The music of Fikret Amirov (1922-1984)

[DennisS]

I wonder if any other members of the forum are familiar with the music of Fikret Amirov. Apparently he is very well known in his homeland of Azerbaijan, but I suspect that he is far less well known elsewhere. I recently came across his music, whilst exploring my love of Russian music. Listening to sound bites of his works on the internet, convinced me that I really liked his music. Not only is it Russian in  flavour, but it also has strong  Arabian overtones as well. I freely acknowledge my love of all Russian music but equally, I have a pronounced predeliction for the exotic, the oriental, a touch of the Middle East in my music as well. Amirov's music fits me like a glove. Exploring his works further, I discovered that he is famous, musically speaking, for the creation of the symphonic "mugam" : a symphonic folk rhapsody. As an Azerbaijani, Amirov frequently incorporates elements of Azerbaijan folk music into his works. Naxos have just released a cd of his most famous works : Shur, Kyurdi Ovshari, Gyulistan Bayati Shiras and Azerbaijan Capriccio. I have listened to the cd a number of times now and the music continues to grow on me, delicate and lyrical, not too heavy handed on the oriental, just enough to give it a quite distinctive flavour. At times, I am a little reminded of Borodin's Polovtsian Dances. There is also a wonderful ballet score, "Arabian Nights" which gives an unmistakable guide to its character - not an easy cd to acquire by the way! At present, I also have on order another Naxos cd "Caucasian Impressions", which contains amongst other tracks, Amirov's Symphony for String Orchestra. If therefore, you like Russian music with a dash of Arabia, I strongly recommend Amirov's music. Is anyone else familiar with his music?
cheers
Dennis

[Marcus]

Hello DennisS,
You have described the music of Amirov fairly well - Russian with an arabic flavour.
I have an ASV disc (#CD-DCA 1014), which has the Mujam no1 (Shur), Mujam no2(Kurd Ovshari), Azerbaijan Capriccio & the Symphonic Dances. The last two mentioned works are different in style to the mujams.
I find some of Amirov's music requires repeated hearings, but his use of eastern modes & unusual effects create an interesting orchestral colour. The influence of Rimsky-Korsakov & Stravinsky are also in the mix. I have not heard the Naxos disc.
Marcus.

[jimmosk]

Yes, in fact I'd say Amirov is the single most famous Azerbaijani composer! Sad that even that's not enough to keep him out of the Unsung category.

As usual, YouTube offers some opportunities to hear some performances of his little-known music. For instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwIj0FjUJA is his Mugham Poem for Violin and Orchestra.

-J

--
Jim Moskowitz
The Unknown Composers Page:  http://kith.org/jimmosk/TOC.html
My latest list of unusual classical CDs for auction:  http://tinyurl.com/jimmosk

[eschiss1]

Yes, in fact I'd say Amirov is the single most famous Azerbaijani composer! Sad that even that's not enough to keep him out of the Unsung category.

As usual, YouTube offers some opportunities to hear some performances of his little-known music. For instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwIj0FjUJA is his Mugham Poem for Violin and Orchestra.

-J

--
Jim Moskowitz
The Unknown Composers Page:  http://kith.org/jimmosk/TOC.html
My latest list of unusual classical CDs for auction:  http://tinyurl.com/jimmosk

I think I have a symphony by Melikov (Malikov?) but that may be the only other Azerbaijani composer I know of - I'm not sure.

[jimmosk]

I think I have a symphony by Melikov (Malikov?) but that may be the only other Azerbaijani composer I know of - I'm not sure.

Eric, I'll bet you've encountered other Azerbaijani composers as well. Ali-Zade? Kuliev? Gadzhibekov? Surely Kara Karayev...

As usual, wikipedia to the rescue, with a largish list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Azerbaijani_composers

[DennisS]

Hi jimmosk

Funny you should mention Kara Karayev. At the same time as the Amirov, Naxos released Karayev's Symphony no 3 (plus  Leyla and Mejnun and Don Quixote - the first time according to Naxos these 3 works have appeared on cd!). I bought it on a whim, thinking I would probably like it. I was not disappointed! A pupil of Shostokovich (yet another of my favourite composers), Karayev's symphony in particular reflects his teacher's influences, especially the motor rthymes of the first movement, later revisited in the closing movement. An exciting piece of music, not as exotic as Amirov, even though Karayev also picks up on Azerbaijani folk elements. If you like Shostokovich, you will also like Karayev's symphony no 3!

Cheers
Dennis

[Hovite]

There is also a wonderful ballet score, "Arabian Nights" which gives an unmistakable guide to its character - not an easy cd to acquire by the way!

I think I may have heard that back in the LP era. Judging from this site

http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/amirov.htm

it was probably the same performance.

[TerraEpon]

Yeah, the Olympia CD is the same recording. I got REALLY lucky to get it on eBay for something like $23 (another was listed a few days later and went for like $60).

It's an absolutely fantastic piece and I'm hoping it'll be either reissued or even rerecorded, as it deserves to be heard.

[DennisS]

Hi
for anyone who likes Amirov like myself, you might like to know that on the Brilliant classics label, Historical Russian Archives Alexander Gauk Vol 2 (10 cd box set, very reasonably priced), there is an absolutely delightful work by Amirov on cd 8 - Symphonic Suite : very tuneful, still combining a bit of the east in a western structure, 15 minutes of great fun. I haven't yet had time to listen to all 10 cds in the collection, but there are  certainly a number of other interesting works as well. Sound bites can be heard on Jpc.de

Dennis