Kara Karaev was born in 1918 in Baku, Azerbaijan. He began his studies in music at the Baku Music School in 1926. After having graduated in 1935, he continued his studies in composition at the Baku Conservatory, and in 1938, composition and orchestration at the Moscow Conservatory. Between 1943 and 1946, Kara Karaev furthered his studies in composition under the instruction of Dmitri Shostakovich.

His achievements range over a wide spectrum including numerous symphonies, violin concertos, ballets, operas, oratorios, cantatas, film music, piano works, string quartets, and sonatas for violin and piano. It’s not difficult to detect in his work that he studied under Shostakovich. His music uses a creative synthesis of an eastern-influenced musical idiom, but clearly with western form and harmony. Among his master works, Symphony No. 3, and the ballet Seven Beauties are outstanding.