Azerbaijan is preparing for the 14th Gabala International Music Festival due to take place in summer 2024. The annual music festival brings together local as well as international musicians celebrating jazz, classical music, as well as regional Mugham folk music. Since its inception in 2009, the festival has been organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation named after the first President of independent Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev (1923-2003), and supported by the country’s Ministry of Culture.
The festival takes place in Gabala, also known as Gebele or Qabala, located on the foothills of the Great Caucasus Mountain range in northern Azerbaijan, some 215 km from the capital Baku. Gabala, today a small city of around 14,000 inhabitants, was once the capital of Caucasian Albania, a country that preceded Azerbaijan, and was mentioned by Roman historian Pliny the Elder in the first century AD.
Together with its historical sites, it is the area’s stunning natural settling which brings tourists to the region, searching out the mountains, lakes, forests, and waterfalls with its many outdoor pursuits, from biking and hiking in the summer to skiing in the winter. The mainstays of Gabala and its surroundings are agriculture, silkworm farming, and, to a lesser degree, cultural tourism.
But since the inauguration of the International Music Festival 15 years ago, Gabala has gone from strength to strength and has turned into one of Azerbaijan’s fastest growing cities. Named the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2013, for its contribution to the history of Azerbaijan and the region, Gabala’s influence on the cultural heritage of the country is undeniable.
Fostering local and regional young musical talents, bringing together notable experts, composers, and musicians holding lectures about musical genres and their history and influences, and, of course, showcasing concerts by international musicians attending from as far as the USA, Mexico, and all across Europe and central Asia, the festival not only brings Azerbaijani music to the world, but also international compositions and music styles into Azerbaijan.
An event that promotes and nurtures cultural growth, each year the festival adds unique celebrations and experiences, such as in 2017, hosting Azerbaijan’s Uzeyir Haijibeli Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra, or in 2023 celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov, and the 190th anniversary of German composer Johannes Brahms.
But while the focus is very much on bringing together a variety of musical genres and international artists, one of the festival’s integral parts is always the Mugham, which marries poetry with folklore and improvisation, and which was listed in 2003 by UNESCO as a part of Azerbaijan’s Intangible Heritage. The festival highlights Azerbaijan’s national folk music, traditionally performed with a trio of historical instruments, such as the tar, a long-necked lute-like string instrument; the bowed-string instrument kamancha, and the gaval, a percussion instrument dating to the Middle Ages, while the music’s lyrics evolved from ancient poetry and historical storytelling.
Held every summer, at the end of July and early August, the festival is a perfect excuse to visit Gabala, enjoying and learning more about its cultural heritage, while also taking full advantage of the region’s seasonal excursions.
