Amirov: One Thousand and One Nights Suite & To the Memory of Nizami

Featuring

Dmitry Yablonsky
Kiev Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra
Fikret Amirov

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Composition History

Before composing the ballet One Thousand and One Nights, Amirov traveled to Iraq, Yemen, and Egypt to collect recordings of music from those countries.

Compositional Technique

Fikret Amirov invented the 'symphonic mugam', a genre based on traditional Azerbaijani folk melodies.

Performer Biography

Dmitry Yablonsky, the conductor, is a GRAMMY-nominated cellist who began playing at age five and made his orchestral debut at nine.

Instruments

Dmitry Yablonsky plays two cellos: a Joseph Guarnerius filius Andrea and a Matteo Goffriller.

Composer Biography

Fikret Amirov, one of Azerbaijan's best-known classical composers, was the son of Mashadi Jamil Amirov, a composer and a well-known khanande (singer of mugam).

Composer's Artistic Vision

Amirov's music draws deeply on Azerbaijani folk traditions and folklore, which he processed through a socialist realist orchestral writing style.

Performer Biography

The Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra is a youthful ensemble with an average age of 30, uniting talented musicians from across Ukraine, many of whom are competition winners.