Azerbaijani musician Franghiz Ali-Zadeh designated UNESCO Artist for Peace
03-04-2008 6:15 pm The UNESCO Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, designated the Azerbaijani musician Mrs Franghiz Ali-Zadeh UNESCO Artist for Peace, in a ceremony held on 3 April 2008 at Organization Headquarters, in the presence of notably His Excellency Mr Elçin Efendiyev, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Her Excellency Mrs Eleonora Husseinova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO. Mrs Ali-Zadeh was designated in recognition of “her efforts to raise public awareness on musical education for orphans and children in need, her contribution to spreading UNESCO’s message of peace and tolerance and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization”.
Trained as a pianist, Mrs Ali-Zadeh compositions combine modern music and the musical traditions of her country, in particular the Mugham, a musical genre proclaimed Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2003.
Mrs Ali-Zadeh has performed works of Olivier Messiaen, John Cage and George Crumb in her native Baku while her own compositions have been played in festivals and concerts all over the world. The Kronos Quartet (San Francisco) has recorded a CD of her works.
Appointed for two years, Mrs Ali-Zadeh will lend her support to UNESCO’s programmes in the field of musical education, in particular for orphans and children in need.
Mrs Ali-Zadeh was designated in recognition of “her efforts to raise public awareness on musical education for orphans and children in need, her contribution to spreading UNESCO’s message of peace and tolerance and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization”.