Fikret Amirov - 12 Miniatures [No. 2,4,6,8,10,12]

Fikret Amirov (1922, Ganja - 1984, Baku) was a prominent Azerbaijani composer of the Soviet period.In 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, Amirov, 19 at the time, was drafted to the Soviet army. He was wounded near Voronezh, hospitalized and demobilized from the military service, returning to Baku to continue his studies at the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire.Amirov's music was strongly influenced by Azeri folk melodies. He created a new genre called symphonic mugam. Amirov's symphonic mugams were based on classical folk pieces and were performed by many renowned symphony orchestras throughout the world, such as the Houston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski.Amirov was a prolific composer. His most famous pieces include symphonic works such as "Shur" (1946), Kurd Ovshari (1949), "Azerbaijan Capriccio" (1961), "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz" (1968), "The Legend of Nasimi" (1977), "To the Memory of the Heroes of the Great National War" (1944), "Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra" (1948) etc.His ballets include "Nizami" (1947) and Arabian Nights, which premiered in 1979. Amirov wrote the opera "Sevil" in 1953.He also wrote a number of pieces for the piano including "Ballad," "Ashug's Song," "Nocturne," "Humoreska," "Lyrical Dance," "Waltz," "Lullaby" and "Toccata." He also wrote numerous film scores.In 1940, frequent musical nights and concerts were held in the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall. Fikret Amirov took part in these concerts and became more familiar with the works of Western and Russian composers, and used their musical language. He also attended in the symphonic orchestra exercises. His pieces was built on folk traditions of Azerbaijan and Middle East. However, the folkloric elements can be identified in them whether they are Azerbaijani or Arabic, as in the case of his ballet “Arabian Nights,” his “Concerto on an Arabian Theme for the Piano and Orchestra” (together with Elmira Nazirova) and “The Song of the Blind Arab”. As the composer used to do a lot of research before starting his pieces, strong folkloric elements can be observed in his compositions. For example, prior to composing his ballet "Arabian Nights," he visited several Arabic countries-Iraq, Yemen and Egypt-and brought back tapes and records. His orchestral suites, based on the style of Azerbaijan Mugams often contain melodies that are reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov, Khachaturian and Turkish music. One of his early success outside the USSR was Kyurd Ovsharï suite conducted by Leopold Stokowski.---0:00 Ashug"An Ashik (Azerbaijani: aşıq; Turkish: aşık; Armenian: աշուղ) was traditionally a singer who accompanied his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as hikaye) or a shorter original composition—with a long necked lute (bağlama) in Turkish culture and related Turkic cultures. The modern Azerbaijani ashik is a professional musician who usually serves an apprenticeship, masters playing the bağlama, and builds up a varied but individual repertoire of Turkic folk songs. The heroic poems, which they recited to the accompaniment of the kopuz, flattered the sensibilities of an entire people."0:42 Humoreske1:41 On the hunt2:26 Waltz4:01 Toccata4:47 MarchI think the last two pieces here are my favorites. Especially the waltz is so catchy to me for some reason, I really like the ideas in it. Also note how short the pieces are, and the folklore elements in the music are really standing out.