72 years have passed since the death of Uzeyir Hajibeyov, a prominent Azerbaijani composer, musicologist, publicist, playwright, pedagogue and public figure, the founder of the national opera. The artist was born on September 18, 1885 in Agjabedi village of Shusha district in the family of Abdulhuseyn bey and Shirinbeyim khanum Hajibeyov. He studied at the Gori Teachers' Seminary from 1899 to 1904. After graduating from the seminary, Uzeyir Hajibeyov was appointed a teacher in Hadrut village of Jabrayil district. The seminary played a great role in shaping his worldview. Hajibeyov got acquainted with the advanced world culture during his seminary years. On the eve of the revolution of 1905-1907, he came to Baku from Russia, taught at Bibiheybat, and then at the "Happiness" school. In 1907, in Baku, he published "Accounting Issues" and "Turkish-Russian and Russian-Turkish Dictionary of Political, Legal, Economic and Military Words Used in the Press" in Azerbaijani Turkish. In 1911, Uzeyir Hajibeyov went to Moscow to study music and studied at the special music course of Alexander Ilyinsky (1859-1920) at the Moscow Philharmonic Society. His satirical stories and columns from Moscow were published in the Iqbal newspaper. Due to financial need, Hajibeyov dropped out of music education in Moscow and was forced to return to Baku. The composer returned to Baku, where he continued his creative activity and staged his operas. The genius composer began his artistic career with journalism. He appeared in the newspapers "Kaspi", "Hayat", "Irshad", "Taraggi", "Haqiqat", "Iqbal", "Yeni Iqbal" and in the magazine "Molla Nasreddin", "From here to there", "O side to side" and under other headings he wrote many articles, feuilletons and satirical miniatures on important socio-political and educational issues of the time with secret signatures such as "U", "Filankes", "Behmankes".
The foundation of opera art not only in Azerbaijan, but in the whole Muslim East with the opera "Leyli and Majnun" performed on January 12, 1908 (in a new way on the 25th) in Baku at the theater of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev is connected with the name of U.Hajibeyov. The libretto of the opera is based on Fuzuli's poem of the same name. In 1909-1915, U.Hajibeyov wrote "Sheikh Sanan" (1909), "Rustam and Sohrab" (1910), "Shah Abbas and Khurshudbanu" (1912), "Asli and Karam" (1912), " Harun and Leyla ”(1915) wrote the libretto of mugam operas based on folk tales and legends, motifs of Firdovsi's“ Shahnameh ”. He is the creator of the genre of musical comedy in Azerbaijan (he also wrote the text of his comedies). His musical comedies "Husband and wife" (1909, first performance: 1910), "Let it be, let it be" (1910, first performance: 1911), "Arshin mal alan" (1913) pre-revolutionary Azerbaijani life, folk customs and traditions reflected.
U.Hajibeyov went to Moscow in 1911 to increase his musical education, where he studied at the music courses of the Philharmonic Society, and in 1913 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The opera "Koroglu" (libretto by H.Ismayilov and MSOrdubadin), staged for the first time on April 30, 1937 at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theater, is the culmination of U.Hajibeyov's creativity. In this opera, which is considered one of the pearls of Azerbaijani opera, Uzeyir Bey for the first time, following the classical form of opera, created exhaustive arias, mass choir scenes, various ensembles, ballet numbers, recitatives. He died on November 23, 1948, at the age of 63. Uzeyir Hajibeyov's works are considered to be the pearls of world music. It should be noted that Uzeyir Hajibeyov's birthday has been celebrated as the National Music Day in Azerbaijan for many years.