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Today is the 95th anniversary of the birth of Azerbaijan's famous children's composer and People's Artist, Ogtay Zulfugarov.

Ogtay Zulfugarov was born on May 31, 1929, in the town of Pirshagi near Baku, into a judge's family. He studied in the cello class of the Music School named after A. Zeynalli, as well as in the cello class of the State Conservatory, under the guidance of Professor Qara Qarayev.

Ogtay Zulfugarov composed music for several children's poems by A. Shaig for the first time. He wrote songs such as "Let’s play ball", "I am a carnation", and others.

Possessing a wide creative range, Ogtay Zulfugarov experimented with his talent across various genres of music, creating symphonic, instrumental, and chamber works.

His two symphonies, concertos for cello, flute, and symphonic orchestra, the overture "Rejoice, my people!", the fairy-tale opera " The Cat and the Sparrow ", the children's ballet "Magic apple", as well as songs and romances, hold a special place in our musical history.

Dedicating a significant part of his creativity to children, the composer's series "Aysel sings", songs like "Telephone", "Train", "Hunter", "My doll", " Those who love sports ", "My kitten", and others have become part of the linguistic heritage of several generations of children.

Ogtay Zulfugarov devoted more than 60 years of his life to composing children's songs, nurturing the younger generation of musicians, and contributing to the development of Azerbaijani culture. His services in the development of the song genre in modern Azerbaijani music are highly appreciated. He was awarded the titles of "Honored Artist of Azerbaijan" in 1972, "People's Artist" in 2000, and the "Shohrat Order" in 2009.

In honor of the 95th anniversary of People's Artist Ogtay Zulfugarov's birth, a comprehensive book exhibition titled "People's Artist Ogtay Zulfugarov" has opened at the National Library.

The exhibition showcases musical notes of the composer's works preserved in the National Library's collection, as well as literary works dedicated to his life and creativity in Azerbaijani and Russian languages.

The exhibition will run for 1 week.