Azerbaijani music is the musical tradition of the Azerbaijani people from Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies. Music from Azerbaijan has a branch mode system, where chromatisation of major and minor scales is of great importance.
The culture of Azerbaijan combines a diverse and heterogeneous set of elements which developed under the influence of Iranic, Turkic and Caucasian cultures. Azerbaijani culture includes its cuisine, literature, folk art, and music.
Mugham or Mughamat is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik.
Alim Hamza oghlu Qasimov is an Azerbaijani musician and one of the most major mugham singers in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of the highest international prizes for music. His music is characterized by his vocal improvisation and represents a move away from the traditional style of mugham. Qasimov has recorded nine albums, three of which are mugham albums with his daughter, Farghana Qasimova.
UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance. This list is published by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the members of which are elected by State Parties meeting in a General Assembly. Through a compendium of the different oral and intangible treasures of humankind worldwide, the programme aims to draw attention to the importance of safeguarding intangible heritage, which UNESCO has identified as an essential component and as a repository of cultural diversity and of creative expression.
The architecture of Baku is not characterized by any particular architectural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time.
The International Mugham Center of Azerbaijan is a center of Azerbaijani arts and music aiming to promote, preserve and popularize the mugham genre of Azerbaijani music. It is located in Baku Boulevard, in downtown Baku.
The Azerbaijani Tar is a long-necked, plucked lute, traditionally crafted, and performed in communities throughout the Republic of Azerbaijan. The tar is featured alone or with other instruments in numerous traditional musical styles. It is also considered by many to be the country's leading musical instrument. The tar and the skills related to this tradition play a significant role in shaping the cultural identity of Azerbaijanis.
Khanchobany – is a national Azerbaijani dance, performed by men to fast national music.
Opera in Azerbaijan has a history dating back to the 19th century Russian Empire.
Azerbaijani traditional musical instruments are a family of ancient string, wind and percussion instruments used in the performance of Azerbaijani traditional music.
Azerbaijani pop music is a pop music created in Azerbaijan. The emergence of Azerbaijani pop music dates back to the mid-20th century. Growth of new generation of musicians in the 1970s positively influenced Azerbaijan pop music's "golden age". Performers of traditional pop music such as Mirza Babayev, Flora Karimova and Shovkat Alakbarova achieved great success at that time. Contemporary Azerbaijani pop music has its roots in traditional Azerbaijani folk music.
Azerbaijani folk music combines the distinct cultural values of all civilisations that have lived in Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan region.
Joshpara is a kind of dumpling popular in Central Asia, South Caucasus and the Middle East. They are made of unleavened wheat dough squares filled with ground meat and condiments. In observance of the Islamic dietary rules, the meat filling is usually without pork.
The festivals in Azerbaijan are held throughout the year in different regions of the country. The city of Baku is considered as the most important center of the festivals due to their scale and types. The festivals in each region, on the other hand, represent its own local characteristics mostly related to its food, fruit and so on.
With the outbreak of hostilities in the Caucasus as part of World war I, Azerbaijan was also involved in the war, being part of the Russian Empire. Baku oil was of particular importance.
Armenian-Azerbaijani cultural relations are relations between two ethnic groups in terms of their language and culture.
Isa bey Ashurbeyov was a Baku oil industrialist and philanthropist, a representative of the Azerbaijani family of the Ashurbeyovs.
