Born: 5 February 1918 in Baku, Azerbaijan

Died: 13 May 1982 in Moscow, Russia

Kara Karayev’s illustrious career began when he was accepted as the Moscow Conservatory to study Composition followed by work as a composer, pedagogue, music writer and critic.

He composed his first musical piece at age twenty. It’s premiere, conducted by Karayev himself, was at the Bolshoi Theatre in the presence of Joseph Stalin.

His voice was born of influences from Shostakovich and Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky’s ballets and the fantasy operas of Rimsky-Korsakov.

His orchestral suite The Seven Beauties, Don Quixote and the symphonic poem Leyla and Mejnun have been paid homage to by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra