCHIBEY ABULFAZ ............................................................................................................ 11 HUSEINGULU KHAN KADJAR ............................................................................................ 12 IBRAHIM-KHALIL KHAN ..................................................................................................... 13 KHOYSKI FATALI KHAN ..................................................................................................... 14 KHIABANI MOHAMMAD ..................................................................................................... 15 MEHDİYEV RAMİZ ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Piano Music of Azerbaijan: National and Cross- Cultural Influences on Contemporary Performance Practices
    City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Mirzayeva, G. (2020). The piano music of Azerbaijan: national and cross- cultural influences on contemporary performance practices. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, Guildhall School of Music and Drama) This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/25377/ Link to published version: Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Piano Music of Azerbaijan: National and Cross- Cultural Influences on Contemporary Performance Practices A thesis submitted to Guildhall School of Music & Drama for the degree of DMus in the Department of Research January 2020 Gunel Mirzayeva Table of Contents Table of Contents ii List of Figures and Maps vii Abstract ix Acknowledgments x Abbreviations and Notes on Transliteration
    [Show full text]
  • A Phoenix Rising
    October 9th 2013 Azerbaijan A phoenix rising While Azerbaijan’s pipeline diplomacy has transformed it into a key player in Europe’s quest for energy security, its government’s canny oil revenue reinvestment strategy has seen its economy diversify rapidly, opening up new opportunities for cooperation. Building on its close commercial ties with the UK, which accounts for over 51 percent of foreign investment, Azerbaijan hopes to expand the range of its partners, and sees the inaugural European Olympic Games in Baku as an opportunity to show the world what it has to offer. the-report.net/azerbaijan Tourism Oil and gas Opinion | p. Something for everyone p. Stabilising the pipeline dreams of Europe p. 04 Fuad Akhundov 15 08 An economic miracle Sports p. 14 Baku: Olympic city Baku Foreign policy p. 12 Investment capital p. 06 Seeking regional peace Culture Information and communication technologies Diversification p. 16 A font of cultural trends p. 11 2013 – The Year of ICT p. 10 Vision 2020 GLOBAL BUSINESS FEATURES: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS. INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS. ANOTHER LOOK. 2 _ AZERBAIJAN > INTRO 3 Azerbaijan’s strategic importance Unique geopolitical position From ancient land of fire Sitting between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan’s stability in a traditionally volatile part of the world is a shining example to the region. The country’s to modern powerhouse determination to maintain an Writer: Oliver Moss independent foreign policy has contributed greatly to facilitat- ing its economic development, and as a member of the UN Security Council, this robust, secular state seeks to maintain 2 positive relations both within and outwith its immediate surroundings.
    [Show full text]
  • Prg Notes Qasimov 2010 Draft 4
    Asia Society in association with the Aga Khan Music Initiative present Alim and Fargana Qasimov: Program Spiritual Music from the World of Islam Pre-Performance Lecture Lecture: “Alim Qasimov: Innovator in Tradition,” by Theodore Levin The lecture will explore some of the many ways in which Azerbaijani master musician Alim Qasimov has linked traditional musical forms and styles with contemporary lan- tyser/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Trust for Culture tyser/Aga Khan guages of art. About the Speaker Photo courtesy of Sebastian Schu Sebastian of Photo courtesy Theodore Levin is an Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music at Dartmouth College and stud- Alim and Fargana Qasimov ies music and culture in Central Asia and Siberia. His two books, The Hundred Thou- sand Fools of God: Musical Travels in Central Asia (and Queens, New York) and Where Featuring: Alim Qasimov, vocal and daf Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond are Fargana Qasimova, vocal and daf both published by Indiana University Press. As an advocate for music and musicians Rafael Asgarov, balaban from other cultures, he has produced recordings, curated concerts and festivals, and Rauf Islamov, kamancha contributed to international arts initiatives. During an extended leave from Dartmouth, he Zaki Valiyev, tar served as the first executive director of the Silk Road Project, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Javidan Nabiyev, naghara Ma. He currently serves as Senior Project Consultant to the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and as a chair of the Arts and Friday, March 12, 2010 at 8:00 PM Culture sub-board of the Soros Foundations' Open Society Institute.
    [Show full text]