One of the first People’s Artists of Azerbaijan: Gurban Primov

Qarabag.com has prepared material about the successor of the school of tar playing of Sadigjan, connoisseur of Azerbaijani folk music folklore, associate of Azerbaijani composers Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Muslim Magomayev – the tar player Gurban Primov

Tar player Gurban Bakhshali oglu Primov was born in October 1880 in the village of Gulabli, Shusha uyezd (now Aghdam region of Azerbaijan) in the family of ashug. In “Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani Mugham”, the date of his birth is indicated as October 30 of the same year. Gurban Primov is great – grandson of the Azerbaijani ashug of the XVIII century Valeh.
[V. Isagoglu. Gurban Primov. 2017, pp. 8-9]
[“Bakinskiy Rabochiy” newspaper № 205 (13509) 31.08.1965., p. 4]
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani Mugham. 2012, p. 193]

At the age of 11 or 13, Gurban dropped out of elementary school to devote himself to playing the tar. He left together with ashug Abbas Kuli for Shusha. Having sold two baskets of pears in the Shusha marketplace, he bought his first tar. Further, he became a student of the Azerbaijani tar player Sadigjan, who played a significant role in the formation of Gurban Primov as a tar player. Nevertheless, at the age of 15, Primov became a famous tar player throughout the Karabakh. At the same time, he accompanied the Azerbaijani khanendeh Akper Hamush oglu in the wedding receptions.
[V. Isagoglu. Gurban Primov. 2017, p. 12;24;161]
[F. Shushinsky. The treasury of Azerbaijani music. 2015, p. 471]

In 1901, Gurban Primov participated in the “Oriental Concert” in Shusha and in 1907 at the concert of the same name in Baku.
[V. Isagoglu. Gurban Primov. 2017, pp. 22;36]

After Sadigjan’s death (1902), in 1903-1905, Primov accompanied Azerbaijani singer Islam Abdullayev at concerts in Karabakh, Ganja, Shirvan and Sheki. Along with him, Gurban Primov wrote a song based on the words of Azerbaijani writer Mammad Said Ordubadi, which was dedicated to Sattarkhan, one of the leaders of the constitutional revolution in Iran in 1905-1911. The song performed by them was recorded on phonorecords and was sent to Iran.
[V. Isagoglu. Gurban Primov. 2017, pp. 24;27]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, p. 10;13]

In 1905, at one of the weddings in Ganja, Islam Abdullayev introduced Gurban to Azerbaijani khanendeh Jabbar Garyaghdioglu. Khanendeh himself later recalled: “Gurban came to meet us together with Islam. I told Gurban to play the tar. After seeing the beautiful playing of Gurban, with the approval of Islam, I brought him with me to Baku.”
[F. Shushinsky. The treasury of Azerbaijani music. 2015, p. 471]

Since 1905, the tar player Gurban Primov, together with Jabbar Garyaghdioglu and the kamancha player Sasha Oganezashvili, performed in the cities of Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Middle East for 20 years.
[F. Shushinsky. Shusha. 1968, p. 114]

Gurban Primov was directly involved in the formation of the Azerbaijani opera art. Primov played the tar at the first production (1908) of the first Azerbaijani opera “Leyli and Majnun” by Uzeyir Hajibeyov. On this occasion, in the book of E. Abbasova “Gurban Primov”, the following is noted:
“Gurban Primov was supposed to lead a group of tar players invited as orchestra members. However, as Hajibeyov recalls, “they had disagreements about the performance of some melody, and this dispute turned out to be so serious that none of the tar players, except for Gurban Primov, came to the first production of the opera.” This is how K. Primov entered the history of the musical theater that originated in Azerbaijan”.
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, p. 89]
[V. Vinogradov. Uzeyir Hajibeyov. 1947, p. 16]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, p. 14]
[Encyclopedia of Uzeyir Hajibeyov. 2003, p. 172]

The “Encyclopedia of Uzeyir Hajibeyov” (2003), notes that he (Primov) offered Uzeyir Hajibeyov the melody of the duet of Leyli and Ibn Salam in the opera “Leyli and Majnun” and gave the idea of including tar in the symphony orchestra
[Encyclopedia of Uzeyir Hajibeyov. 2003, p. 172]

