EAST OR WEST? WAYS OF INTEGRATION OF EAST AND WEST IN AZERBAIJANI MUSICAL CULTURE

The second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries is one of the significant periods of Azerbaijani musical culture’s history. The development of the country’s musical culture processes happened in the socio-political, economic, and cultural life played a huge role. On the one hand, it was a time of active development of national art (folk music, professional music of the oral tradition - mugham and ashig creativity), on the other hand, there was an active process of penetration of the Russian and European art traditions into Azerbaijan. As is known, in the first quarter of the 19thcentury, Azerbaijan was included in tsarist Russia, which played an increasingly important role in the cultural space of Azerbaijan (notoriously, the Gulistan Treaty of 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaty of 1828 formalized political and administrative relations between Russia and Azerbaijan). In the account of the richest oil resources, Baku became one of the largest industrial centers, where vast capitals of domestic and foreign companies flowed in, so with the city’s economic growth, a population of different nationalities grew.

The social and cultural life of Baku formed in direct connection with economic and political development in the second half of the 19thcentury. The below article reveals the formation of these relationships.