Gulsen Annagiyeva: "we combine France, Russia and Azerbaijan at Moscow Conservatory"

Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, pianist Gulsen Annagiyeva performed within the framework of the 'Azerbaijani musicians in the chamber halls of the Moscow Conservatory' cycle yesterday. Works by Edison Denisov, Olivier Messiaen, Claude Debussy, Faraj Garayev, Victor Ekimovsky, Nazim Mirisli and Yuri Vorontsov were performed at the 'Phrases' piano recital, which was held with the support of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture. Gulsen Annagiyeva spoke with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza before the concert.

- Why was the 'Phrases' programme chosen for Moscow?

- I love French music very much. In addition, it is our first project with [Doctor of Art Criticism, leading expert of the Association of Contemporary Music] Rauf Farhadov. We create a concept together. When there is no concept, the audience is not interested. You cannot just pick different works with no relation to each other. We had a few concept programs, but we chose 'Phrases'. We started from the French music and decided to make a kind of mix, which is possible due to the connection between the composers. So we came up with the name 'Phrases' (FRAses in Russian) - France, Russia, Azerbaijan. We really liked this idea and hope that the public will also like it.

- What is your favorite part of the program?

- I do not perform things I don't like in general. I love everything about 'Phrases'.

- It's not your first time in Moscow. Do you have some favorite places in town?

- The Tchaikovsky Conservatory, of course. This is the alma mater of all musicians and even those who have not studied here. I was born in the last century, in the USSR, and the conservatory was the main location for all musicians. Being part of it, being here is a great luck and happiness.