The theme of Karabakh in the creativity of Zemfira Safarova

Abstract

The article focuses on the important role of the research on Karabakh musicians and the art environment in Zemfira Safarova’s rich heritage. The scholar has been addressing the issue of Karabakh for the last 30 years and summarized her conclusions in the book “Shusha is a citadel of Azerbaijani music.” In the foreword of the book, Z.Safarova gives a brief excursion into the history of music in Azerbaijan and at the same time recreates a wide panorama of the literary, musical and scientific environment of Karabakh. In the first chapter, Z.Safarova provides information about the life and work of the scientist, musicologist and artist Mir Mohsun Navvab, who lived and created in the late XIX – early XX centuries and thoroughly studies his treatise “Vuzuhul-Argam” (“Explanation of the numbers”) in detail. The author points out that Z.Safarova started to investigate the legacy of Navvab in the early 80s, and thus, with the example of Navvab she demonstrated the high level of Shusha music culture in prestigious conferences and publications. Second chapter covers the multifaceted activities of Jabbar Qaryaghdioghlu, who conquered a qualitatively new level in the art of mugham and gave impetus to the emergence of the concept of “Azerbaijani mugham”. The author notes that Z.Safarova, conducting the research in a broad historical context, for the first time introduced J.Garyaghdioghlu along with the great enlighteners of the XX century. The book dedicated to the 270th anniversary of Shusha, published during the liberation of Karabakh after 30 years, and Z.Safarova’s overall research on Karabakh is considered an important event in modern Azerbaijani musicology.