Baku hosts grand opening of First Kurultai of Turkic World composers (PHOTO)

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.