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| Memmed Ansari |
“It is normal for a music genre to become loved and preferred by the people... However, when it is promoted from above, it diminishes the place of other music types,” says Southern Azerbaijani musician Memmed Ansari as he criticizes authoritarian approaches in the field of art.
In an interview with Voice of America, the composer living in the UK shared his thoughts on the music genres existing in both the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan, the meaning of the term "Azerbaijani Music," the intersections between Azerbaijani and Anatolian music, the insufficient recognition of music from different regions of the South, and authoritarian approaches to music.
Ansari, who completed his higher education in music at universities in Azerbaijan and the UK, says that in Southern Azerbaijan, due to a lack of opportunities and media, the music of different regions is disappearing. He also points to the policy of Persianization in the field of music.
He further discussed why music genres specific to certain regions in the South, such as West Azerbaijan, Zanjan, Hamadan, Kurdistan, Central Iran, Qom, and Kermanshah, are not sufficiently recognized in other regions of Azerbaijan.
According to Ansari, all of these should be considered elements of Turkish culture and primarily recognized as Azerbaijani music. He believes that some music genres are given more prominence in Azerbaijan, which causes other genres to not develop.
Ansari emphasizes that it is only correct for a music genre to gain prominence through the love and support of the people and that top-down imposition is not appropriate. According to him, the excessive focus on mugham music by the authorities leads to the marginalization of other music forms.
“Mugham is supported more because it is seen as a harmless music genre in Azerbaijan, which diminishes the place of other music genres,” he says.
He adds that one of the reasons why music from the Southern Azerbaijan regions is not given attention is the lack of proper promotion.
Ansari, the creator of the 21 Azər Symphonic Poem, views Western Azerbaijan, centered around Urmia, as a point of contact between Azerbaijani and Anatolian music and culture.
“Western Azerbaijan is like a point of contact. For example, in these regions, we see a closeness to the music of Anatolia. In such contact points, Azerbaijani and Anatolian Turkish music are extensions of each other,” Ansari emphasizes, highlighting the positive nature of this connection.
“All of these are Turkish music... Just as we cannot draw a clear line between different dialects of the Turkish language, there is no such boundary for Turkish music either. However, there is an approach from above that aims to exaggerate the differences between them,” he adds.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məmməd Ənsari: Muğama çox üstünlük verirlər, onu “xətərsiz” görürlər