Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera by Aida Huseynova (review)

This book traces the different Azerbaijani art-music forms from the mugham through its fusion with Western classical, jazz, and world art music. It is written to introduce this heritage to readers and listeners worldwide. Apart from Inna Narodiskaya's Song from the Land of Fire (2006), it is important to stress that no English-language scholarly literature or research has discussed Azerbaijani musical syncretism in any depth before. As the author states in her introduction, "[T]his is an American book about Azerbaijani music," and it reflects research with many Azerbaijani and American consultants, including a theoretical approach drawn from the work of Bruno Nettl. The exciting style of this study makes it easier to understand more specialized topics, such as the backdrop of cultural life under Soviet influence, and we learn that Azerbaijani musical development was not a product of Soviet cultural politics but rather grew from and reflected deep and complex cultural processes.

In chapter 1, "Azerbaijani Musical Nationalism during the Pre-Soviet and Soviet Eras," we are given a historical overview of how Azerbaijan was involved in Westernization and modernization by Russia. Against the "cosmopolitanism" backed by Russia, a countermovement appeared that supported "localism" and pride in local heritage. At the same time Azerbaijanis tried to be free from the dominant cultural heritage of Iran, creating a mugham style of their own.

The author speaks about the early works of the first Azerbaijan composer, Uzeyir Hajibeyli, who composed the first national opera and stressed the importance of the feasibility of an East-West synthesis. We are also introduced to the major works of Hajibeyli, Afrasiyab Badalbeyli, Fikret Amirov, Gara Garayev, and Vagif Mustafazade, all born in this period.

Huseynova paints a picture of the Janus-faced Soviet era, when "music and art in general could be 'national in form,' only to the extent that this did not interfere with being 'socialist in content'" (40). After 1932 the Proletkult declared war on cultural heritage of all Soviet nations: in Azerbaijan specifically against tar and mugham opera. This system continued until the end of the Soviet era, although after Stalin's death in 1953 the composers received more opportunity to express their individual voices.

Chapter 2, "Pioneers of the New Azerbaijani Musical Identity," explores the role of three Azerbaijani composers developing an East-West musical synthesis: Hajibeyli, the pioneer of Azerbaijani-composed music; Garayev, with his supranational vision; and Amirov, with a more distinct Middle Eastern heritage.

We get a detailed picture of the upbringing, artistic perception, and credos of these three composers, the evolution of their careers, and their Soviet ideological and musical influences. The author draws this important conclusion: "[T]he true discoveries of Azerbaijani composers lay in reimagining and reinterpreting the well-known form and genres of Western music through the lens of their native music and culture rather than through Russian orientalist clichés" (24).

Russians were taken as European in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani composers mastered forms of Western music through Russian composers. According to Richard Taruskin, "Russian musicians have always construed their identities in a larger European context" (1997, xv), yet "[f]or the French … Russia was East and Other" (ibid., 182).

Chapter 3, "The Russian Factor: Facilitating or Disrupting Synthesis?," presents two case studies on how Reinhold Gliere (from the 1920s) and Dmitri Shostakovich (after the 1940s) were involved in the process of Azerbaijanis mastering Western styles. The author effectively illustrates the case of Russian (Belgian-Jewish) composer Gliere, who understood not only different musical trends and their mutual interactions but also their underlying political backdrop. The invitation of Gliere to Baku to compose an opera was a political and an artistic project; his principal mission was to expand the colonial rule of Russia over Azerbaijan. Although his opera Shahsenem was seemingly a great success, there was a huge gap between Gliere...