Haji Khanmammadov
Encyclopedia
Derbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
– April 7, 2005, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
composer. He is best known for writing the first concertos for the Azeri stringed folk instruments tar
Tar (lute)
The tār is a long-necked, waisted Iranian instrument. It has been adopted by other cultures and Azerbaijan. The word tar itself means "string" in Persian, though it might have the same meaning in languages influenced by Persian or any other branches of Iranian languages like Kurdish...
and kamancheh
Kamancheh
The kamānche or kamāncha is a Persian bowed string instrument related to the bowed rebab, the historical ancestor of the kamancheh and also to the bowed lira of the Byzantine Empire, ancestor of the European violin family. The strings are played with a variable-tension bow: the word "kamancheh"...
.
Early life
Khanmammadov was born in DerbentDerbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
(present-day Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) and began studying tar at age 10. In 1932, the boy's life experienced a major change when his father and uncle were arrested during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
and permanently exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
on account of owning land. After Khanmammadov graduated from middle school, his mother, who was struggling to take care of six children, sent him to Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
to find Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir bey Abdul Hussein oglu Hajibeyov was an Azerbaijani and Soviet composer, conductor, publicist, playwright, teacher, translator, and social figure from Azerbaijan. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music and opera...
, an Azerbaijani composer known for his patronage of the arts. Indeed, Hajibeyov did provide lodging for the boy and, after being convinced of his musical abilities, the composer enrolled him in the Zeynalli Baku College of Music. Khanmammadov would go on to develop into a fine tarist.
Contributions
Khanmammadov composed his first song Gozal pari ("Beautiful Nymph") in 1942. In 1946 he was sent to TabrizTabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, then ruled by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-backed Azerbaijan People's Government
Azerbaijan People's Government
The Azerbaijan People's Government was a short-lived, Soviet-backed client state in northern Iran. Established in Iranian Azerbaijan, the APG's capital was the city of Tabriz...
to found a philharmonic orchestra but after the Soviets' withdrawal returned to Baku. In 1947, Khanmammadov was admitted to the Azerbaijan State Conservatory to study folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
taught by Hajibeyov and Gara Garayev
Gara Garayev
Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev , also spelled as Qara Qarayev or Kara [Abulfazovich] Karayev, was a prominent Azerbaijani composer of the Soviet period...
respectively. He graduated in 1952. It was Garayev who challenged him to write a concerto for tar and symphonic orchestra for his graduation piece.
Khanmammadov also wrote two successful musical comedies: Bir dagiga ("One Minute", 1961; lyrics by Maharram Alizadeh) about the life of oil workers; and Butun arlar yakhshidir ("All Husbands Are Good", 1971; lyrics by Alexander Khaldeyev in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
). He also composed about 150 vocal songs, many of which were written specifically for the plaintive voice of Shovkat Alakbarova
Shovkat Alakbarova
Shovkat Feyzulla qizi Alakbarova was an Azerbaijani singer.-Life and Career Development:Shovkat Alakbarova was born to Azeri parents - Feyzulla and Hokuma Alakbarov and was the third of the family's four children. Her mother was a professional tar player and her father, a labourer, was a folk...
.
In addition to his work as a composer, Khanmammadov was involved in administration as Director of the Azerbaijan Musical Comedy Theatre in 1944–1948), Artistic Director of the Azerbaijan State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble in 1952–1954, and Director of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society in 1966–1968.
Recognition
Khanmammadov's contribution to Azerbaijani music was acknowledged on the State level with the following awards: Honorary Art Worker of Azerbaijan (1967), People's ArtistPeople's Artist
People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....
of Azerbaijan (1988), Professor of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory (1993), Order of Honor (1998), and the coveted Presidential monthly benefit since 2001.
Khanmammadov was 87 when he died.