Arif Mirsojew

Arif Mirsojew ( Azerbaijani Arif Abdulla oğlu Mirzəyev ; born April 10, 1944 in Baku , Soviet Union ) is a Soviet, Russian , Azerbaijani composer, organist and pianist.

Life

Arif Mirsojew grew up in Baku in a family of intellectuals with ancient musical traditions. He completed his musical and composing training at the State Conservatory of Azerbaijan with Qara Qarayev and studied the theory and history of organ music at the Moscow Conservatory (N. Malina, S. Dischur). He also worked as a music teacher. Arif Mirsojev's music was played by a number of well-known performers (F. Badalbeli, N. Gavrilova, N. Gureeva, L. Dedova, N. Kogan, M. Makarova, A. Markov, A. Sevidov, A. Slobodiannik, A. Fiseiski , N. Yashvili).

Arif Mirsojew currently lives in Fulda .

Artistic concept

As a composer, Arif Mirsojew combines western polyphony , oriental improvisation techniques ( mughamat ) and musical styles from various religious directions - Islam as well as Protestant and Catholic music - in a polystylistic way . He was nominated twice for the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2000, 2002) in the field of art. He is a specialist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and has been a member of the composers' association of Russia and Azerbaijan since 1979, the Societas Bach Internationalis (Leipzig, 1994).

Mirsojew's main instrument is the organ , he is also the composer of many chamber , vocal and jazz pieces .

Works

• Choral and classical fugue for organ solo (1963)
• Piano cycle "24 Preludes" (1966–1989)
• String quartet for two violins, alto and cello (1978)
• Sonata for violin and piano ("Leipziger", 1969)
• Jazz concert for two grand pianos (1989)
• Solo Organ Synphony in memoriam Johann Sebastian Bach (1984)
• Islamic Funeral Mass January Passions (1992)
• Sarabande for Princess Diana, organ solo (1997)
• New York Passions for chamber orchestra (2001)
• Second Organ Symphony Üzeyir Hacıbəyov (2008)

World premieres

• Moscow Conservatory , Great Hall (Moscow, USSR, 1985)
• City Catholic Church (Kiev, Ukraine, 1986)
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow, USSR, 1987)
• Niguliste (Tallinn, Estonia, 1987)
• Kaliningrad Regional Philharmonic (Königsberg / Kaliningrad, Russia, 1987)
• Matthias Church (Budapest) (Budapest, Hungary, 1987)
• Radio MDR, Leipzig, 1994
• House of Organ and Chamber Music ("German Church"), Baku, Azerbaijan, 1994
• St Giles Cathedral , Edinborough, UK, 1996
• Westminster Abbey , London, UK, 1996
• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Moscow) , Moscow, Russia, 2002
• Elisabethenkirche, Fulda, Germany, 2007
• Stockholms stadshus , Stockholm, Sweden, 2009
• Saint Petersburg Philharmonic , Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2009
• Nikolaikirche (Leipzig) , Leipzig Organ Autumn, Leipzig, Germany, 2010
• St Peter , Munich, Germany 2012
• Gabala Music Festival, Gabala, Azerbaijan, 2014
• House of Organ and Chamber Music, Baku, Azerbaijan
• Center for World Music (CWM), University of Hildesheim , Hildesheim, Germany, 2016

In the Russian and European press, Arif Mirsojew is called " JS Bach of the Orient " (A. Kotlarewski, Kurt Masur , Udo Zimmermann ).

Web links

• Website of the composer