Zulfugar Hajibeyov

(1884 - 1950)

A talented composer, a public figure, Honored Artist of the Azerbaijan Republic Zulfugar Hajibeyov played an important role in the formation and development of musical theatre in Azerbaijan.

Zulfugar Abdulhuseyn oglu Hajibeyov was born on April 17, 1884 in the town of Shusha. Although he did not receive a musical education, Zulfugar learned to play on tar.

In 1908, Zulfugar Hajibeyov took an active part in the search for the stage incarnation of the opera “Leyli and Mejnun”.

 It was under the impression of this opera he began his creative work as a composer.

Zulfugar Hajibeyov is the author of 3 musical comedies - “Fifty-year-old boy”, “Rich man or eleven-year-old bride”, “Married bachelor”, “Ashyg Garib”opera-mugham , “Azerbaijan” cantata, musical piece “Jangi”, written together with Fikret Amirov for the Orchestra of Folk Instruments, music for the film “Almas”, written together with the great conductor and composer - Niyazi, patriotic marches and songs for the choir and symphony orchestra. His opera “Nushabe”, based on the poem “Isgendername” by Nizami, remained unfinished.

Zulfugar Hajibeyov has certain merits in the matter of collecting and recording samples of the folk music of Azerbaijan. Notes of many works included in the collection “Folk Songs of Azerbaijani Turks”, published by Uzeyir Hajibeyli and Muslim Magomayev in 1927, were written by Zulfugar Hajibeyov. He collected up to 150 folk songs and transferred them to notes. All of these samples are stored in its archive in handwritten form.

Along with the creative work, Zulfugar Hajibeyov, as an active public figure, worked in responsible positions in the Radio Broadcasting Committee of Azerbaijan, in the palace of the Red Army man (now the Philharmonic hall), as well as in various theatre and concert institutions.