24 October 2013
Alim Qasimov Ensemble showcases traditional spiritual Azerbaijani Music
Family musical act Alim Qasimov Ensemble dazzled audience at the Cultural Hall in the fourth show of the 22nd Bahrain International Music Festival, which runs from the October 20 – 25, 2013.
Accompanied by a quartet of young musicians, Alim Qasimov and his daughter Fargana Qasimova whisked the audience away on a spiritual journey through the Azerbaijani classical music known as mugham and the popular traditional Bardic songs of singer-songwriters known as ashiqs.
Mugham is a veritable history lesson as it reflects more than 1,000 years of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish influences by the great cultural centers of North Africa, Middle East, West Asia, and Central Asia on Azerbaijan and its surrounding region, known as Transcaucasia.
Qasimov is well-known around the world, and was awarded the prestigious IMC-UNESCO International Music Prize for Performers in 1999 in recognition of his illustrious career and contribution to music and cultural dialogue.
The concert is presented in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initiative, a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, with which Qasimov has partnered with since 2002.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the 22nd Bahrain International Music Festival lineup features award-winning artists from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Cuba, Germany, Azerbaijan, and the Czech Republic from a wide range of genres such as opera, Latin, Western classical, Arabic, and Azerbaijani music.
The Prague Chamber Orchestra headlines the fifth and penultimate show to be held on Thursday (Oct 24). The group, unique in that plays without the benefit of a conductor, specializes in classical, baroque, and Bohemian music.
Festival shows are held at the Cultural Hall and are open to the public. More information about the 22nd Bahrain International Music Festival is available at (www.moc.gov.bh) or on Twitter at (moc_bh).
