Farghana Qasimova

Fargana Qasimova
Qasimova in 2014
Qasimova in 2014
Background information
Born (1979-08-06) August 6, 1979 (age 45)
OriginShamakhi District, Azerbaijani SSR, USSR
GenresMugham
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Singing, daf
Years active1996–present

Fargana Alim qizi Qasimova (Azerbaijani: Fərqanə Alim qızı Qasımova; born August 6, 1979) is an Azerbaijani mugham singer in Azerbaijan. She is the daughter of famous mugham singer Alim Qasimov. She has twice received presidential awards for the promotion of Azerbaijani music, in 2012 and 2014.[1]

Biography

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In 1995, at the age of sixteen, Qasimova joined Alim Qasimov on his concert tour to Germany for the first time.[2] By the age of twenty she had become a full-fledged singer in her own right, and Qasimov chose to include her daughter in her ensemble. Farghana first appeared on 1997's The Legendary Art of Mugham, on which the two shared vocal tasks on the song Getme Getme. Their next album included a track, Bagishlamani, dedicated to her colleague, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.[3] The release marked a high point for Qasimov as it was her first widely available release to western audiences and it proved a critical success.[4] Qasimova's efforts, with her father's guidance, to reconnect younger generations with mugham began to pay dividends; not only was appealing to traditional Islamic sections of the Azerbaijani population, but also to more Americanised and modern audiences.[5] The breakthrough amongst the younger generations spurred her on: "Sometimes young people come up after a concert to thank me. That's like giving me wings. I feel so elated when I can awaken such feelings in people while they are still young; mugham is not an easy genre for young people to understand".[2]

"Although I am her father, we have taken the journey in mugham together. Though I had begun earlier, it was with her birth that my own work became serious, or professional. Before then, I was just a playful young man in love with mugham.""[6]

Alim Qasimov on his daughter, Ferghana Qasimova Interview with Al-Ahram Weekly

In 1999, Qasimova with her father participated in “The Spirit of the East” concert directed and composed by Israeli Mizrahi musician Peretz Eliyahu and Mark Eliyahu.[7]

In 2007, she recorded and released further Central Asian Series, Vol. 6: Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan with her father. She also took the opportunity to perform in New York City in 2005 as part of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. The concert aimed to promote multi-cultural artistic exchange between eastern and western cultures and The New York Times regarded her performance, alongside Malik Mansurov and Rauf Islamov, as the highlight of the event.[8]

In 2002, she made her first appearance as a soloist at the Women's Voices Festival in Belgium.[9]

In 2014, she released Yalniz Ona Doghru, which became her first album.[10] In the same year, she gave her first solo concert in Baku.[11]

Discography

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Albums

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  • The Legendary Art of Mugham (October 15, 1997) with Alim Qasimov Ensemble
  • Love's Deep Ocean (October 11, 1999) with Alim Qasimov
  • Central Asian Series, Vol. 6: Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan (September 25, 2007) with Alim Qasimov
  • "Intimate dialogue" – Live at Morgenland Festival Osnabrück 2009 with Alim Qasimov
  • Durnalar (May 12, 2014)

References

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  1. ^ "İncəsənət xadimlərinə Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin mükafatlarının verilməsi haqqında Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Sərəncamı". president.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Betty Blair and Pirouz Khanlou (Spring 2001). "Master of Mugham". Azerbaijan International Magazine. pp. 42–45. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  3. ^ Trouillet, Jean (2000). Alim Qasimov: Love's Deep Ocean – liner notes.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Kieran. "Love's Deep Ocean review". Allmusic. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  5. ^ Hutcheon, David (September 19, 2008). "Alim Qasimov: the living legend you've never heard of". The Times. London. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  6. ^ Assir, Serene (May 8, 2008). "Alim and Fergana Qasimov: The Master and his Pearl". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  7. ^ "About Mark Eliyahu". markeliyahu.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  8. ^ Kozinn, Allan (April 12, 2005). "Currency Is Music in East-West Exchange". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  9. ^ "Biography of Fargana Qasimova". worldmusiccentral.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  10. ^ "Fərqanə Qasımovanın "Yalnız ona doğru" adlı ilk solo diskinin təqdimat mərasimi keçirilib". az.apa.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  11. ^ "Fərqanə Qasımovanın möhtəşəm solo konserti – VİDEO, FOTO". publika.az (in Azerbaijani). March 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farghana Qasimova.
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