Amirov, Fikret (Meshadi Jamil)

Amirov, Fikret (Meshadi Jamil), Azerbaijani composer; b. Gyandzha, Nov. 22, 1922; d. Baku, Feb. 20, 1984. He studied with his father, a tar player and singer, and pursued training in the tar at the Gyandzha Music Coll. After composition study at the Baku Coll., he studied composition with Zeydman at the Azerbaijan State Cons., where he was awarded his diploma for his opera Ulduz in 1948. He was artistic director of the Kirovabad Phil. (1942–43) and the Baku Phil. (1947), director of the Azerbaijan Theater of Opera and Ballet (1956–59), and secretary of the Azerbaijan Composers’ Union (from 1956). In 1949 he was awarded a State Prize and in 1965 he was made a National Artist of the USSR. Amirov’s dedication to the native music of Azerbaijan is revealed in his use of the mugam, a song-dance form, in his 2 symphonic poems of 1948. His opera Sevil (Baku, Dec. 25, 1953) is one of the most important works of its kind in the Azerbaijani theater repertoire. On the whole, his music represents a deft use of Azerbaijani folk elements and Western art music.

Works

DRAMATIC: Ulduz, opera (1948); Sevil, opera (Baku, Dec. 25, 1953; rev. 1955 and 1959); Arabian Nights, ballet (1979); musical comedies; incidental music; film scores. ORCH.: Poem (1941); To the Memory of the Heroes of the Great National War (1943); To the Memory of Nizam, sym. for Strings (1947); Shchur and Kyurd Ovsharï, symphonic mugam (1948); Double Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Orch. (1948); Azerbaijan Suite (1950); Piano Concerto (1958; in collaboration with Nazirova); Azerbaijan Capriccio (1961); Symphonic Dances (1963); Symphonic Portraits (1970); Gyulistan-Bayatï shirazï, symphonic mugam for Mezzo-soprano, Timpani, and Chamber Orch. (1970). OTHER: Chamber music, piano pieces, songs, and folk song arrangements.

Bibliography

D. Danilov, F. A. (Baku, 1965).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire