Collectors of a certain vintage (and musical archaeologists who haunt used record shops) may remember Leopold Stokowski’s recording, with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, of “Azerbaijan Mugam” by Fikret Amirov. Its native title is “Kyurdi Ovshari.”
That language barrier may in part explain Amirov’s relative obscurity in the West. Even taking into account the more accessible title, what exactly is a mugam? It turns out it is a highly rhapsodic and improvisatory form, alternating between song and dance episodes, characteristic of Azeri music. But you see what I mean.
It is that very exoticism which makes Amirov difficult to market, yet at the same time, it is what makes him so interesting. In these multicultural times, when such a high-profile musician as Yo-Yo Ma traverses the Silk Road, perhaps Amirov’s day has finally come.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear two works by Amirov (1922-1984), winner of the Stalin Prize in 1949, honored as People’s Artist of the USSR in 1965, and recipient of the USSR State Prize in 1980.
His “Six Pieces for Flute and Piano,” of 1970, consists of “Song of the Aushug,” “Lullaby,” “Dance,” “In the Azerbaijan Mountains,” “At the Spring,” and “Nocturne.” If Amirov’s music at times reminds one of Khachaturian, one need only remember that Azerbaijan shares a border with Armenia. Without getting too much into politics, relations between the two countries are tense, to say the least. His music also bears the influence of other neighboring and nearby countries – Turkey, Russia, and Iran.
This is something to bear in mind when approaching his full-length ballet, “The Arabian Nights.” The work, given its premiere in 1979, is one of the rare adaptations to come out of a region which gave us the original stories that make up “A Thousand and One Nights.” The world famous adventures of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin are enshrined in these tales, and each of them make an appearance in the ballet’s second act.
Tonight, however, we’ll hear selections from Act I, which sets up the framing device, the unfaithful wife Nurida, the Sultan’s declaration of vengeance against all womankind, and the introduction of Scheherazade, the vizier’s daughter who enthralls the Sultan with her wit and creativity and finally restores his ability to love.
I hope you’ll join me for “Azerbaijani Come Lately” – late works by Fikret Amirov – this Sunday night at 10 EDT, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.
Stokowski conducts “Azerbaijan Mugam”:
