Baku, September 25, AZERTAC The 15th Uzeyir Hajibeyli International Music Festival is currently being organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture in Azerbaijan from 18 to 28 September 2023. This festival is a special celebration of the life and work of Uzeyir Hajibeyli, who is considered the father of Azerbaijan's classical music. In honor of this event, a special program titled "Uzeyir Hajibeyli: Father of Azerbaijan’s Classical Music" was broadcasted for the first time in Pakistan on Planet FM 87.6, the first official English news channel of Radio Pakistan on 19th September 2023. The program was hosted by Mr. Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director of the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF), IslamabadMr. Khalid Taimur Akram provided interesting insights about Hajibeyli's life and significant contributions to Azerbaijani classical music. Born in 1885 in the heart of the ancient Azerbaijani Khanate of Karabakh -- Shusha -- Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s outstanding musical talent started a revolution in the Azerbaijani musical timeline. He was the very musician to introduce an extraordinary innovation in the nation's music culture, constantly refreshing and adjusting it to modern tastes. He was a founder of the opera genre not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the East and created the first Muslim opera in the Islamic world.Mr. Akram highlighted his unique synthesis of Oriental and Western music significantly promoted the classical music traditions in the East and opened a new page in classical music patterns. Hajibeyli was brave enough to explore blending two incompatibly different cultures and achieve an unprecedented synthesis.He also shed light on the esteemed composer's cultural and musical achievements, emphasizing his special place in the hearts of Azerbaijanis worldwide and how his music serves as a source of pride and inspiration. Furthermore, the discussion also shed light on the strong cultural, historical, and brotherly bonds between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. Mr. Akram spoke about the iconic Opera "Leyli and Majnun" from 1908, where Hajibeyli blended Eastern and Western musical traditions, making it a pioneering moment in Azerbaijani music. The program also touched upon Hajibeyli's role in promoting music in Azerbaijan by establishing the first Azerbaijani musical school in Baku and producing the first full-scale musical play, "Yusif and Zuleikha," in 1910.