Serbia Pays Tribute to Legendary Composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli

A commemorative event was held in front of the bust of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the founder of Azerbaijani musical culture and a great composer, in Novi Sad, Serbia, marking the 140th anniversary of his birth and National Music Day.

The staff of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Serbia honored the great composer with a one-minute silence and laid a wreath at the base of his bust, The Caspian Post reports citing AZERTAC.

Addressing the ceremony, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Serbia, Kamil Khasiyev, spoke about Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the founder of the national composition school, creator of the first national opera and operetta, musicologist, publicist, playwright, pedagogue, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan and the USSR, and academician, highlighting his exceptional contributions to the history and culture of Azerbaijani classical music. He also emphasized that President Ilham Aliyev had signed a decree to officially commemorate the great composer’s 140th anniversary.

The ambassador recalled that in 1995, on the occasion of Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s 110th anniversary, National Leader Heydar Aliyev issued a decree declaring September 18 as National Music Day.

He also highlighted that in 2009, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture established the International Music Festival named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli.