Kuliev, Tofig Alekper oglu

Tofig Kuliev was born on November 7, 1917 in Baku , in the family of engineer-economist Alekper Kuliev. The mother of the composer Yahshi, Khanum Makhmudova, studied at the Gadzhi Zeynalabdin Tagiyev Gymnasium and was one of the first Azerbaijani judges ^[1] . Amazing musical abilities led him already at the age of 12 to the student bench of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory , and in 1934 he entered the Baku Conservatory , where he studied at two faculties - piano (in the class of Professor I.S. Iceberg) and conductor (in the class Professor S. G. Strasser).

The conservatory is the first acquaintance of the young Kuliev with the works of the great classics of the past - Bach , Beethoven , Tchaikovsky , Schubert , and other composers . The bright talent of Kuliyev attracts the attention of the music community and soon, on the advice and initiative of U. Hajibeyov , in 1936 the People’s Commissariat of Azerbaijan sent Tofig Kuliyev for further training at the Moscow State Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky . Here he learns to conduct, for some time he is engaged in the piano class of Professor Neuhaus . Soon he begins to work as a pianist in the famous pop orchestra in those years under the direction of A. Tsfasman , in which he successfully worked until 1939 .

The first experiments of Tofig Kuliev in the composition date back to the early 30s. While still a student at the labor school, in 1931 , Kuliev, on the advice of one of his first first teachers, who had already won popular recognition by that time, Asef Zeynalli , writes a song to the words of Mirz Alekper Sabir - “About the schoolboy”. Starting in 1935, Tofig Kuliyev began conducting work at the Azerbaijan State Drama Theater named after Mashadi Azizbekov.

The activity of Kuliyev as a folklorist, which began in the 30s, was of great importance in the creative biography of not only the composer himself, but also in the musical and social life of Azerbaijan. Tofig Kuliyev was one of those creative personalities that played a significant role in the development and popularization of Azerbaijani folklore. He is one of the first composers of Azerbaijan who performed musical notation of mugams . In 1936 he published (together with composer 3. Bagirov ) records of the mugams “Rast”, “Shackles”, “Zabul”, “Dugyakh”.

In 1939, having returned to Baku, Tofig Kuliev was engaged in organizational work to create a national orchestra, whose active work coincided with the start of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 . During the war years, a pop orchestra created by the composer and named the Red Army Ensemble is part of the 402nd Infantry Division and gives concerts on the front line. For the orchestra, Tofig Kuliev writes a number of songs of patriotic content: “Not a Step Back” (words by A. Surkov ), “Tender Hand” (words by N. Dorizo ), “About the Russian Girl”, “Song of the Fighters”. Since 1943, the ensemble was divided into two groups. One of them, called Krasnoflotskaya, continued to be led by Tofig Kuliev. The ensemble often performs at the forefront, on the Caucasian front , in the Crimea , and leaves with concerts for parts of the Army in Iran .

After the end of the war, Kuliyev begins composing at the Azerbaijan State Russian Drama Theater named after Samed Vurgun , Azerbaijan Theater of Young Spectator named after M. Gorky . For several years of working with theaters, he wrote music for the performances of “The Twelfth Night” by V. Shakespeare , “The Young Guard” by A. Fadeev , “Aydin” by D. Jabbarly , “On the Far Shores” by G. Seidbeyli and I. Kasumov , “Brothers” R. Rza , “Gariba Adam” (“Eccentric”) by N. Hikmet , “Shirvan Beauty” by E. Mammadkhanli .

1940-50s

In the 40s, T. Kuliev began his work in the cinema, actively continuing it in subsequent decades. At the same time, he writes a number of songs dedicated to the Motherland - “Song of the Motherland”, “Azerbaijan”, “Ala Dag”. Tofig Kuliev begins a creative collaboration with the outstanding singer Rashid Beibutov , one of the best performers of the composer's songs. Creative fans make concert tours of the cities of the Soviet Union, accompanied by great success.

The result of his many years of expeditions to the districts of Azerbaijan were collections of Azerbaijani folk dances ( 1951 ), 15 Azerbaijani folk dances ( 1955 ) and the two-volume Azerbaijan Songs ( 1956 - 1958 ), edited by the prominent singer Bul-Bul . In the following years, the composer continues recording and processing folklore material; in the 1950s and 1960s, he compiled Arabic, Indian, Bulgarian, and Chinese songs. Of great importance for the national musical culture was the work of Tofig Kuliyev on recording and publishing mugams.

