Today is the birthday of Maestro Niyazi

Today marks the 114th anniversary of the birth of Maestro Niyazi.

Niyazi Zulfugar oglu Tagizade-Hajibeyov was born on August 20, 1912, in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) into the family of the renowned composer and theater figure Zulfugar Hajibeyov, brother of Uzeyir Hajibeyov - the founder of Azerbaijani classical music.

Niyazi - a descendant of a famous musical dynasty - became the first Azerbaijani professional conductor to gain worldwide recognition. The formation and development of the Azerbaijani conducting school is associated with his name.

Accompanied by the orchestra under his direction, such outstanding performers as Bulbul, Rashid Behbudov, Muslim Magomayev, Lutfiyar Imanov, and others shone on stage.

Niyazi is the author of the operas "The Year 1920" and "Khosrov and Shirin," as well as the ballet "Chitra," based on the poem by Rabindranath Tagore.

He conducted such operas as "Nargiz" by Muslim Magomayev, "Koroghlu" by U. Hajibeyov, "Eugene Onegin" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, "Carmen" by Georges Bizet, "La Bohème" by Giacomo Puccini, and many others.