October 25 will be marked with a commemoration of Muslim Magomayev. He died in Moscow on October 25, 2008. The famous singer called Russia his mother and Azerbaijan his father. The third International Muslim Magomayev Vocal Contest has recently ended in Moscow. The 14 best singers out of hundreds of professional vocalists from 9 countries were selected to perform at Crocus City Hall.
Zoya Babayan, a fan, says: "If I was asked how to characterize Muslim Magomayev, I would have said just three words: decency, beauty, modesty. Not to mention talent. Maybe I am biased, but I think that there will never be anyone like Magomayev. Participants of the contests named after him are talented, they are nice, but they are not even comparable with Magomayev. You see, Muslim is not just voice, it is not just talent. You can have a beautiful voice, be a nice person, have beauty, but Muslim had it all together. The way no one else has.
I am proud that he is associated with our long-suffering republic. We know that his grandfather and great-grandfather were from the Atagi Village in the Chechen Republic. One of every three in the republic has the name Muslim. Two schools in reconstructed Grozny are named after Magomayev. The museum, devastated during the war, is being filled. What is true is eternal, Muslim Magomedovich Magomayev's art is extra proof that the man should be beautified, consolidated by such a musical heritage left by Magomayev. We, fans of his art in the 1990s, really wanted to see him on the screen more often. Maybe there would have been fewer problems in the Caucasus and the country as a whole if there were such singers, as Pushkin wrote, to provoke good feelings with lyrics, musicality. And today, a Mongolian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian, Belarusian are on the same stage, it is an inflorescence, a fusion of souls, it is a beautiful example for the growing generation.
The festival, the contest was heard on the highest note, thanks to the excellent readiness of our contestants in the vocal aspect and the dramatic spiritual approach. It means that they have got almost 100% into Magomayev's art," assumes Ibakova.
Boris Agafonov, a classmate of Muslim Magomayev, is fascinated with the contest: "I have never thought that there would be so many beautiful voices, one better than another. I do not know how the judges managed to sort them out. I would have given everyone the highest ratings if I were them. It is the commemoration day of Muslim Magomayev, I came here just because of that. Since his passing away, we have often visited this place, literally every year, and marked the event. There were concerts, performances. I am glad Muslim Magomayev has not been forgotten. People remember him. This is the most important thing. He was a great artist, a great man.
I knew him very well, I knew him literally since school times. He was a normal guy. Most importantly, he had understanding of friendship, the feeling that he was connected with people. And if he was connected with people, he was obliged to do something regardless of whether he was asked to or not. He is a great friend. It is my biggest impression about his life. The man who studied with me during childhood became a big man. We studied at a music school, starting with grade one, it was a music school at the Azerbaijani State Conservatoire. He was always a star man. He was a hooligan by nature. He did not accept any rules, he understood what he felt himself."
Ashabuddin Tinayev, a friend of Magomayev, has positive memories about him too: "We were born in Azerbaijan, although I am not an Azerbaijani, I am an Avar. Readiness for friendship, devotion to friendship, generosity, vulnerability have always been the main features of Magomayev. He was vulnerable, a very sensitive man. A giant of a man, the most sensitive soul. Simply unbelievable. He did not die, he entered a different world. He left such a heritage. He united so many different people. I am not a specialist, I am not a vocalist, but many say that it was the voice of the century. Maybe we will find a similar voice sometime somewhere. But not the man, not the personality. He is a legend for me."
