(The famous Azerbaijani conductor Ramiz Melik-Aslanov, who has been living and working in Istanbul for nearly 20 years, has told Turan about preparing for the Beethoven Festival and other prestigious international projects).
- Maestro, you have not been in Baku, working for a long time in Turkey. Tell us how you got there and what are you doing?
- I have for 18 years managed the Symphony Youth Orchestra at Istanbul University. For this season we have a very busy program and interesting projects.
First of all, it is the Istanbul Music Festival in June, and in the same month, production of the Marriage of Figaro. Prior to that, our orchestra will give a concert in April.
But the most important event is that it will participate in the Beethoven Festival in Germany in early October, and before that on September 26 – a concert in Berlin.
It may seem that a lot of the time is left, but we must bear in mind that the musicians will be in the summer holidays, so the time to prepare is very little. And the festival organizers ask our band to perform the symphony, which is specially written for this by the composer of Turkish origin Zeinab Gedishchioglu. She is a graduate of the Istanbul Conservatory and completed her graduate studies in Strasbourg and Berlin and is a master and continues to live and work there. Today she is one of the most fashionable and popular composers of Germany.
Here I want to point out that 10 years ago the band won the contest after Beethoven, and now after all this time the German side invites us. I note that the Beethoven Festival is No. 1 in the world of classical music festivals. It lasts for a month and involves dozens of teams. One of the rules is required performance of a symphony by Beethoven.
On September 26 we will fly to Berlin and on the same evening we will perform a concert. But we'll start rehearsing at the end of August in Istanbul, and preparation will actually last only a month. But most interesting is that the composer writes a symphony and we will get the product for a month before the show, which is very little!
In addition, I was asked to choose one for a solo cello concert at the festival in Istanbul. It will be necessary to select among a dozen candidates from different countries. It is great work and God grant me health and strength to get things done.
But I have such a nature that I can not sit still. Here a couple of years ago I decided to create a studio of audio-video recording in our Conservatory. Before, we depended on the TV channels and studios, and now all this is performed by our own guys not worse than others. It all started with the fact that I did not like how we were recorded. So I sent one student for my own money to the EMI record courses and also for my money began to acquire the necessary equipment for recording.
University leadership saw that there was a good result and I was able to get 40 thousand dollars to build a normal studio. This student’s sister was a photographer and we brought her for taking photos and shooting videos. Now we have received another 240 000 euros and we are retooling the studio on a high level, that is, we will record and picture and sound ourselves.
- Tell us more about your band.
- They are young people under 30. Most of them are students of our Conservatory, but there are also people from the outside. Germans, Swiss, and Canadians also come and if they suit the level, I accept them. But the backbone of the orchestra is Turks, with whom we were able to create one of the best youth orchestras in the world. They are about 100 people, and I choose each of them and know everyone as a musician and person. This is my second family. Working with them, I do not just play music, but prolong my life, getting physical and moral satisfaction from the fact that there are people who love music, there are conditions created and there is a society that values and creates conditions for this.
- Do you not think about a successor?
- These guys will eat anyone, as they are not so easy, although, they love me and fear me at the same time. Over the years I have developed a management system that allows me to control the situation, while maintaining a good working relationship with the team.
Actually, it all depends on the person, it all starts here. Everything else is derivative.
E.g. at 28 years of age, I was appointed chief conductor of the New Symphony Orchestra of Radio and Television of Azerbaijan. I think today we need to promote young conductors in Azerbaijan so that in 10 years from now they could go up to the international level.
I came to Turkey in 1994 as principal conductor to the Ankara Opera and Ballet Theatre.
But the Director that invited me was dismissed and I hung in the air, even though I was offered to go to Mersin. At the same time, a job in the Istanbul orchestra became vacant. I came, but I did not like it, although management of the University really wanted to win me over and the entire summer of 1994, they tried to persuade me to give up Mersin, and work in Istanbul.
When I arrived, I realized that this was my place with a huge opportunity for creative nature. Later I realized that talented and hard-working people in Istanbul are not lost and will receive a lot of proposals.
When I took this orchestra, it was an average level, but for a few years we rose to the level that allowed us to win at the Beethoven Festival in 2002. It is a music Oscar and I am proud that I was able to achieve this.
In 2009, I brought the orchestra to Baku, and I remember the reaction of colleagues, who were impressed with our achievements.
- What is your schedule for this season?
- In April - a concert in Istanbul
May 1-2 - two shows of The Marriage of Figaro in Istanbul
June 10 – performance at the Istanbul Festival
September 26 - Performance in Berlin
September 27 to October 3 - a series of performances in Bonn as part of the Beethoven Festival.
I've got plans to put a premiere suite by Javanshir Guliyev in Istanbul, but I am too busy and do not know exactly when I can do it.
Given that in Istanbul, Berlin, and elsewhere there are a lot of our fellow countrymen now, I invite all of them to our shows. You will not regret!
The only thing I ask God for is to give me health and strength to realize all the creative plans.
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We take this opportunity to congratulate the Maestro on his birthday and wish him good health and the implementation of all the creative and other plans!
Culture
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On July 9, the 2024 Germany-France Gender Equality Award for contributions to gender equality was presented at the residence of the German Embassy in Azerbaijan.
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The search for identity and meaning in life by modern humans is a topic recently addressed by many artists. The group exhibition "Everything Will Be Alright: Tomorrow or Someday" at YAY Gallery features works by Rasim Babayev, Elshan Baba, Orkhan Huseynov, Terlan Gorchu, Aida Mahmudova, Qafar Rzayev, Zamir Suleymanov, and CHINGIZ. This exhibition explores various aspects of truth and identity through the contemporary lens. Curated by Zahra Mammadova, the exhibition focuses on how art influences individuals.
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People seek to learn about past eras by conducting research on the internet, watching films, or being regular attendees of theatrical performances. Some periods in cultural history have not been deeply studied, and finding precise, detailed information in the Azerbaijani language is nearly impossible. One such period is the Qajar era, which lasted from 1794 to 1985.
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V "Sevil" International Women's Documentary Film Festival is held in Azerbaijan from 5 to 12 July.
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