BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 5. The city of Gabala, one of the most picturesque corners of Azerbaijan, has once again opened its doors to art lovers and participants of the International Music Festival. Organized by the Baku Music Academy named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli, with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, and "Gilan," the 2nd "Winter Tale" International Music Festival – held for the second consecutive year in Gabala – has brought art lovers together once again as a continuation of the Gabala International Music Festival, which has been traditionally organized in this city since 2009, Trend reports.
In accordance with the festival program, the first concert program was presented to music lovers on the evening of February 5 at the Heydar Aliyev Congress Center in Gabala. In the concert dedicated to the musical heritage of the great composer Gara Garayev, People's Artists Farhad Badalbeyli and Murad Adigozalzade, along with the Azerbaijan State String Quartet, performed.
Before the concert, Professor of the Baku Music Academy named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli and People's Artist Zahra Guliyeva delivered a speech, emphasizing that the 2nd Gabala "Winter Tale" International Music Festival is a significant event for our culture. She noted that one of the main features of the Gabala International Music Festival is that chamber music evenings are always organized before the official opening of the festival. Today's chamber concert is dedicated to the cherished memory of the prominent composer, public figure, and peerless teacher who raised an entire generation of composers, People's Artist Gara Garayev, who made irreplaceable contributions to the world's musical treasury.
The concert featured Gara Garayev's "String Quartet No. 2 in A minor" (two parts), music from the film "Man Settles," "Preludes in A-major and F-major," R. Schumann's "Piano Quintet" (III and IV parts), and J. Brahms' "Piano Quintet" (III and IV parts). The performances presented by People's Artists Farhad Badalbeyli (piano) and Murad Adigozalzade (piano), as well as the members of the Azerbaijan State String Quartet—Nazrin Aslanli (violin), Khayala Abdullayeva (violin), Vakhtang Imanov (viola), and Aleksey Miltykh (cello) - were highly appreciated by the audience.
The program of the 2nd Gabala "Winter Tale" International Music Festival is very rich. During the festival days, music lovers will enjoy an interesting concert program by the Symphony Orchestra of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater conducted by Honored Artist Ayyub Guliyev, listen to works by Azerbaijani and Italian composers at the "Baku-Naples: Music Bridge" chamber music evening, and have the opportunity to watch performances by invited musicians and dancers from Spain at the flamenco-jazz music night titled "Azerbaijan-Spain: Two Countries, One Music."
