The Music of Azerbaijan: From the Tar to the Organ Hall

Azerbaijan's musical tradition goes back centuries — even the Gobustan rock carvings show people dancing. Today folk music, mugham, classical music and jazz all thrive here.

Key instruments

• Tar — a long-necked lute with a figure-of-eight body; tar craftsmanship and playing are on UNESCO's list.
• Kamancha — a spiked fiddle played resting on the knee.
• Balaban — a small wind instrument with a soft, melancholic tone.
• Naghara and gosha-naghara — drums that no wedding can do without.

Mugham and composers

The heart of Azerbaijani music is mugham, an improvised art we cover in a separate article. In the 20th century Uzeyir Hajibeyli blended this tradition with European forms and wrote the first opera of the Muslim East.

Where to listen in Baku

• The International Mugham Centre on the seaside boulevard.
• The Muslim Magomayev Philharmonic Hall.
• The Chamber and Organ Music Hall — a neo-Gothic Lutheran church from 1899 that hosted its first organ concert in 1900.
• The Museum of Musical Culture with its collection of historic instruments.

Want live music over dinner? Ask the guide on our Baku city tour for a restaurant with mugham.