Mersiye

“The basic idea of this work has nothing to do with the bravura and virtuosity typical of the solo concerto. It is rather a confessional monologue for the solo cello in which the feeling of mourning over the tragic loss of aesthetic values and ideals of the preceding epoch dominates. Never before was the world so fragile... The musical character of the work is determined by the intonations of the mourning lament, the "Mersiye," as it still lives in the southern parts of Azerbaijan today. The solo part is orientated on the human voice, whereby recitative and cantilena alternate. The conception of the concerto was influenced by the events of 11 September 2001 to a large extent.”
(Franghiz Ali-Zadeh)