13.2 - Contributors

Summer 2005 (13.2)

Contributors

naila valikhanli Naila Valikhanli, Director of Azerbaijan's National History Museum, gave us a thorough tour of the Taghiyev's palatial residence. With keys in hand, she opened room after room, showing us the State Dining Room, Children's Nursery, Wife Sona's Boudoir, and on and on. All were closed to the public as they had been stripped of their exquisite ornamentation during the Soviet period. Fortunately, in 1908, Taghiyev had prepared a photo album, documenting the exquisite imported European furnishings. Hopefully, the new renovation will open these rooms to the public, too. Pages 68-69.

victor kvachidze Victor Kvachidze (pronounced kva-CHID-ze) is Senior Scientific Researcher at Azerbaijan's History Museum. He led the first underwater diving explorations along the Caspian coast in the late 1960s and early 1970s and is an expert in medieval ceramics. As the Taghiyev's residence has just closed for renovation again, it was Victor's generosity and kindness that enabled us to take photos of the Oriental Room. Arguably, the most exquisite interior design of the Oil Baron period, without his help, it would have been impossible to take these photographs featured here. Pages 62-69.

kathleen shryock Kathleen Shryock and her husband Jim of Kansas City consider themselves lucky to have adopted two handsome children from Azerbaijan in 2001. But dealing with questions from strangers about adoption can be intrusive. Kathleen pens her concerns here in one of her first articles ever to be accepted after she launched her career as a freelance journalist. Her article, reprinted here, hit big time by being published in Family Circle magazine, which boasts a circulation of 5 million. See page 29. Here Lucas and Rachel are with their mother Kathleen.

gulnar aydamirova The summer issue of Azerbaijan International is always the most demanding administratively because of the annual directories- Bilingual Resource Directory, Ambassadors and Oil contracts. Gulnar Aydamirova, in our Baku office, coordinated myriad details gatherin photos, confirming telephone numbers, Web sites and street names (and, by the way, just exactly where does that newly named Moscow Avenue begin and end on the old Tbilisi Avenue?). Credit for coordinating all these details goes to this bright, self-confident, energetic young woman. Thanks Gulnar! Pages 96 - 111.

matt o'brien Matt O'Brien's love affair with Azerbaijani music began when he heard the works of Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885 - 1948). He wanted to learn more about other composers but little was available in English with the exception of Azerbaijan International magazine, AZER.com. That gave Matt the idea to compile his own Dictionary of Azerbaijani Composers. We found his work impressive and so we're helping with research in Baku. When published, the dictionary will be a great boost for Azerbaijan's fine composers internationally. Matt lives in Harrogate, UK. Contact him: ai@artnet.net. See tribute to the late Haji Khanmammadov, composer of tar concertos, on page 16.