Today.Az » Arts & Entertainment » Gabala Music Festival plays last notes
04 August 2014 [16:30] - Today.Az


By AzerNews

The sixth International Music Festival of Gabala came to an end on August 1.

Tourists from foreign countries came to watch the outstanding musical event, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which kicked off on July 23.

The last concert in the open air called "Viva Opera" was presented by the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The concert included arias and songs from operas by P. Tchaikovsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Catalani, G. Donizetti, G. Rossini, G. Puccini, G. Verdi, Ch. Gounod, P. Mascagni, as well as work of Muslim Magomayev "Azerbaijan" and other composers.

National artist Ali Askerov, honored artists Farida Mammadov, soloist of the Opera Studio Sabina Asadova, associate professor of the Baku Music Academy Gulnaz Ismayilova, talented performers Azer Rzazade and Yusif Eyvazov performed at the event accompanied by an orchestra directed by conductor of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre Ayyub Guliyev.

The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra gave a number of concerts during the ten-day festival.

Speaking about her impression of the festival, member of Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Daline Wilson said she was impressed by the beauty of Gabala and would like to visit this marvelous place once again.

"I earlier heard about the Gabala International Music Festival," she said, thanking the organizers for "the grandiose show."

Wilson said the festival was a brilliant opportunity for the participants and visitors to familiarize themselves with Azerbaijan and build contacts with local musicians.

"Azerbaijan has its own traditional classical music. I think that the public interest will increase in Azerbaijani composers, who earned recognition in Europe and other parts of the world," she added.

Gabala International Music Festival brings together talented musicians from around the world each year.

"The festival is a great contribution to the development of world culture," Russian classical cellist and conductor Dmitry Yablonsky said.

"I am very glad that the number of participants grows year by year and the event draws global attention with its harmonious music quality", he added.

Hailing the organization of the festival, Yablonsky said the program is richer than the previous years. He also hailed the participation of the famous musicians and musical groups as an example of the festival's increasing prestige.

This year, Gabala welcomed musicians from Russia, Turkey, South Africa, the U.S., Canada, France, Austria, Israel, Ukraine and Korea. The festival included open-air concerts, evening of chamber and classical music and concerts of Azerbaijani folk music Mugham.

"I am impressed by the beauty of Gabala. To perform at the same ceremony with Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) is a great honor for any musician", Gil Shohat, Israeli classical music composer, conductor and pianist, said.

He thanked festival organizers for holding the grandiose ceremony and said that, this was his second visit to Azerbaijan.

"There is great interest in the Gabala International Music Festival in the world. I took great pleasure from the concert held within the framework of the festival. I think the audience was also impressed by my performance," he said.

The place is truly amazing and magic, he added saying that this festival is one of the prestigious festivals in the world.

This year's festival was aimed to popularize Azerbaijani culture simultaneously promoted the musical traditions of Azerbaijan across the world.

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