Rauf Farhadov: "Azerbaijani pianist presents in Moscow historical symbiosis of composer schools"

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. The concert was opened by the leading expert of the Association of Contemporary Music, Doctor of Art Criticism Rauf Farhadov. Before the performance starts, he told the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza about the project.

- What is interesting about Gulsen Annagiyeva's performance program?

- This is the third concert from the 'Azerbaijani musicians in the chamber halls of the Moscow Conservatory' cycle. Today Gulsen Annagiyeva is presenting her program. She is one of leading Azerbaijani pianists, well known in Europe. The program is called 'Phrases' (FRAses in Russian) and stands for France, Russia, Azerbaijan. These are three important components of the concert. If we consider that the Russian composition school was formed under the influence of the European one, and therefore French, and the Azerbaijani composition school was formed under the influence of the Russian and French ones, there is a historical symbiosis, which will be presented by Gulsen today.

- What other performers are involved in the project?

- The Autumn-Spring season is completed by Osman Eyyublu, who will present a multimedia project with various video installations on March 16. He is both a violinist and a pianist. The concert will be held in the Myaskovsky hall (Jahangir Selimkhanov: "The world know Azerbaijan as land of ancient culture, as well as modern and dynamically developing country"). The next cycle will start in October.

- What is the difference between Gulsen and other musicians?

- She is a person standing apart from all conjuncture and fashion. A person who has never clawed her way up, but at the same time remains a wonderful performer with a beautiful touch. The way Gulsen plays Debussy, Ravel ... there's not many performers like this.