From the Shores of the Caspian
to the Banks of the Spey

St Margaret's Church Aberlour together with The Speyside Committee for Macmillan Cancer Support invite everyone to join them at St Margaret's on Friday 4th August 2006 at 7.30pm for a concert performed by Zahra Yusifli, piano, a soloist with the Azerbaijan National Symphony Orchestra, and Mustafa Ashurof, guitar, both from the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

Zahra Yusifli, aged 15, is a prodigious classical pianist, who performed at concerts in St Petersburg and London last year to celebrate the 75th birthday of Rostropovich, the famous Russian musician.  Zahra has also been a soloist with her country’s State Philharmonic Orchestra and has won prizes for her performances in competitions held in Tbilisi, Georgia, and in Kiev, Ukraine.  Her repertoire includes work of Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Liszt and various Azeri composers, which she will perform on a Borsendorfer grand piano.

Mustafa Ashurov, who is also 15, plays the Tar, an Azeri stringed instrument similar to a long-necked lute.  His repertoire features music by Mozart, Rimsky-Korsakov and Dvorak, as well as that of Azeri composers.  In 2005 Mustafa won the Gold Medal in competition with young musicians from eighteen other countries at the Delphic Music Games held in Kiev.

Azerbaijan is situated in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains on the shores of the Caspian Sea.  At 33,400 square miles, it is only slightly larger than Scotland, and with a population of 8 million, again is not much larger than Scotland (6 million).  The country is bordered by Iran to the south, Armenia and Georgia to the west, and Russia to the north.  Its capital is Baku and its religion is predominantly Shia Muslim.

The country has a long and distinguished cultural tradition, much influenced by the Arabs and Persians.  Baku was situated on one of the branches of the Silk Road to China and Marco Polo is reputed to have travelled through Baku.  Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire in the early 19th century.  Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been an independent republic, attempting to distance itself from Russia.  For example, in 1992 it adopted the latin script rather than the Russian Cyrillic one for everyday use.

Economically it is dependent upon its substantial oil and natural gas reserves, which reach world markets via a recently completed pipeline through Georgia and Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea.  Azerbaijan has produced oil since the 1850’s.  In recent years, a number of western companies have established a presence in Azerbaijan, and the two young musicians, Zahra Yusifli and Mustafa Ahmed Ashurov, are attending the Aberdeen International Youth Festival through the generous support of KCA Deutag, a world leader in drilling-rig design, engineering and construction, which employs over 4,600 people and operates in over 20 countries.

The Friends of St Margaret’s and the Speyside Committee for Macmillan Cancer Support, who are jointly sponsoring the concert on 4 August 2006, are grateful to Baxters Foundation for hiring the Borsendorfer grand piano to be used on this occasion,  and also to Walkers of Aberlour for their generous support.

Tickets for the concert on Friday 4th August 2006 at 7.30pm cost £8 with a glass of wine included and children free. For further details, contact:

Angus Findlay
Muirton, Craigellachie, Aberlour, Banffshire, AB38 9ST
Telephone: 01340881208