A chain of voices
From teacher to student
Mugham lives in people. It cannot be learned from recordings alone — it is taken from a master, listening and repeating for years. So the history of mugham is above all a chain of names, each of which added its own shade of voice.
Jabbar Garyaghdioglu
A legendary khanende called the “father of Azerbaijani mugham”; he largely shaped the tradition.
Seyid Shushinski
An outstanding khanende from Shusha, a keeper and teacher of classical mugham.
Khan Shushinski
One of the most beloved khanende of the 20th century, a master of mugham and author of popular tasnif songs.
Bulbul
A singer and scholar who joined mugham with the opera school; a founder of the scholarly study of folk music.
Alim Qasimov
One of the greatest living khanende; he brought mugham onto the world’s stages and collaborated with musicians of many cultures.
Fargana Qasimova
Daughter of Alim Qasimov; she performs around the world with her father, continuing the family mugham tradition.
Alim QasimovVoice of today
Mugham on the world stage
Alim Qasimov combined faithfulness to tradition with openness to the world: he performed at the greatest festivals, recorded with musicians from different cultures and was hailed as one of the great voices of his time.
Thanks to such masters, mugham is known and loved today far beyond Azerbaijan.