The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from Azerbaijan
This page contains a list of the greatest Azerbaijani Composers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,451 Composers, 8 of which were born in Azerbaijan. This makes Azerbaijan the birth place of the 26th most number of Composers behind Brazil, and Argentina.
Top 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Azerbaijani Composers of all time. This list of famous Azerbaijani Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885 - 1948)
With an HPI of 60.80, Uzeyir Hajibeyov is the most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages on wikipedia.
Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 1885 – 23 November 1948) was an Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music.Hajibeyov composed the music of the national anthem of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (which was re-adopted after Azerbaijan regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991). He also composed the anthem used by Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. He was the first composer of an opera in the Islamic world. He composed the first oriental opera Leyli and Majnun in 1908 and since then he is revered for adapting the written masterpiece to the theatre.
2. Gara Garayev (1918 - 1982)
With an HPI of 56.25, Gara Garayev is the 2nd most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.
Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev (Azerbaijani: Qara Əbülfəz oğlu Qarayev, Russian: Кара́ Абульфа́зович Кара́ев (Kara Abulfazovich Karayev), February 5, 1918 – May 13, 1982), also spelled as Qara Qarayev or Kara Karayev, was a prominent Soviet Azerbaijani composer. Garayev wrote nearly 110 musical pieces, including ballets, operas, symphonic and chamber pieces, solos for piano, cantatas, songs, and marches, and rose to prominence not only in the Azerbaijan SSR, but also in the rest of the Soviet Union and worldwide.
3. Fikret Amirov (1922 - 1984)
With an HPI of 55.81, Fikret Amirov is the 3rd most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.
Fikret Mashadi Jamil oghlu Amirov (Azerbaijani: Fikrət Məşədi Cəmil oğlu Əmirov; November 22, 1922, Ganja – February 20, 1984, Baku) was a prominent Soviet and Azerbaijani composer.
4. Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (b. 1947)
With an HPI of 49.41, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh is the 4th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Franghiz Ali Aga Kïzï Ali-Zadeh (born 29 May 1947) is an Azerbaijani composer and pianist of contemporary classical music. Her music synthesizes Western classical modernist techniques with the Azerbaijani mugham art music. Among her better known works are the chamber piece Gabil Sajahy (1979) for cello and piano, as well as the ballet Empty Cradle (1993); she has also written instrumental, vocal and film music.
5. Arif Malikov (1933 - 2019)
With an HPI of 49.27, Arif Malikov is the 5th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Arif Malikov (also Melikov; Baku, 13 September 1933 – Baku, 9 May 2019) was an Azerbaijani composer. He graduated from the Baku Conservatory as a music composer in 1958. He shot to fame in 1961 when his first major composition "Legend of Love" was staged at the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad (present day St Petersburg) and received nationwide acclaim. The ballet has been staged in several countries in Europe and is regarded as one of the finest works emerging from the former Soviet Union. The ballet "Legend of Love", is based upon the legend of "Farhad and Shirin", a story of unrequited love that was immortalized by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet. Malikov went on to write music for two more ballets, including "Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet)" Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet) ("Dvoe" or "Two") (1967) and "Poem of Two Hearts" (1981), five symphonies & eight symphony poems. He also wrote scores for a large number of films and plays and was familiar with practically all genres of music composition. Malikov was conferred the highest award that an artist could get in the former Soviet Union — The People's Artist of the USSR. He was also honoured with a concert hall named after him at Turkey's Bilkent University. He was an Honorary Doctor of Khazar University (2012), Baku. Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union (late 1991), Malikov settled in Baku, where he taught music in the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. He was a founding member of Eurasian Academy.He died on 9 May 2019, at the age of 85.
6. Avet Terterian (1929 - 1994)
With an HPI of 48.72, Avet Terterian is the 6th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Alfred Roubenovich "Avet" Terterian (also Terteryan) (Armenian: Ալֆրեդ "Ավետ" Տերտերյան, July 29, 1929 – December 11, 1994) was an Armenian composer, awarded the Konrad Adenauer Prize.Terterian composed eight (completed) symphonies, several of which are recorded, an opera and several chamber works.Terterian was a friend and colleague of Giya Kancheli, Konstantin Orbelyan, and Tigran Mansurian. Dmitri Shostakovich praised Terterian as "very talented" and "with great future" in one of his letters, published by his friend Isaak Glikman, having heard a recording of Terterian's works at Armenia's "House of Composers" summer resort in Dilijan, Armenia.He studied at the Music Academy in Baku from 1948, and moved to the Romanos-Melikian Music Academy in 1951. He studied composition at the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan from 1952. He was Executive Secretary of the Armenian Composers’ Union from 1960 to 1963. He was Chairman of the Music Department at the Armenian Cultural Ministry from 1970 and 1974. He joined Yerevan Conservatory as a professor in 1985. In 1989, he moved to the village of Ayrivank, located on the western shore of Lake Sevan, Gegharkunik region of Armenia.Yekaterinburg's annual music festival is named after Terterian.Giya Kancheli's work Styx, written for solo viola, chorus, and orchestra is a farewell to his friends Terterian and Alfred Schnittke, whose names are sung by the choir during the work.Terterian's son, Dr. Ruben Terterian, was a professor of music in Samborondón, Ecuador, until his death in January 2020; and former prorector at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan.His most notable student is Vache Sharafyan.
7. Elza Ibrahimova (1938 - 2012)
With an HPI of 47.32, Elza Ibrahimova is the 7th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Elza Imameddin qizi Ibrahimova (Azerbaijani: Elza İmaməddin qızı İbrahimova, Russian: Эльза Имамеддин кызы Ибрагимова, 10 January 1938, Hajigabul, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR – 11 February 2012, Baku, Azerbaijan) was an Azerbaijani composer, People's artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2008) and People's artist of Dagestan.
8. Tofig Guliyev (1917 - 2000)
With an HPI of 47.32, Tofig Guliyev is the 8th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Tofig Alakbar oglu Guliyev (Azerbaijani: Tofiq Ələkbər oğlu Quliyev; 7 November 1917, Baku[1] – 4 October 2000, Baku) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani composer, pianist, and conductor.
9. Rauf Hajiyev (1922 - 1995)
With an HPI of 45.11, Rauf Hajiyev is the 9th most famous Azerbaijani Composer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Rauf Soltan oghlu Hajiyev (Azerbaijani: Rauf Soltan oğlu Hacıyev; 15 May 1922 – 19 September 1995) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani composer and politician. He was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the USSR (1978). He was Chairman of the Union of Composers of the Azerbaijan SSR, minister of culture of the Azerbaijan SSR (1965–1971).
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as Azerbaijani composers born between 1885 and 1947. Of these 9, 1 (11.11%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Azerbaijani composers include Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. The most famous deceased Azerbaijani composers include Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Gara Garayev, and Fikret Amirov. As of April 2024, 1 new Azerbaijani composers have been added to Pantheon including Rauf Hajiyev.
Living Azerbaijani Composers
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Uzeyir Hajibeyov
1885 - 1948
HPI: 60.80
Gara Garayev
1918 - 1982
HPI: 56.25
Fikret Amirov
1922 - 1984
HPI: 55.81
Arif Malikov
1933 - 2019
HPI: 49.27
Avet Terterian
1929 - 1994
HPI: 48.72
Elza Ibrahimova
1938 - 2012
HPI: 47.32
Tofig Guliyev
1917 - 2000
HPI: 47.32
Rauf Hajiyev
1922 - 1995
HPI: 45.11
Newly Added Azerbaijani Composers (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 8 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
