Gara Garayev Museum

Gara Garayev House Museum — a house museum created in the apartment where the Soviet-Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev lived from 1918 to 1946, reflecting his life and work. The museum is under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

History

The museum was opened on 1 October 2018, the year of the composer’s 100th anniversary, and is located at 49 Nizami Street. At the opening, Minister of Culture Abulfaz Garayev, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov, Chairman of the Composers’ Union Firangiz Alizade, Rector of the Baku Academy of Music Farhad Badalbeyli, writer Anar and other public figures participated. Also at the opening ceremony, a book of short essays dedicated to Gara Garayev’s life and creativity, from the series “Prominent Figures of Azerbaijan” jointly published by the Ministry of Culture and the National Library, was presented.

Exhibition

Gara Garayev spent his youth and student years in this apartment, creating his early works there, including the ballet “Seven Beauties.” During the museum’s establishment, a list of materials related to the composer was compiled from various funds, and research on the composer’s legacy was conducted abroad, gathering a large amount of material. Thus, documents related to Gara Garayev, some manuscripts, and photographs taken by him from the State Literature and Art Archive in Moscow were brought to Azerbaijan. In addition, the exhibits include other rare items – books from his personal library with his notes, posters of performances obtained from the St. Petersburg theatre, personal belongings, copies of musical manuscript scores, audio recordings, and sketches made for his ballets. In total, more than 300 items have been presented in the composer’s house museum. The bust of Pyotr Tchaikovsky in the museum is a gift to Gara Garayev from his father‑in‑law Yelezaveta Mikhailovna. The museum’s layout and design work was carried out by the company “Partner Culture+Projects” (Hors Kampman).