Fikret Amirov was a prominent Azerbaijani composer of the Soviet period. He is the founder of the symphonic mugham genre in the history of Azerbaijani music. The creativity of the great composer is one of the brightest pages of the 20th century Azerbaijani music history.
Fikret Amirov was born on November 22, 1922 in Ganja city. He grew up in an atmosphere of Azerbaijani folk music. His father, Mashadi Jamil Amirov, was a famous mugam singer, who played tar and composed, including the 1915 opera Seyfal mulk.
During his childhood and early adolescence, Fikret began composing pieces for the piano. Upon his graduation from the Ganja Music College, Amirov entered the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire, now known as the Baku Music Academy, where he where he studied composition with Boris Zeidman and basics of Azerbaijani folk music with Uzeyir Hajibeyov.
In November 1941, the19-year-old Fikret Amirov was called up for conscription into Soviet army. He was enrolled in Tbilisi for 3 months to study at the communications courses. After finishing the course, he was sent to the Voronezh front on June 3, 1942. During those years, he also led an ensemble, and also learned to play in the mandolin, which is a Russian instrument. Fikret Amirov got an early discharge from the military November 1942 due to the illness.
In 1942-43 he worked as artistic director of the Ganja State Philharmonic Hall and Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall named after M. Magomayev in 1947, director of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theater named after M.F. Akhundov (1956-1959), secretary of the USSR Composers Union 1974. In 1980 he became Member of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic, and corresponding member of the Azerbaijan SSR Academy of Sciences in 1980.
In his work the composer actively uses Azerbaijani folk melodies.
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 "One Thousand and One 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. Michelle Kwan, World Champion Ice Skater from the U.S. used Fikret Amirov's symphonic piece "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz" in her skating program "Taj Mahal" in 1996.
He is the author of the book "In the World of Music", 1983.
In 1949 he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR, Honored Art Worker in 1955, Honorary Artist of the USSR in 1965, Republican Lenin Komsomol Prize in 1967. He was awarded the Order of Lenin (1959) and the Gold Medal of "Oraq and Chakic".
Corresponding member of ANAS Fikret Amirov died on February 20, 1984 in Baku and was buried in Honorary Alley.
