The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan is a center of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i arts and music aiming to promote, preserve and popularize the

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific ...

genre of Azerbaijani music. It is located in

Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard ( az, Dənizkənarı Milli Park, also known as National Park) is a promenade established in 1909 which runs parallel to Baku's seafront. Its history goes back more than 100 years, to a time when Baku oil barons built their mansion ...

, in downtown

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Overview of the center

The Mugham Center was built on initiative of the First Lady of Azerbaijan,

Mehriban Aliyeva Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva (; az, Mehriban Arif qızı Əliyeva Paşayeva, ; born 26 August 1964) is an Azerbaijani politician and physician who is the vice president and First Lady of Azerbaijan. She is married to Ilham Aliyev, the president o ...

. Mugham is a genre included in the representative list of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The official opening of the International Mugham Center took place on December 27, 2008. UNESCO's ninth Director-General Koichiro Matsuura also participated in that opening ceremony.

Architectural description

The construction of the building started in April, 2005. The center covers 7,500 square meters and has 3 stories. The funding was provided by the

Heydar Aliyev Foundation The Heydar Aliyev Foundation ( az, Heydər Əliyev Fondu) is a charitable foundation headed by Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. The foundation is named after Azerbaijan's former president, Heydar Aliyev – the father of the incumbent pr ...

. The design of the building was based on the elements and shapes of the

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...

, an Azeri musical instrument used in performing mugham. Furthermore, the center was commenced on the base of the architecture works of the Vahid Tansu, Xauddin Yayk and Etirne Ahmed. The concert hall fits 350 people. The center also has a club, 80-seat restaurant called "Ud", study halls and record studios. Modern heating and ventilation systems were also provided in the center. The building was constructed with equipments from Italy, Austria,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Target of the center

The center hosts mugham festivals, concerts, and recitals of various singers and performers. Young performers get aware of the art of mugham which has a special role in the Azerbaijani music culture. The center hosts famous masters, mugham evenings, international conferences as well as festivals.

Attendants of the projects

Participants come from different countries such as

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, USA,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, France,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

, Turkey,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

International World of Mugham Festival

The International World of Mugham Festival ( az, Beynəlxalq Muğam Dünyası Festivalı) was held on

’s initiative, on March 18–25, 2009, in

. The opening ceremony of the festival was held on March 20, in the International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan. A contest of mugham singers, multiple mugham operas, symphonic and classical mugham concerts were held during the festival. The festival was concluded by gala concert, which was held on March 25, 2009 in

Heydar Aliyev Palace Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azerbaijan. A variant of the Arabic name Haydar (also spelt Heidar, Haider, and other variants), it was a cognomen of Ali, who was known for his courage in battle. Heyda ...

, in Baku. A scientific symposium of mugham was held during the international festival and lasted for 3 days. About 30 scientists, musicians, and also promoters of traditional eastern music from the more than 16 countries took part at the symposium. Presentations about musical cultures of Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan were given during the festival and the issue of

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

was also raised there.

Notes

External links

About the Center
website of Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism, accessed 25.10.2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:International Mugham Center Of Azerbaijan Buildings and structures in Baku Tourist attractions in Baku Music venues in Azerbaijan