Gara Garayev: UNT Centennial Celebration

On Monday, February 12, 2018, the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas in collaboration with the Azerbaijan - American Music Foundation held a concert marking the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Gara Garayev, one of Azerbaijan’s most celebrated composers. It was the first major event in a series of planned programs in the USA honoring the centenary of the legendary artist.

The elegant Voertman Hall of the College of Music hosted well-known musicians consisting of distinguished members of the faculty, and guest artists from the Dallas Symphony orchestra. Among them, acclaimed pianist Vladimir Viardo, Chair of the keyboard studies at UNT, Steven Harlos, Regents Professor of double bass Jeff Bradetich, Professor of voice Carol Wilson, Professor of Cello Eugene Osadchy, laureate of multiple international piano competitions guest pianist Anastasia Markina, international artist Jamila Javadova-Spitzberg, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra musicians: violinists Filip Fenrych and Aleksandr Snytkin, violist Ann Marie Brink, cellist Jeffrey Hood, doctoral students Yuki Kumamoto and William Hayter.

Garayev’s artistic heritage was represented in a chamber music setting and included the composer’s famous piano preludes, a violin sonata, vocal romances, transcriptions from the Don Quixote Symphonic Engravings, dances from Seven Beauties and The Path of Thunder ballets. Garayev’s music, its striking harmonies, diverse images, vibrant rhythms and outstanding performances left an indelible impression on listeners. The evening was a true celebration of the composer’s life, legacy, and his music. The Garayev event made into the Texas national news, attracted art reports from the Dallas Morning News and the Denton Record-Chronicle who published articles glorifying name and music of the composer.