Serious

Alim Qasimov is Azerbaijan's best known and most beloved singer, hailed by the Guardian as “one of the most thrilling, unashamedly emotional performers on the planet, and the finest exponent of mugham.”  Mugham is a sophisticated form of sung poetry and music, comparable to the thrilling lines of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s qawwali singing. Qasimov’s appearance with his ensemble at the Barbican in 2008 was hailed by the critics – in the words of the Telegraph: “Qasimov and his daughter perform a meditation on the spiritual agonies of unrequited love – the sentiments were as complex as a John Donne poem. Qasimov’s ecstatic vocal lines added an almost unbearable poignancy.” David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet says: "When I first heard him sing, I realised his voice was as unique as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's, or Bessie Smith's in St Louis Blues.  There's a special quality to that voice, a connection between it and his inner life."

“With one hand clamped to his ear and the other clutching his heart – or raised ecstatically to the heavens – his body is shaken like a leaf by the music pouring out of it. Sometimes he rolls the sound in his throat, sometimes he sings through clenched teeth, but everything he does is wonderfully expressive. The higher he soars with his sinuous gymnastics, the more solidly the band place their carpet of harmonic stability. Each song takes a while to unfold – with each instrument burning brightly in turn – but the climax is the same every time: a cry of triumph, an exhalation of delight.”  The Independent

“His voice soars and the mood is transformed. The effect is devastating, the people watching seized by the power of the ancient poetry.” The Times 

“Alim Qasimov is one of the most thrilling, unashamedly emotional performers on the planet, and the finest exponent of mughams, the dramatic ancient poetic works of Azerbaijan.” (Robin Deneslow – The Guardian)

“He is the recognised master of Azeri mugham, a sophisticated form of sung poetry and music from Azerbaijan.  In exquisite duos with his daughter Fargana his voice pierced like a dart high and ethereal, as if intoxicated with unrequited longing.  (Simon Broughton – Evening Standard)

Produced by Serious in collaboration with the Aga Khan Music Initiative, a programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture