Khadija Gayibova

Khadija Osman bey qizi Gayibova ( _az. Xədicə Qayıbova) (24 May 1883, Tiflis – 27 October 1938, Baku) was the first Azerbaijani female pianist. She was born in the city of Tiflis (present-day capital of Georgia) and was trained in piano playing while studying at the St. Nina Gymnasium for Girls between 1901 and 1911. She became well-known for the performance of mughams (Azeri folk music genre) on piano. In 1919 Gayibova moved to Baku with her family. She was one of the founders of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory in 1920. After Sovietization, she became Head of the Department of Oriental Music in the Azerbaijan People's Commissariat for Education. [Ganjali, Sabir. "Woman, Beauty and Sactity". Azerbaijan Nashriyyati. Baku: 2001; p. 154-155] During this period, Gayibova organized short-term piano and drama classes for women. She advanced the idea of "Oriental conservatory" with the primary focus on Azerbaijani and overall Oriental music. This project was discontinued by the Communist authorities as being, in their view, too nationalist. In 1938 during Stalin's Great Purges Gayibova was accused of espionage and arrested but refused to acknowledge the fabricated accusation. She was executed the same year. In 1954 Gayibova was posthumously exonerated.

References

* [http://www.zerkalo.az/rubric.php?id=18436&dd=31&mo=5&yr=2007 У истоков музыкального образования. Зеркало, 31 мая 2007 г.]
* [http://www.kavkazweb.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=229957&sid=295e06ae8839b7291c6093e7e83f42dc Prominent Azerbaijani Musicians (In Russian)]
* [http://www.princeton.edu/~restudy/soyuz_papers/Huseynova.pdf Aida Huseynova. Contemporary Music Of Azerbaijan: Restructuring “Eurasian” Phenomenon] . Princeton University Paper URL