BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. The Azerbaijan Composers’ Union hosted the grand opening of the First Kurultai of Composers of the Turkic World, which is intended to serve as a new international platform for professional cooperation among composers, performers, musicologists, and music organizations from Turkic countries, Trend’s correspondent reports.
The First Kurultay of Composers of the Turkic World is taking place September 18–20 as part of the 18th Uzeyir Hajibayli International Music Festival, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture.
The Kurultai is organized by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and the Foundation for Turkic Culture and Heritage, with the participation of the ICESCO Regional Office in Baku, the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.
The Kurultai is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Turkic Studies Congress, the 885th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and philosopher Nizami Ganjavi, and the 585th anniversary of the outstanding Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi. Representatives of the musical communities of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Hungary, and Turkmenistan are participating in the event.
The main goal of the Kurultai is to create a unified musical space for the Turkic world and to strengthen professional ties among representatives of the music industry. The event will address issues related to the preservation and development of the shared musical heritage, support for contemporary schools of composition, the creation of collaborative musical works, the development of creative and academic exchanges, and the promotion of the music of the Turkic world on the international stage.
The Kurultai’s three-day program includes sessions, meetings, academic discussions, an international roundtable, thematic exhibitions, as well as concerts featuring symphonic, chamber, and traditional music.
One of the Kurultai’s key outcomes will be the establishment of the Turkic Union of Composers (TUC), which aims to bring together composers, musicologists, performers, and representatives of leading musical organizations from the countries of the Turkic world.
The first official meeting of the Turkic Union of Composers will take place today at the headquarters of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation in Baku. During the meeting, participants plan to sign the Baku Declaration on the establishment of the TUC and discuss the draft charter of the new international professional organization.
The Union’s priority areas of activity will include preserving and developing the shared musical heritage, supporting contemporary schools of composition, fostering creative and academic exchanges, creating joint musical projects, and promoting the music of the Turkic world on the international stage.
The opening ceremony featured speeches by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Culture, People’s Artist Murad Huseynov; the president of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Honored Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan, professor, Doctor of Arts, composer, and member of the Union of Composers of Kazakhstan Aktoty Raimkulova; Abdulhakeem AlSenan, Director of the ISESCO Regional Office in Azerbaijan; Firangiz Alizade, Chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, composer, and professor; the Chair of the Association of Composers of Kazakhstan, recipient of the “Qurmet” Order, composer and educator Artyk Toksanbayev; Chief Conductor of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Abdylas Maldybaev, People’s Artist of the Kyrgyz Republic, Professor, and composer Muratbek Begaliev; Head of the Department of Musicology at the State Conservatory of Istanbul University, Professor, musicologist Abdullah Akat; Chairman of the Union of Composers and Arrangers of Uzbekistan, Honored Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan Rustam Abdullaev; Honored Artist of Turkmenistan, composer and conductor Rovshen Nepesov; as well as renowned musicologist, researcher, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Sándor Szabó (Hungary). The moderator was Jahangir Selimkhanov, advisor to the Minister of Culture.
The First Kurultai of Composers of the Turkic World was part of the packed program of the 18th Uzeyir Hajibayli International Music Festival, which brings together representatives of the music community from various countries in Baku and creates new opportunities for international cultural and professional cooperation.
