On the second night of his concert at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, the well-known Azerbaijani ‘mugham’ (one of the many folk musical compositions from Azerbaijan) singer Alim Qasimov was presented a sash of honor by the famous Iranian traditional singer Shahram Nazeri.
In a special ceremony to honor the mugham singer, on the second night of his performance in Tehran, Maestro Nazeri placed the sash of honor on Qasimov saying, “it is an honor for me to pay tribute to a singer dubbed as the Eastern Nightingale.”
Calling it a great night as he “felt like being in heaven,” Nazeri added, “music is nothing but love; if singers feel no love in their heart, it would be impossible for their music and words to penetrate into the listeners’ mind and heart.”
Qasimov for his part thanked him and the audience who came to the performance. The event was attended by a number of art and cultural figures including actors Parviz Parastui, Golab Adineh, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Behnaz Jafari, Pante’a Bahram, author Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, singer Mohammad Motamedi, etc.
Due to the warm reception by the public on the first two nights, the concert was extended till January 13. Qasimov together with his daughter Farghana was accompanied by Tehran wind instrument orchestra conducted by Javid Majlesi and managed by Sina Zokaei and performed 12 Azeri pieces each night for the fans, who were mostly Azeris living in Tehran.
Alim Qasimov is one of the foremost ‘mugham’ singers in Azerbaijan. Qasimov was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of the highest international accolades for music. His music is characterized by his vocal improvisation and represents a move away from the traditional style of mugham. He has recorded nine albums, three of which are mugham albums with his daughter, Farghana.
