On the 7^th of May the presentation of the book “Zwischen Moderne und Archaik: Transregionale Spannungen in der Musikkultur Aserbaidschans im 20. Jahrhundert” (“Between Modernity and Archaism: Transregional Influences in Azerbaijani Musical Culture in the 20^th Century”), authored by the well-known musicologist, composer and publicist Elmir Mirzayev and the scientific seminar on the same topic were held at the Institute of Folklore of ANAS. The seminar, organized in a hybrid format, was attended by institute employees, doctoral and dissertation students, as well as researchers from Khazar University and Baku Slavic University.

Opening the event with an introductory speech, Director of the Institute of Folklore of ANAS, Doctor of Sciences in Philology Hikmat Guliyev highly appreciated the participation of the well-known musicologist, composer and publicist Elmir Mirzayev in the scientific seminar held at the Institute of Folklore and mentioned the importance of such meetings in terms of exchanging ideas in the field of humanities.

Hikmat Guliyev spoke about the modern global paradigm shifts in folklore studies. He noted that social anthropological and socio-cultural approaches played an important role in contemporary folklore studies. It was noted that while folklore in the classical philological tradition was mainly associated with oral texts, in modern folklore studies, music, rhythm, performativity and ethnographic context were also considered the main components of research.

Elmir Mirzayev, who made a report, first talked about his book “Between Modernity and Archaism: Transregional Influences in Azerbaijani Musical Culture in the 20^th Century” published in Germany. The speaker commented on the historical transformation processes of Azerbaijani culture, especially the changes that took place in the fields of music and general culture during the 19^th-20^th centuries, in a broad scientific context.

Seminar participants such as PhD, associate professor Elchin Abbasov, PhD, associate professor Aynur Ibrahimova, PhD, associate professor Afag Ramazanova, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, associate professor Matanat Abbasova, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, associate professor Shakir Albaliyev, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, associate professor Agaverdi Khalil, PhD, associate professor Elchin Galiboglu exchanged views on the topic and held discussions around the scientific approaches told by the author, expressed their scientific notes, additional considerations and opinions on the theme around the report.

At the end of the seminar, Hikmat Guliyev, director of the Folklore Institute, presented the books published at the Institute and a symbolic gift, the commemorative photos were taken.