- Fikret Amirov
Fikret Mashadi Jamil oghlu Amirov ( _az. Fikrət Məşədi Cəmil oğlu Əmirov;
November 22 ,1922 , Ganja -February 20 ,1984 ,Baku ) was a prominentAzerbaijan icomposer of the Soviet period.Fikret Amirov grew up in an atmosphere of Azerbaijani folk music. His father, Mashadi Jamil Amirov, was a famous
mugam singer ("xanəndə") fromShusha , who composed and played tar.During his childhood and early adolescence, Fikret began composing pieces for the piano. Upon his graduation from the Ganja Music College, Amirov entered the
Azerbaijan State Conservatoire , now known as theBaku Music Academy , where he was a student ofBoris Zeidman andUzeyir Hajibeyov .In 1941, when
Nazi Germany attacked theUSSR , Amirov, 19 at the time, was drafted to theSoviet army . He was wounded nearVoronezh , hospitalized and demobilized from the military service, returning toBaku to continue his studies at theAzerbaijan State Conservatoire .Amirov's music was strongly influenced by
Azeri folk melodies. He created a new genre called symphonicmugam . Amirov's symphonic mugams were based on classical folk pieces and were performed by many renowned symphony orchestras throughout the world, such as theHouston Symphony Orchestra conducted byLeopold Stokowski .Amirov was a prolific composer. His most famous pieces include symphonic works such as "Shur" (1946), "Kurd Afshari" (1949), "Azerbaijan Capriccio" (1961), "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz" (1968), "The Legend of Nasimi" (1977), "To the Memory of the Heroes of the Great National War" (1944), "Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra" (1948) etc.
His ballets include "Nizami" (1947) and "1,001 Nights," (sometimes referred to as "The Arabian Nights") which premiered in 1979. Amirov wrote the opera "Sevil" in 1953.
He also wrote a number of pieces for the piano including "Ballad," "Ashug's Song," "Nocturne," "Humoreska," "Lyrical Dance," "Waltz," "Lullaby" and "Toccata." He also wrote numerous film scores.
Michelle Kwan , World Champion Ice Skater from the U.S. used Fikret Amirov's symphonic piece "Taj Mahal" from "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz" in her skating program in 1997.Amirov was honored as
People's Artist of the USSR (1965) and awarded theUSSR State Prize (1949, 1980).External links
* [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/music/AudioPages/Amirov/fikrat.html Listen to Fikret Amirov] , Music Section of Azerbaijan International
* [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/54_folder/54_articles/54_amirov.html Amirov in Azerbaijan International]
* [http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/amirov.htm List of Amirov's works from Onno van Rijen's Soviet Composers Page]
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