The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan is a center of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

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

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. ...

genre of Azerbaijani music. It is located in

Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard (, 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 mansions along the Caspian Sea, Caspi ...

, in downtown

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 ...

Overview of the center

The Mugham Center was built on initiative of the

First Lady of Azerbaijan First Lady of Azerbaijan () is the informal title of the wife of the president of Azerbaijan. The current first lady is Mehriban Aliyeva, wife of President Ilham Aliyev, who has held the position since 31 October 2003. First ladies of Azerbaija ...

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

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

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 ...

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 () is a private 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 president Ilham Aliyev. The fo ...

. 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 b ...

, 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, France,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan 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 ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, Turkey,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

International World of Mugham Festival

The International World of Mugham Festival () 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 a gala concert, which was held on March 25, 2009, in

Heydar Aliyev Palace Heydar Aliyev Palace (Azeri language, Azeri: Heydər Əliyev Adına Saray, also known as Baku Palace, formerly Republic Palace (Respublika Sarayı) and during the Soviet Union, Soviet era known as Lenin Palace (Лeнин aдынa) is the main musi ...

, 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 was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

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 2008 establishments in Azerbaijan