Despite great creative and performing success, Tofig Kuliev considers it necessary to continue his education and in 1948 resumes his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in conducting the class of Professor A. Ginzburg and composition in the class of Professor K. Golubev. After graduating from the conservatory in 1951 , Tofig Kuliev enters the graduate school of the Moscow Conservatory, where he completes his education under the guidance of the outstanding conductor Alexander Gauk . Since 1954, having returned to Baku, he has been teaching in the Azerbaijan Conservatory named after Uzeyir Hajibeyov. Here he leads a student orchestra, opera and orchestral classes, teaches instrumental studies. Since 1958, the composer has been working in the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic named after M. Magomaev, artistic director, and soon director. In the same years, the composer's piano compositions appeared, among them - “Lezginka”, “Variations”, songs “Branched Gold” (lyrics by Zharki), “ Do not be proud ”, “I love you”, “Good Land, Azerbaijan”. By the second decade of Azerbaijani art in Moscow , in 1959, the composer created the cantata "Song of Moscow". During these years he wrote a lot of music for dramatic performances, for the play “Crime of Anthony Grant” - by M. Volibransky, R. Rubinstein, “When the Acacia Blossoms” - by M. Vishnyakova. In this decade, Tofig Kuliev wrote music for many films that have gained immense popularity, Under the Sultry Sky ( 1958 ), Bakhtiyar ( 1959 ), and Can He Be Forgiven ( 1959 ).

1960s-70s

Active creative and musical-social activities marked the 60s and 70s. Tofig Kuliev is a participant in many international conferences, festivals, and art festivals. In 1962, at the invitation of the Academy of Arts, he took part in a conference on the development of musical art and the exchange of cultural experiences, later participated in the Days of Azerbaijani Art in Czechoslovakia , where he composed the songs "Bratislava" and "Song of Prague", which gained popularity in Czechoslovakia .

In the same period, Tofig Kuliyev leads the delegation of Azerbaijani artists in Bulgaria , Poland , Italy . Being for many years the first secretary of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan , he pays much attention to the education of young composers, manages many composer plenums, music festivals, conferences, congresses. He often makes speeches and articles on various problems and tasks of Azerbaijani art.

In 1966, during the days of the Decade of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan, Tofig Kuliev, together with composer V. Solovyov-Sedym , created the song “Good Land, Azerbaijan” (lyrics by Z. Jabbarzade ) ^[2] . In the same period, he created a cycle of international songs: “ Moldova ” ( 1966 ), a cycle of songs about Georgia . In 1972, the Tofig Kuliyev’s song “Oilmen” opens the year in Brussels with the International Exhibition of Demonstration of Azerbaijani Culture.

In the 1980s and 90s, Tofig Kuliev devoted most of his time to social activities.

Creativity of Tofig Kuliyev was highly appreciated - he was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR, the title of Laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR .

He died on October 5, 2000 at the age of 82, after a long illness. He was buried in the Alley of Honor in Baku ^[3] .

Tofig Kuliev is the author of song melodies for the films “ Meeting ” ( 1955 ), “Favorite Song” ( 1955 ), “Stepmother” ( 1958 ), “Telephone Operator” ( 1962 ), “Nasimi” ( 1974 ), “Dervish Explodes Paris” ( 1976 ), “The Lion Left Home” ( 1977 ), “The Price of Happiness” ( 1977 ), “Mother-in-law” ( 1978 ), “Paradise Will Not Meet You Here” ( 1982 ), “Remembering the Pomegranate Tree” ( 1984 ), “ Beyond ”( 1991 ).

• Do not be proud! (Sənə də Qalmaz) (link not available)
• Ağacda Leylək (inaccessible link)

• 2 orders of the Red Banner of Labor (06/09/1959; 04/04/1977)
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (11/06/1987)
• Order of the Badge of Honor (07/02/1971)
• medal "For Labor Valor" (03/06/1950)
• other medals

In 2009, an evening devoted to the memory of the composer Tofig Kuliev was held at the Russian Information and Cultural Center ^[4] .

• Azerbaijani jazz
• Beibutov, Rashid Majid oglu
• Karaev, Kara Abulfaz oglu
• Azerbaijan music

• Tofig Alekper oglu Kuliev