Today is the birthday of Jahangir Jahangirov

Today is the birthday of Soviet and Azerbaijani composer, conductor, choirmaster, and People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR Jahangir Jahangirov.

Jahangir Jahangirov was born on June 20, 1921, in the Balakhani settlement of Baku. He graduated from the A. Zeynally Music School and then the Azerbaijan State Conservatory.

After completing the seven-year music school, he studied at the Theater School, and from 1937 at the theory department of the music college. In 1940, he enrolled in the Azerbaijani folk music faculty of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, where he studied the fundamentals of Azerbaijani folk music under the guidance of the founder of Azerbaijani compositional music, Uzeyir Hajibeyli, and took composition lessons from Boris Zeidman.

From 1949, the composer directed the choir established at Azerbaijan Radio and worked with this ensemble for over 15 years. Most of the songs he wrote for the first time were performed by the choir he directed. In the 1940s, the composer directed the choir of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic.

Jahangir Jahangirov's work is distinguished by its diversity. The composer created choral and instrumental musical works, as well as operas. The composer authored the vocal-symphonic poem for choir and symphony orchestra "Beyond the Araz," the cantatas "Song of Friendship," "Fuzuli," and "Nasimi," the oratorios "Sabir," "Husein Javid - 59," and "Great Victory," and the operas "Azad" and "The Singer's Fate." Jahangir Jahangirov also composed music for the films "The Undefeated Battalion," "The Untamed Kura," and others. Among these works, the cantata "Fuzuli" brought Jahangir Jahangirov the greatest fame. In the cantata, he was able to reveal the image of the great poet with a uniquely impressive and moving musical language of his inner world. The text of the cantata is based on three ghazals by Fuzuli.

J. Jahangirov was awarded a number of orders and medals. He passed away on March 25, 1992. He is buried in the First Alley of Honorable Burial in Baku.