Asya Sultanova facts for kids

Asya Bakhish Sultanova (born October 16, 1923 – died November 22, 2021) was a talented composer from Azerbaijan. She is most famous for writing music for children. She also worked with the well-known singer Muslim Magomayev.

About Asya Sultanova

Asya Sultanova was born in Baku, a city in Azerbaijan. Her father was a geologist, who studied rocks and the Earth. Her mother was an English teacher.

Asya loved music from a young age. She studied at the Azerbaijan Conservatory from 1942 to 1944. Later, she went to the famous Moscow Conservatory and finished her studies in 1950. She stayed in Moscow for the rest of her life. Her teachers, like Evgeny Golubev and Vissarion Shebalin, encouraged her. They told her to use traditional Azerbaijani folk tunes in her music. She also learned a lot from the famous Azerbaijani composer Kara Karaev.

Asya Sultanova performed her music all over the Soviet Union. She also worked at a film studio. In 1963, she heard Muslim Magomayev sing for the first time. They became good friends and worked together on three songs. She even introduced him to the Armenian composer Arno Babajanyan.

In 1967, Asya Sultanova received a special award. She was given the title “Honored Worker of Azerbaijan.” This award recognized her important contributions to music. In 2014, she shared that she had written about 80 songs. She was also working on a big project called “Ode to Friendship of Peoples.” She believed that "Peace is needed on Earth - that’s what matters."

Sultanova wrote music for words by many writers. These included Gabriel El-Registan and Elchin Safarli. She passed away on November 22, 2021, at the age of 98.

Her Amazing Music

Asya Sultanova wrote many different kinds of music. She created pieces for various instruments and voices.

Music for Instruments

• Variations (for violin and piano)
• Concert March (for orchestra)
• Waltz (for orchestra)

Piano Music

• Sonata No. 1
• Sonata No. 2
• Sonatina
• Twelve Pieces for Children

Songs for Voices

• “If You are With Me” (with Muslim Magomayev)
• “Russia”
• “Stars of Baku” (with Muslim Magomayev)
• “The Man I am Waiting For” (with Muslim Magomayev)