Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh includes four works by the Azerbaijani composer, three of which – Oasis (1998), Apsheron Quintet (2001), and Mugam Sayagi (1993) — were commissioned by the group. Also on the record is Ali-Zadeh’s Music for Piano, which is performed by the composer, who also plays piano on Apsheron Quintet. Kronos Quartet has championed her work for decades. Ali-Zadeh defied the strictures of the classical training she received in her formerly Soviet-occupied homeland to combine ideas gleaned from the 20th century music of the west with the long-neglected Azerbaijani tradition of mugam.

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