Alim Qasımov

Few singers possess a voice of such farfamed magic. The sounds that emanate from Alim Qasimov’s throat are nothing short of astonishing. His is a powerful voice, charged with tension and laden with emotion, capable of incorporating both masculine and feminine aspects. it can soar unexpectedly to an ethereal falsetto, only to plunge to gravelly depths that are no less astounding. At times his voice seems to expire in the merest whisper of a pianissimo only to rise again with all the rolling thunder of a forte. When Alim Qasimov embarks on these ambitious vocal ventures, he does not do so to display his virtuosity, but in order to illustrate as precisely as possible the emotional state described by the lyrics he is singing.

Alim Qasimov was born in 1957 in a village about 100km north of Baku. He is one of the foremost mugam singers in Azerbaijan as well as being an musician (on the daf – the single-headed frame drum of the Middle East and Central Asia). Mugham has a thousand years of musical tradition and is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes accompanying an orally transmitted collection of melodies and melodic fragments that performers can draw on when improvising.

According to the New York Times, Alim Qasimov is simply one of the greatest singers alive, with a searing spontaneity that conjures passion and devotion, contemplation and incantation.

Qasimov’s first remarkable international success occurred in 1988 when he won first prize at the International Festival and Symposium on Traditional Music in Samargand, Uzbekistan. Since then, he has been traveling worldwide to spread the art of Azerbaijani mugham.

Alim appears on 12 CDs released in Europe and the United States, on one of them, Love’s Deep Ocean (1999, Network Medien, Frankfurt, Germany) together with his daughter and student Fargana Qasimova. In addition to performing with the Silk Road Ensemble, Qasimov performs with the Kronos Quartet as part of his collaboration with the Aga Khan Initiative in Central Asia.

Qasimov has performed on Azerbaijan’s most prestigious stages, such as the Heydar Aliyev Palace and the Azerbaijan Philharmonic Hall. Since 1989, he has been a soloist at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theater. Qasimov teaches mugham classes at the Asaf Zeynalli Music College and the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.

Qasimov perceives and presents mugham not only as an ancient art and a part of Azerbaijan’s musical and cultural heritage but also as a constantly developing tradition. His performing style is unique, as it combines deep knowledge of centuries-old rules of mugham with challenging innovations. It is distinguished by extreme intensity, which takes audiences to a spiritual world. Qasimov’s approach to mugham is far from conservative, and he willingly juxtaposes mugham with other music styles, such as jazz and contemporary composition.

In 1999, in recognition for his musical contributions to world peace, Qasimov was awarded the coveted International IMC-UNESCO Music Prize. Past winners of this prize include Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar, Olivier Messiaen and Daniel Barenboim. Qasimov’s numerous awards also include the title of the People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, the highest artistic rank in the country. In 2007, on the occasion of Qasimov’s 50th birthday, the President of Azerbaijan awarded him the Medal of Glory.

He was also included in a book on the 500 Most Influential Muslims of The World (2009).