Bahram Meshadi Suleyman oglu Mansurov ( / , ; 12 February 1911, Baku – 14 May 1985, Baku) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Azerbaijani

Tar (lute) The tar () is a long-necked, waisted instrument in the lute family, used by many cultures and countries in the Middle East and the Caucasus, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Turkey.People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...

of the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

(10.01.1978).Respublikanın teatr xadimlərinə Azərbaycan SSR fəxri adlarının verilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan SSR Ali Sove Rəyasət Heyətinin 10 yanvar 1978-ci il tarixli Fərmanı
— anl.az

Biography

Bahram Mansurov was born in a well-to-do family of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. His father, Meshadi Suleyman bey Mansurov, was famed as

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and great expert on

mugham Mugham () or Mughamat () is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is an art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugham is a modal system. ...

. Meshadi Suleyman bey – a virtuosic player of tar often held musical

majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

es (parties) in his mansion in

Icheri Sheher Old City or Inner City () is the historical core of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Old City is the most ancient part of Baku, which is surrounded by walls. In 2007, the Old City had a population of about 3,000 people. In December 2000, the ...

. In 1925, Bahram Mansurov graduated from school. In 1929, he was invited as tar player to the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

under the artistic association "Azconcert", the main participants of which were such well-known performers as,

Gurban Pirimov Gurban Bakhshali oglu Pirimov (Primov) (; October 1880, Gülablı – 29 August 1965, Baku) was an Azerbaijani folk musician and tar-player. Life and career Gurban Bakhshali oglu Pirimov was born in Karabakh, in mountainous village of Gülabl ...

Jabbar Garyagdioglu Jabbar Garyagdioglu or Garyaghdyoglu ( pronounced ) (31 March 1861 – 20 April 1944) was an Azerbaijani folk singer (khananda). He is known as the first khananda to perform mughamats in the Azeri language. He mostly sang in Azerbaijani language ...

Khan Shushinski Khan Shushinski (), born Isfandiyar Aslan oglu Javanshir (20 August 1901, Shusha – 18 March 1979, Baku), was an Azerbaijani khananda folk singer. Life Despite Shushinski's relation to the khans of Karabakh, his stage name derives from an episod ...

and others. Working in the orchestra, the musician travelled throughout Azerbaijan and visited many

cities. In 1931, Bahram Mansurov was invited to newly originated folk orchestra, but afterwards the tar player was admitted to work on the radio. In 1932, on Muslim Magomayev, the senior's initiative Bahram Mansurov began to work in the

Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater The Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater () is an opera house in Baku, Azerbaijan. Formerly known as the Mailov Theatre (), was built in 1911 by Armenian architect Nikolai Bayev.

as the soloist-

accompanist Accompaniment is the part (music), musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmony (music), harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in di ...

. In 1938, Bahram Mansurov participated at the decade of

Azerbaijani culture Azerbaijani culture may refer to: Regions *Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan () combines a diverse and heterogeneous set of elements which developed under the influence of Iranian peoples, Iranic, Turkic peoples, Turkic and Peo ...

, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1941, Bahram Mansurov went to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

with the membership of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. Tours of this team were successful in this country. Mansurov was invited to Baku Musical School to teach mugham, after the return from Iran. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, Bahram Mansurov performed in front of the soldiers and injured men. In 1944, he repeatedly went to Iran and performed in many cities of Iran. After the war the musician was awarded many orders and honorary diplomas. In 1971 and 1975, two recording discs were produced under the auspices of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, and Bahram Mansurov repeatedly took part at international symposiums and concerts in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with the support of this organization. In the issue of collaboration of the musician with some museums and archives of the USSR, valuable materials about musical history of Azerbaijan were presented to them from the family archive. Bahram Mansurov presented his tar to the museum of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

city

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. In 1978, he was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.

Awards

Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" The Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal history The Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" was established on May 1, 1944, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansurov, Bahram 1911 births 1985 deaths Azerbaijani folk musicians People's Artists of Azerbaijan Soviet Azerbaijani people Musicians from Baku Mugham musicians Soviet musicians