Arif Malikov

{{Short description|Azerbaijani composer (1933–2019)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Arif Malikov
Arif Məlikov

| image = Arif Malikov.jpg

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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|09|13}}

| birth_place = Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, TSFSR, USSR

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|05|09|1933|09|13}}

| death_place = Baku, Azerbaijan

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| occupation = composer

| awards = File:People Artist of the USSR1.png File:People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.png File:Почётный знак АзССР.png File:State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR.png File:Azərbaycan Respublikasının Nizami Gəncəvi adına Qızıl medalı - avers.jpg
File:AZ Haydar Aliyev Order ribbon.svg File:AZ Istiglal Order ribbon (1st version).svg File:AZ Shohrat Order ribbon (2nd version).svg File:Azərbaycan Polisinin 90 illiyi (1918-2008) yubiley medalı - lent.png File:Order badge of honor rib.png

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Arif Malikov (also Melikov; Baku, 13 September 1933 – Baku, 9 May 2019) was an Azerbaijani composer. He graduated from the Baku Conservatory as a music composer in 1958. He shot to fame in 1961 when his first major composition "Legend of Love" was staged at the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad (present day St Petersburg) and received nationwide acclaim. The ballet has been staged in several countries in Europe and is regarded as one of the finest works emerging from the former Soviet Union. The ballet "Legend of Love", is based upon the legend of "Farhad and Shirin", a story of unrequited love that was immortalized by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet. Malikov went on to write music for two more ballets, including "Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet)" Yer üzündə iki nəfər (balet) ("Dvoe" or "Two") (1967) and "Poem of Two Hearts" (1981), five symphonies & eight symphony poems. He also wrote scores for a large number of films and plays, and was familiar with practically all genres of music composition.

Malikov was conferred the highest award that an artist could get in the former Soviet Union — The People's Artist of the USSR. He was also honoured with a concert hall named after him at Turkey's Bilkent University. He was an Honorary Doctor of Khazar University (2012), Baku. Azerbaijan.

After Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union (late 1991), Malikov settled in Baku, where he taught music in the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire.

He was a founding member of the Eurasian Academy.[http://eurasia-academy.org/?page_id=57/ Eurasian Academy Official Site]

He died on 9 May 2019, at the age of 85.[https://tass.ru/kultura/6416448 Умер народный артист СССР Ариф Меликов] {{in lang|ru}}