In 1906-1916 mughams performed by him solo or in an ensemble were recorded on gramophone records in Riga (Latvia), Warsaw (Poland), Kiev (Ukraine) by the firms “Pathe”, “Sport-Record“and ”Gramophone”.
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012 p. 193]
[“Bakinskiy Rabochiy” newspaper № 205 (13509) 31.08.1965., p. 4]

From 1920 to 1960, Gurban Primov worked as an orchestra soloist at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Baku. His last performance on the stage of this theater took place in 1965, when he was 85 years old.
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, p. 17]
[F.Shushinsky. The treasury of Azerbaijani music. 2015, p. 484]

In 1925, Gurban Primov, led by Uzeyir Hajibeyov, took part in the preparation of the first mugham program.
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012 p. 193]

Gurban Primov helped his close friend, the Soviet composer Reinhold Glière in the process of writing his opera “Shakh-Senem”, providing him with many musical materials. In this connection, Glière considered Primov one of his teachers in the study of Azerbaijani folk music. He wrote: “My teachers, who revealed to me an inexhaustible source of folk poetry, were the oldest folk singer Jabbar Garyaghdi and a wonderful musician-tar player Gurban Primov.”
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012 p. 193]
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, pp. 58;113]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, pp. 18;25-26]
[F. Shushinsky. The treasury of Azerbaijani music. 2015, p. 474]

In 1929, Gurban Primov was awarded the title of Honored Artist, and in 1930 (1931) People’s Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, p. 89]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, pp. 18-19]
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012, p. 193]
[Theater Encyclopedia. Volume IV. 1965, p. 467]

Gurban Primov was the winner at the First Transcaucasian Olympiad in Tiflis (1934), at the review of the All-Union Committee on Broadcasting (1937) and at the First All-Union review of Performers on Folk Musical Instruments in Moscow (1939). Gurban Primov also performed successfully at the Decade of Azerbaijani Art and Literature in Moscow in 1938 and in 1959 . In one of the articles published in the Soviet newspaper “Pravda” Primov has been called “father of Azerbaijani music”.
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, pp. 153-154]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, p. 20]
[F. Shushinsky. The treasury of Azerbaijani music. 2015, p. 475]
[“Bakinskiy Rabochiy” newspaper № 205 (13509) 31.08.1965., p. 4]

Gurban Primov is the first sazandar (saz player) who played an important role in popularizing the art of ashugs among the urban population. He included in his repertoire the following ashug mughams – “Choban-Bayaty”, “Karabakh shikestesi“and ”Keremi”. He was the first of the tar players who started performing solo, i.e., unaccompanied. In the book by E.Abbasova “Gurban Primov” it is noted that for the first time Primov brought tar as a solo instrument to a wide stage.
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, pp. 24-26]
[Music Encyclopedia. Volume 4. 1978, pp. 437-438]

Gurban Primov also made improvements to the design of the tar.

Azerbaijani tar player Bahram Mansurov described him as follows:
“Gurban Primov is the first tar player who really raised the art of performing on the tar to the highest level,” and Azerbaijani opera singer Bulbul assessed him in the following way:
“For the first time I heard Gurban’s playing when he was 14. It is impossible to forget the impression that this playing made on me. It awakened in me a strong love for folk music.”
[F. Shushinsky. Shusha. 1968, p. 115]
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, p. 160]
[E. Abbasova. Gurban Primov. 1963, p. 15]

Gurban Primov taught at the current Baku Music College under the National Conservatory of Azerbaijan, the current Baku Music Academy named after U. Hajibeyli and the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Among his students were Sarvar Ibrahimov, Haji Mammadov, Mammadagha Muradov, Galib Bayramov and other tar players.
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012, p. 93]

For his contributions to the development of Azerbaijani music, Gurban Primov was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Badge of Honor (1938) and several medals.
[V. Isagoghlu. Gurban Primov. 2017, p. 89]
[“Bakinskiy Rabochiy” newspaper № 205 (13509) 31.08.1965., p. 4]

Gurban Primov died on August 29, 1965. He was buried in Baku, on the Alley of honor burials.
[“Bakinskiy Rabochiy” newspaper № 205 (13509) 31.08.1965., p. 4]
[Encyclopedia of Azerbaijani mugham. 2012, p. 93]

With the occupation of Aghdam district by Armenian armed formations, in 1993, Gurban Primov Museum was destroyed.