Music of Kazakhstan

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The modern state of Kazakhstan is home to the Kazakh State Kurmangazy Orchestra of Folk Instruments, Kazakh State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kazakh National Opera and the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra. The folk instrument orchestra was named after Kurmangazy, a famous composer and dombra player from the 19th century. Other Kazakh composers include Tattimbet, Sougur, Almaz Serkebayev, Tles Kazhgaliev, Makhambet and Bayserke.

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[edit] Folk music

Main article: Kazakh folk music

Kazakh music is nomadic and rural, and is closely related to Uzbek and Kyrgyz folk forms. Travelling bards, healers and mystics called akyn are popular, and usually sing either unaccompanied or with a string instrument, especially a dombra or qobuz. Akyn performance contests are called aitys; their lyrics are often social or political, and are generally improvised, witty remarks.

Traditional Kazakh music includes ensembles using instrumets like the qobuz or dombra, as well as kylkobyz, sherter, sybyzgy, saszyrnay and shankobyz; the most common instrumental traditions are called kobizovaia, sibiz-govaia, and dombrovaia. Many songs are connected to ancient mythology and folk religious beliefs (kui), while others were composed after the rise of authored works (kuishi) by early songwriters (jiray) like Mahmud Kashgari, Kaztygana, Dospanbeta, Shalkiiza and Aktamberdi. The kuishi tradition is said to have peaked in the 19th century, when composers like Kurmangazy, Madi Baliuly and Birjan and singers like Ahan were active. In the 20th century, the first major star was the singer Mayra Shamsutdinova, who was, unusual for the time, a woman.

[edit] Pop music

Pop music in Kazakhstan has made a resurgence since the year 2000, with local record labels signing more youthful talent than ever. Talent searchs have always been an integral part of the Kazakh pop music industry, such as the project Anshi Balapan & Idol spinoff SuperStar KZ.

Some of these artists include

[edit] Russian and Soviet-era music

Controlled by the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan's folk and classical traditions became connected with ethnic Russian music and Western European music. Prior to the 20th century, Kazakh folk music was collected and studied by ethnographic research teams including composers, music critics and musicologists. In the first part of the 19th century, Kazakh music was transcribed in linear notation. Some composers of this era set Kazakh folk songs to Russian-style European classical music.

The Kazakhs themselves, however, did not write their own music in notation until 1931. Later, as part of the Soviet Union, Kazakh folk culture was encouraged in a sanitized manner designed to avoid political and social unrest. The result was a bland derivative of real Kazakh folk music. In 1920, A. V. Zataevich, a Russian official who created major works of art music with melodies and other elements of Kazakh folk music. Beginning in 1928 and accelerating in the 1930s, he also adapted traditional Kazakh instruments for use in Russian-style ensembles, such as by increasing the number of frets and strings. Soon, these styles of modern orchestral playing became the only way for musicians to officially play; Kazakh folk was turned into patriotic, professional and socialist endeavours [1].

[edit] Musical institutions

The Musical-Dramatic Training College, founded in 1932, was the first institute of higher education for music. Two years later, the Orchestra of Kazak Folk Musical Instruments was formed [2].

[edit] References

Central Asian music

Afghanistan | Badakhshan | Buryatia | Gansu | Inner Mongolia | Kazakhstan | Khakassia
Kyrgyzstan - Mongolia | Qinghai | Tajikistan | Tibet | Turkmenistan | Tuva | Uzbekistan | Xinjiang
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