Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Active member of ANAS Gara Garayev was born on February 5, 1918 in Baku.

He is one of the most worthy representatives of the national school of composers who glorified Azerbaijan in the world.

In 1935 Gara Garayev entered the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, then studied at the Baku Conservatory in composition Leopold Rudolph classes and the basics of folk music from Uzeyir Hajibeyov. In 1937 he was elected as a member of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan. In 1946 he graduated from the class of composers Shostakovich of the Moscow State Conservatory after P.I.Tchaikovsky.

In 1941 Gara Garayev was the artistic director of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic after M. Magomayev, in 1944 he was appointed as a deputy chairman of the Board of the Council of Composers of Azerbaijan, in 1948 he was elected as a member of the Council of the Union of Composers of the USSR. In 1949 he was the head of the music department of the Institute of Architecture and Art of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. In 1950 he was a rector of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory, a member of the Committee of State Awards of the USSR under the Council of Ministers, in 1953 he was chairman of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan. In 1954-1982 he was a member of the USSR State Committee. In 1956-1973 he was first secretary of the Council of Composers of Azerbaijan. In 1957, he was a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR. In 1962 he was a member of the Union of Composers of the USSR, and in 1955-1976 he was a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

With his work, he opened new pages in the musical culture of the republic. His works are included in the golden fund of musical culture, and are masterpieces of world music. Among them are the operas “Homeland”, “Tenderness”, the ballets “Seven Beauties”, “Thunder Path”, “Leyli and Mejnun”, three symphonies, the symphonic poem “Leyli and Mejnun”, the symphonic suite ‘Seven Beauties” (1949), symphonic prints "Don Quixote" and other orchestral, vocal-symphonic, chamber and vocal compositions. In addition, the composer wrote the music for feature films "On distant shores", "The Tale of Love", "Don Quixote", "Vietnam", "Goya, or Hard Path of Knowledge".

G.Garayev was a Professor of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory. He has published many articles on the study of Azerbaijani music. In 1946 he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR, in 1955 he was Honored Artist of Azerbaijan and in 1959 he was awarded the name of “People's Artist” of the USSR. G.Garayev was elected as an active member of ANAS. He was the laureate of the State Prize, the laureate of the All-Union Film Festival, in 1965 became the laureate of the Republican Prize after M.Akhundov, in 1967 the laureate of the “Lenin Prize”, and in 1978 received the title of “Hero of Socialist Labor”.

Academician Gara Garayev died on May 13, 1982 in Moscow.