Alim Qasimov is described by The New York Times as “simply one of the greatest singers alive”. The Ensemble perform a unique interpretation of two rich Azerbaijani musical traditions: mugham, a sparse and poetic classical music that is related to Persian, Turkish and Arabic traditions; and ashiq songs, the popular full-throated music of troubadours. The sextet features Qasimov and his daughter Fargana, who weave exuberant polyphonic vocals while instrumentalists perform on lutes, spike fiddles, reed instruments and hand drums.

When Alim and Fargana first began performing together, their seamless musical partnership was a pioneering (and even controversial) departure from the solo-vocalist convention. Qasimov’s revelatory devotional music has found fans and collaborators across the world and led to performances with the likes of the Kronos Quartet and the late Jeff Buckley. In the same culture and genre-transcending league as contemporaries like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ravi Shankar, Alim Qasimov is constantly searching for ways to reach new heights and new audiences with the joyful, incandescent music of his homeland.

Presented in collaboration with Aga Khan Music Initiative, a programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

For a copy of our classical music program, click here. 

Photo: Aga Khan Music Initiative / Sebastian Schutyser