VIDEO PODCAST: Slava Ukraini! - recorded on the day Europe woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine. Also features Caitríona O'Leary and Eric Fraad discussing their new film Island of Saints, and pays tribute to Joseph Horovitz, Malcolm Troup and Maria Nockin.
Azerbaijani composer Mobil Rashid oglu Babayev was born in Ganja (Kirovabad) on 23 December 1945. He began writing music while at school. He also studied violin and viola.
His first symphony is a graduation piece, first performed in 1972. He went on to compose much orchestral and choral music - including Death is a black ant (2003) and several more symphonies - and is also known for creating two new musical genres - the concerto for pop orchestra and the concerto for alto and orchestra. He also wrote the music for more than forty films.
Mobile Babayev died on 10 November 2023, aged seventy-seven.