Alim Qasimov
Azerbaijani mugham singer
Alim Hamza oghlu Qasimov (Azerbaijani: Alim Həmzə oğlu Qasımov; born August 14, 1957) is an Azerbaijani musician and one of the most major mugham singers in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of the highest international prizes for music. His music is characterized by his vocal improvisation and represents a move away from the traditional style of mugham. Qasimov has recorded nine albums, three of which are mugham albums with his daughter, Farghana Qasimova.
According to The New York Times, "Qasimov is simply one of the greatest singers alive, with a searing spontaneity that conjures passion and devotion, contemplation and incantation."
He joined fellow Azerbaijani Sabina Babayeva on stage at the Grand Finale of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku to sing back vocals for her entry, "When the Music Dies." Additionally, Qasimov was featured as part of the opening act of the Grand Final.
Early life
Born in 1957, Qasimov grew up in Nabur of Shamakhi, Azerbaijan, a village 100 km north of the capital Baku. His family worked on a Soviet commune and Qasimov worked alongside his parents from a young age. He later reflected that growing up in poverty helped him to live modestly later in life and he never attempted to extricate himself from his peasant background. Qasimov's father was an occasional singer with a good voice but he was a humble man; he never pursued a professional career in singing. Qasimov on the other hand was a keen singer from a young age and his parents noticed his musical desire.
“Alim Qasimov” enters the record as azerbaijani mugham singer. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Alim, Qasimov and Azerbaijani can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q936538. VIAF identifies the subject as 85440399. The Library of Congress control number is nr93009363. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1999 and 2012.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alim Qasimov” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.