National pianist delights Moscow audience with mugham music

Azerbaijani pianist and musicologist Riad Mammadov has delighted the audience in Moscow with mugham music, Azernews reports.

Mugham, renowned as the major genre of Azerbaijan's classical folk music, has gone through a long path of development.

The mugham contains seven main modes: Rast, Shur, Segah, Shushtar, Bayaty-Shiraz, Chahargah, and Humayun.

In 2003, UNESCO proclaimed Azerbaijani Mugham a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." It was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2008.

The Mugham concert "East of Paradise III" left no one indifferent. Riad Mammadov presented to the Russian public a program combining mugham, jazz, and modern music.

The pianist shared the stage with academic and folk musicians: Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan Teyyub Aslanov (khanende/qaval), Honoured Artists of Azerbaijan Aliagha Sadiyev (tar), Kamran Karimov (nagara), musicians Sergey Korchagin (double bass), and Artem Yurlov (drums).

Riad Mammadov is considered one of the few professional musicians in the world working in the jazz mugham genre.

The musician recorded a solo album with works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Debussy, two vinyl records with his own piano pieces, and a single "Waiting for Aziza" in jazz mugham style.

In 2014, Riad was appointed special musical advisor for the 1st European Games Ceremonies under musical directors, maestro Teodor Currentzis, Vangelino Currentzis, and artistic director Dimitris Papaioannou.

He was a student of such prominent music teachers as V. Merjanov, A. Bonduryanskiy, M. Lidskiy, E. Nazirova, S. Beybutova, and others.

While studying, Riad became a scholarship holder of the Heydar Aliyev Presidential Fund. Upon graduating, he was invited as a guest artist to the Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre.

The musician has successfully performed in over 15 countries. He shared the same stage with the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra, the Qara Qarayev State Chamber Orchestra, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, the New Munich Orchestra, and the State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Novosibirsk Philharmonia, headed by famous conductors T. Currentzis, R. Abdullayev, M. Emelyanychev, A. Skoryer, T. Geokchayev, E. Quliyev, and others.

As a pianist, he has been a participant in such music festivals as the Niagara Music Festival (Canada), the Diaghilev Festival (Russia), the Primavera Classica Festival (Russia), the Music Ark Project by V. Martinov (Russia), a summer jazz festival in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the U. Hajibayli International Festival (Azerbaijan), the Caspian Jazz and Blues Festival, the International Baku Jazz Festival (Azerbaijan), the International Music Festival in Gabala (Azerbaijan), the Electro Jazz Festival in Electrotheatre named after Stanislavsky, and others.

His performances have been broadcast on television and radio in Russia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Belgium, the U.S., and other countries.

Riad has extensive teaching experience. He is also an author of a number of scientific articles on the classification of genres in Azerbaijan's modern music.