TODAY.AZ / Arts & Entertainment

Italian musician promises captivating performance for Azerbaijani audience

24 September 2015 [13:17] - TODAY.AZ

By Sara Rajabova - AzerNews 

Azerbaijani music lovers will be mesmerized by performances of magnificent Italian music in Baku.

Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku will host a concert program featuring Italian and Azerbaijani musicians on September 25.

The concert, called "Baku Canta Napoli," will be held as part of the prestigious Uzeyir Hajibeyov International Music Festival dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the father of Azerbaijani music, Uzeyir Hajibeyov.

On eve of the concert, its organizers Italian composer Francesco Maggio, Azerbaijani composer Gunay Mirzayeva, and Italian conductor Fabrizio Festa, who will direct the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra accompanied by soprano Tiziana Scandaletti and pianist Riccardo Piacentini shared the impressions and expectations from the upcoming concert.

Mirzayeva stated that the project is organized by the Italian Embassy in cooperation with the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry and Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Maggio said as it can be inferred from the title of the concert -- ‘Baku sings Napoli’ -- the program will be based on the notes of classical Neapolitan songs.

Songs such as "Come back to Sorrento" by Ernesto de Curtis, "O Surdato nnamurato" Henry Cannio, "Funiculi 'Funicula'" by Luigi Denza and "O Sole Mio" by Eduardo Capua will be performed.

The only Azerbaijani music performed at the concert will be the work by Mirzayeva, composed in the tarantella style. The composition is a synthesis of the Azerbaijani and Italian music and will be dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibeyov.

Maggio said the Neopolitan songs were reworked by the young musicians and new shades were added to them. These compositions were brought together by the Cluster association of composers, which is located in Italy’s Lucca city.

The concert also features a composition by Piacentini inspired by the works of famous Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti and synthesizing classical and modern music.

Maggio also added that this concert is organized in the spirit of Azerbaijani and Italian friendship. Italian soprano Scandaletti and Azerbaijan’s famous tenor Samir Jafarov will sing "O Sole Mio" and "Funiculi 'Funicula'" as duets.

Discussing the upcoming event, Festa said the goal of the musicians is to delight the Azerbaijani audience. He said the concert program is very well conceived.

“Maggio did good work in creating a combination of different contemporary music with traditional Neopolitan songs. It is important for Italian lyrical traditions,” he said.

Festa considered that for the Azerbaijani audience, this concert will be very special and the audience will be comforted by such kind of music.

Noting that last year she also visited Azerbaijan for a concert, Scandaletti said she is looking forward to working and singing with Azerbaijani tenor Jafarov.

She said it will be nice experience for the audience to hear the soprano and tenor, and in the meantime listen to both Azerbaijani and Italian music.

Piacentini, for his part noted that it is great to join different traditions and experiences. He said in the modern world, it is important to preserve the identities of different cultures, adding that it is also necessary to find a way to bring different cultures together.

He said the concert will be a wonderful opportunity to realize this goal.

Maggio recalled that he is trying to build a bridge between Azerbaijani and Italian music.

He added that though he is Italian, he leaves in Germany and there, established an Azerbaijan cultural center with the help of the diaspora. The center frequently holds concerts and promotes Azerbaijani music, according to Maggio.

Furthermore, the musicians said unfortunately Azerbaijani music is not so popular in Italy. However, they praise the works of Hajibeyov, such as the ‘Koroglu’ opera and other works that could be very popular in Italy if performed on big Italian stages.

Azerbaijani-Italian cultural relations were given an incentive since the Italian city of Naples and the Azerbaijani capital Baku were declared sister cities in 1972. However, relations between the two countries actually have a long history, which can be traced back to travelers visiting Azerbaijan in the Middle Ages, including Marco Polo.

Different paintings of well-known Italian artists are available in the museums of Azerbaijan, and a lot of carpets and jewelry items made in Azerbaijan are held in numerous museums and private collections in Italy.

Some legendary singers of Azerbaijan such as Bulbul and Muslim Magomayev mastered the basics of opera art in Italy. Many cultural events have been held in both Italy and Azerbaijan.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/entertainment/143942.html

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