Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

The comparative study of the musical codes of the Turkic world and the development of a shared scholarly discourse are among the key priorities. In the future, establishing a unified scientific concept for Turkic music and creating a digital archive of Kalvali Ali Dada’s legacy will be highly important areas of work.

These remarks were made by Hikmat Guliyev, Doctor of Philology and Director of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, during his speech at the First International Symposium on Traditional Music and Cultural Identity of the Turkic World.

In his address, the scholar underscored the importance of the event and the need to examine shared values within the musical heritage of the Turkic world through an academic lens. He noted that hosting the symposium is a significant source of pride for the Institute of Folklore, adding that scholars from Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have gathered to discuss common cultural memory, musical codes, and traditions.

Hikmat Guliyev stated that the symposium, which will feature nearly 80 presentations over two days, serves as an important scientific platform for preserving the cultural values of the Turkic world and sustaining national identity amid contemporary globalization and digitalization. He emphasized that traditional music, folklore, and performance art — exemplified by Azerbaijan’s zurna and balaban traditions — are central topics of discussion, highlighting the necessity of developing new methodological approaches in musicology, art studies, folklore studies, literary studies, and linguistics within a Turkological context. The scholar also stressed the importance of examining the triad of word–music–movement, which accompanies the oral performance of folklore, in a comprehensive manner.

The speaker noted that although musical codes take different forms among various Turkic peoples, they derive from the same cultural memory and common roots. Hikmat Guliyev emphasized that the artistic legacy of Kalvali Ali Dada represents not only virtuoso performance but also one of the mythical archetypes of Azerbaijan’s wind-instrument tradition within the collective memory. He added that the symposium also provides broad opportunities for studying the roles of performers and the personal contributions to the creation and development of folk music.

In his speech, the presenter also underlined the importance of cultural security, noting that preparing scholarly arguments against falsification and appropriation related to instruments such as the zurna, balaban, tar, and kamancha is a matter of national responsibility.

Translation by Gulhane Aghayeva, Department of Public Relations, Press, and Information, Presidium of ANAS.

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