BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 4. The National Music
and Global Culture Society (NMGCS) will hold the 5th International
Composition Competition in 2026, the President of the National
Music and Global Culture Society, Honored Artist of Azerbaijan,
Professor, Dr. Nargiz Aliyarova said, Trend reports.
“The competition is dedicated to the folk songs of
Turkic-speaking nations.
The aim of the competition is to promote a new presentation of
the rich folklore heritage of Turkic-speaking peoples through the
language of contemporary composition, to introduce this heritage on
an international scale, and to strengthen bridges of understanding
and cooperation between peoples through culture. In the current
period, preserving and strengthening the cultural ties of Turkic
peoples and promoting shared values is of particular importance;
the competition also seeks to contribute to these ties through the
unifying power of music.
Composers from all over the world, regardless of age, can
participate in the competition. According to the rules, each
participant must submit an instrumental work (for no more than five
performers) composed based on the theme of one or several songs
from a selection of 10 folk songs of Turkic-speaking peoples chosen
by the Organizing Committee. The title of the submitted work must
indicate the origin of the melody used and the people to whom it
belongs.
The competition rules were announced on January 15 of this year.
Participants can submit their works to the jury until July 1. The
jury will review and evaluate the works by July 15.
After the competition concludes, winners of 1st place ($2,000),
2nd place ($1,000), and 3rd place ($500) will be announced and
awarded cash prizes and diplomas.
The premiere of the winning works will take place in September
in Baku as part of the Uzeyir Hajibeyli International Festival.
On October 7, the final concert of the 5th International
Composition Competition will be held at Lincoln Center in New
York.
The best submitted works will be compiled into a collection,
registered with the U.S. Library of Congress, published in New York
with individual numbers and barcodes, and distributed
worldwide.
It should be noted that this international composition
competition, established by NMGCS, is the first and only
international composition competition in Azerbaijan’s music
history. In the four competitions held so far, composers
representing more than 40 countries across five continents have
participated, and winners have been selected from among
participants representing various countries.
In different years, winners have represented the United Kingdom,
the United States, Germany, Austria, Spain, Poland, the People’s
Republic of China, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine.
An appeal has been made to the State Committee on Work with
Diaspora for financial and organizational support in holding the
international competitions. It should be noted that the Committee
has consistently provided significant support to this competition
since its inception. We also express our gratitude to the Ministry
of Culture for its assistance in organizing the final concerts in
Baku within the framework of the Uzeyir Hajibeyli International
Festival,” Nargiz Aliyarova said.
