The most notable contribution of Muslim women composers in the Caucasus area is in Azerbaijan, where several generations of academically trained female composers emerged, producing works in all genres of music, many of them gaining international recognition. Two factors facilitated the vast involvement of women in music in Azerbaijan: the ideas of women's emancipation, important for Communist ideology, Azerbaijan being a part of the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1991, and the tremendous efforts of Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885–1948), the founder of art music tradition in the country.

The fir…