Mugam is one of the highest expressions of the rich musical intellect shaped by the Azerbaijani people over the centuries, serving as the vocal chronicle of our national and spiritual memory. Every echo of mugam expresses our people’s emotions, thoughts, philosophy of life, joys and sorrows, and deep devotion to their native land and Motherland.
Sea-news.az reports that August 26 is celebrated as International Azerbaijani Mugam Day and the Day of Music of the Countries Along the Silk Road.
In the modern history of Azerbaijani mugam, multifaceted initiatives implemented under the leadership of the country’s First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva, have played an exceptional role. Thanks to this dedication, mugam performance has received comprehensive support from a wide variety of aspects and is truly experiencing a renaissance.
State and Foundation Support for Mugam’s Golden Age
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation’s profound commitment to this art form is evident through numerous major projects, including:
- Organizing International “Mugham World” festivals, competitions, symposia, and concerts.
- Releasing the “Karabakh Khanandas” album collection, alongside publishing the Mugham journal and the Mugham Encyclopedia.
- Producing the modern, 8-disc multimedia collection Azerbaijani Mugam.
International recognition of Azerbaijani mugam spans decades. In 1971, UNESCO included the Azerbaijani Music gramophone record—released under the Musical Anthology of the East series—in its 50-album collection Anthology of World Traditional Music. In 1975, Azerbaijani mugams were once again featured by UNESCO in its Musical Sources series. Mugam has even transcended planetary boundaries: a sample of Azerbaijani mugam music was sent into space by NASA in 1977 aboard the Voyager Golden Record, and it famously resonates in Andrei Tarkovsky’s globally acclaimed masterpiece Stalker.
From Tradition to Symphonic and Jazz Innovations
Mugam has long served as a profound source of inspiration for Azerbaijani composers:
- Uzeyir Hajibeyli composed the groundbreaking opera Leyli and Majnun based on mugam and established the first systematic educational curriculum for teaching the art.
- Fikret Amirov founded the symphonic mugam genre in world music with his masterpieces Shur and Kurd-Ovshari.
- Icons such as Niyazi, Gara Garayev, Soltan Hajibeyov, Jovdat Hajiyev, Agshin Alizadeh, Arif Melikov, and Franghiz Alizadeh successfully wove mugam artistic principles with cutting-edge composition techniques.
- Vagif Mustafazadeh brilliantly bridged mugam with jazz, creating the genre of jazz-mugam.
Voices of the Masters
Marking International Mugam Day, People’s Artist and khananda Mansum Ibrahimov told AZERTAC that mugam is a masterpiece of Azerbaijani music and a spiritual heritage preserved through millennia. He emphasized that state care and the projects spearheaded by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation have propelled mugam into a thriving new era of global appreciation and renewal.
Similarly, People’s Artist and khananda Nazaket Teymurova noted that our ancestors’ priceless legacy has endured through the ages. She highlighted that the organization of televised mugam competitions and the establishment of regional mugam centers are vital for passing this art down to future generations in all its authenticity.
Mugam Returns to its Roots in Karabakh
A particularly poignant milestone in contemporary mugam history is its homecoming to Karabakh. The final of the 9th “Mugham” Television Competition held in Lachin last year carried profound symbolic weight. Today, the universal language of our mugam once again echoes proudly across our liberated ancestral lands, touching hearts worldwide while resonating deeply at home.
