Khadija Gayibova
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khadija Osman bey qizi Gayibova (Azerbaijani: Xədicə Qayıbova) (24 May 1883, Tiflis – 27 October 1938, Baku) was the first Azerbaijani female pianist. She was born in the city of Tiflis (present-day capital of Georgia) and was trained in piano playing while studying at the Tiflis Gymnasium for Girls between 1901 and 1911. She became well-known for the performance of mugams (Azeri folk music genre) on piano. Gayibova was one of the founders of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory in 1920. She organized short-term piano classes of Oriental Music for Azerbaijani women. Gayibova advanced the idea of "Oriental conservatory" with the primary focus on Azerbaijani and overall Oriental music. This project was discontinued by the Communist authorities as being, in their view, too nationalist. In 1938 during Stalin's Great Purges Gayibova was accused of espionage and arrested but refused to acknowledge the fabricated accusation. She was executed the same year. In 1954 Gayibova was posthumously exonerated.
