Ayyub Guliyev

1st Prize 9th Arturo Toscanini International Conducting Competition - Giuseppe Sinopoli Award 2010

Ayyub Guliyev was born in 1984.

Born in Azerbaijan to a family of outstanding musician – professor Ramiz Guliyev. In 2005, he completed his studies with distinction at the conducting department of the Baku Music Academy (with prof. Y.Adigezalov), and in 2007, he graduated from the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatoire’s (Academy) department of opera-symphony conducting (with Prof. A. Polishchuk).,/p>

In 2008, he was a probationer at the Vienna State University of Music and Fine Arts, perfecting his conducting skills in the class of Professor Mark Stringer. In 2009 he passed training at the European Music Academy in Czech Republic with prof. J.Schlaefli. In 2009-2010 he attended conducting courses of the prominent musicians, such as M. Jurowski, D. Harding, R. Capasso, Y. Simonov and R. Abdullayev.

In 1998 upon the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Republic the name of Ayyub Guliyev was included into the Presidential “Golden Book of Young Talents” and he also has become the President’s scholarship holder. He also was awarded with prestigious national prizes -"The Best Musician of the Year" (2002), "Success of the Year" (2006), the ministerial award “Peak” (2008) and in 2009 - “Audience Preference Award” at the “Musical Olympus” International Music Festival in St.-Petersburg. In 2006 his victory at the IV Lutoslawski International Conducting Competition in Poland (I Prize and Special Prize of the Orchestra), brought him to international attention and this success led to invitations from several European orchestras. In 2008, he reached the final of the Mitropoulos Conducting Competition in Athens in which, he was awarded the “Orchestra Preference Award”. In 2009 Ayyub Guliyev went on to win First Prize in the Conducting Competition in Romania and First Prize-Sinopoli Award in the IX Toscanini Conducting Competition in Italy in 2010. The first prize at Toscanini Competition has not been awarded since 1991.

The musician’s rise to prominence on the international scene has been marked by recent debuts at Carnegie Hall (February 2010), Wiener Konzerthaus (April 2010) and Big Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Philharmonie (May 2011). Increasingly active as an opera conductor as well, Ayyub Guliyev led his first opera production in 2007 - Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” in the Saint-Petersburg Academic State Opera House.

His tenure as the conductor of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet House in the same time period brought him extensive experience on the opera platform, with productions including “Die Zauberflote”, “Il Barbiere de Seviglia”, “Il Trovatore”, “La Traviata”, “Rigoletto”, “Aida”, “Cavaleria Rusticana”, “I Pagliacci”, “La Boheme”, “Carmen”, “Eugene Onegin”, “Iolanta”, “The Queen of Spades”.

Highly acclaimed for his intensity and spontaneity, his precision and musicianship is equally praised, and his success brings him regular invitations to guest conduct at the highest level. Ayyub Guliyev has previously worked with many of Europe’s major orchestras, such as the Wiener Kammerorchester, Toscanini Philharmonic (Italy), Symphony Orchestra “Colours” (Greece), Trondheim Symfoniorkester (Norway), Orquestra de Cadaqués (Spain), Duna Symphony Orchestra (Hungary), North Czech Philharmonic, Zagreb Philharmonic, Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Craiova Philharmonic (Romania), Moldova State Philharmonic, St.-Petersburg Academic Philharmonic Orchestra, State Hermitage Orchestra, St.-Petersburg State Capella, Novosibirsk Philharmonic orchestra (Russia), Kiev State Opera House (Ukraine), Belarus State Symphony Orchestra, Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra.