International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan

The Mugham Center was built on initiative of the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva. Mugham is a genre included in the representative list of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[1][2] The official opening of the International Mugham Center took place on December 27, 2008.[3] ^[5] UNESCO’s ninth Director-General Koichiro Matsuura also participated in that opening ceremony.[4]

The construction of the building started in April, 2005. The center covers 7,500 square meters and has 3 stories.[5] The funding was provided by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.[6] The design of the building was based on the elements and shapes of the tar, an Azeri musical instrument used in performing mugham. Furthermore, the center was commenced on the base of the architecture works of the Vahid Tansu, Xauddin Yayk and Etirne Ahmed. The concert hall fits 350 people. The center also has a club, 80-seat restaurant called "Ud", study halls and record studios. Modern heating and ventilation systems were also provided in the center.[7] The building was constructed with equipments from Italy, Austria, France and Turkey.[8] More than 2000 glasses with various sizes were used for the construction of the building.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan adopted Decree No. 103 relating to the certain Issues of the Mugham Center on the 2nd of the July, 2009. On the base of the decree, the center was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and changed the name from "Mugham Center" into the "International Mugham Center".[9][10]

The center hosts mugham festivals, concerts, and recitals of various singers and performers. Young performers get aware of the art of mugham which has a special role in the Azerbaijani music culture.[11] The center hosts famous masters, mugham evenings, international conferences as well as festivals.[12]

• Children's festival of mugham
• International jazz festival
• The annual project "Evenings of mugham"
• International festival "Mugam World"
• A venture project with the National Library named after M.Akhundzade aimed at the development of youth, entitled "Treasury of Secrets"
• The project, synthesizing mugham with music of different peoples, "Evenings of ashig music"

Several musicians participate from the countries such as: Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkey, China, India, Tunisia, Jordan, Russia in the "Mugham World" festival which held annually in an international scale.[13][14] However, in the Children’s Mugam Festival come attendants from ten different countries. There are also representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt and Iran. At the International Jazz festival that held in 2017, there were participants from Belgium, France, Turkey and the host country Azerbaijan. That festival took place by the support of Belgium, France, Turkey ‘s embassies in Azerbaijan.

• About the Center: website of Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism, accessed 25.10.2014