Music occupies a special place in the spiritual heritage of the Turkmen people. Since ancient times, they have revered musicians as people endowed with a special gift from God, created and passed legends about them from generation to generation.
And after centuries, musical diplomacy plays a special role in the relations between countries and peoples, helping to find common ground, turn humanity to its origins, harmonious and creative perception of the world, create a common humanitarian space without linguistic and state borders. This was confirmed by the Turkmen-Russian musical dialogue, which noticeably intensified this summer.
The concerts by the famous Russian musical groups “Turetsky Choir” and the women’s art group “SOPRANO” under the direction of People’s Artist of Russia Mikhail Turetsky last summer proved the fairness of this statement. Two concerts by the Russian groups held on June 26 on the stage of the Palace of Mukams of the State Cultural Center of Turkmenistan gathered a full house.
“We have long wanted to come to Ashgabat, and finally we got there. We were struck to the depths of our souls by such a beautiful, clean and well-kept white city in the desert,” the choir’s director Mikhail Turetsky said addressing the audience in the beginning of the concert program. “New York, Paris, Tokyo, move aside, make way for Ashgabat, this is the impression your city has made on us. And now it is time to surprise you with our art.”
For two hours, the group performed compositions from the treasury of Russian and world classics, Russian folk and gypsy songs, arias from famous operettas, popular variety music. The audience cheered all the compositions with stormy ovations, expressing their attitude to the mastery of Russian artists and their songs that reminded them of main things – love, honor, peace and the Motherland.
The “Turetsky Choir” has its own style of performance – the soloists freely walk around the stage, and each performance looks like a mini-performance, and its director, who is also the host of the concert, Mikhail Turetsky, constantly interacts with the audience in the hall in a joint choral performance.
The concert program of the tour of the “Turetsky Choir” includes without fail compositions by national composers of the host countries. Ashgabat was no exception. For the first time ever, Russian artists performed songs in the Turkmen language, including “My White City Ashgabat” on the verses by National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
At the end of the concert, the artists admitted that they were pleasantly surprised by the resounding success with the Ashgabat public. The concerts were organized by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ashgabat with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan and the foreign ministries of the two countries.
Just two days later, on the same stage of the Palace of Mukams, the Turkmen-Russian dialogue in the language of music was continued by the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan under the direction of People’s Artist of Russia and Tatarstan, Professor Alexander Sladkovsky.
Numerous Ashgabat music fans heard melodies by Russian composers and Tatar folk melodies in the virtuoso performance by the art group. The concert featured fragments from the opera “Samson and Delilah” by Camille Saint-Sa"ens, “Polovtsian Dances” from Alexander Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor”, “Dance of Skomorokhs” from the fairy tale “Snow Maiden” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and others. The performance of the song “Forward, Forward, Only Forward, Beloved Motherland – Turkmenistan!” by the National Leader of the Turkmen People Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was the crown of the musical evening.
“By the nature of my work I tend to be silent than vocal,” Alexander Sladkovsky said to the audience, “and yet, I would like to thank the Ashgabat audience from the bottom of my heart for the warm welcome, as well as all those who helped us organize this concert. May brotherly relations between our countries flourish!”
Classical music was also played this summer at the Department of Education, Science and Culture of the Russian Embassy in Turkmenistan (Russian House) that hosed the event “Mikhail Glinka. Musical Journeys” on the occasion of the 220th anniversary of the composer’s birth. There was organized an exhibition about Glinka’s works, with his wonderful music played in the background.
A fresh string, or rather, a beautiful voice was added to the musical dialogue of the two countries by a fourth-year student of the opera department of the Turkmen National Conservatory named after Maya Kulieva (TNC) Dunyagozel Begaliyeva. The talented vocalist participated for the second year in the Yelena Obraztsova International Contest of Young Opera Singers. The current fifteenth anniversary contest was held at the State Academic Capella of St. Petersburg. The owner of a coloratura soprano did not reach the final of this prestigious talent show, having passed only the first round, but the very fact of her participation speaks of the acceptance by young Turkmen talents of the main message of the Obraztsova contest, contributing to the establishment of mutual understanding between people, affirmation of universal values, principles of harmony and tolerance.
There is now a growing understanding that music is one of the main humanitarian resources for development of society, ensuring the connection between generations, past and present. Conveying the memory of the cultural past in its original form and introducing it to the world is one of the priority tasks of the cultural policy and diplomacy of Turkmenistan and Russia.
In this regard, the forums held in Russia became notable events of the summer. It was almost simultaneously that Turkmen music was presented at the international festival of classical art “Caspian Seasons” in Astrakhan and at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, which demonstrates the growing interest in Turkmenistan’s culture and contributes to the strengthening of humanitarian ties of the country in the international arena.
It has become a tradition for Turkmen musicians and vocalists to join the Symphony Orchestra of the Caspian States. Famous vocalist Ayna Seyitkulieva and three musicians – a representative of the State Symphony Orchestra and students of the TNC played in this combined group. On August 24, the forum also hosted a concert program “Turkmenistan Day” with the participation of TNC teachers – People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Atajan Berdyev, musicians Ashir Ashirov and musicians of the ensemble “Camerata Ashgabat” Bahram Dollyev, Yusupgeldy Gandymov, Akmyrat Kurbanov, Takhir Atayev.
If in Astrakhan Turkmen musicians joined a large international group, then at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky musicians from Turkmenistan and Russia were united by Turkmen poet and humanist Magtymguly. In dedication to the 300th anniversary of the poet’s birth, the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory hosted a concert titled “He truly became the mouth of Turkmenistan” and a lecture “Magtymguly’s legacy and contemporary musical art”. An exhibition of the poet’s works, literature about him and works of fine art were timed to coincide with the event. The creative action that took place as part of the XVIII International Music Festival “Gathering Friends” was the result of the collective efforts of the Turkmen diplomatic mission in Moscow, the leadership of the Moscow Conservatory and the directorate of the annual Moscow International Festival “Sounds of Dutar” named after Nury Khalmamedov.
Representatives of the Turkmen musical art who arrived in the Russian capital were able not only to see the halls and auditoriums of the famous educational institution that gave a start in great art to a whole galaxy of Turkmen musicians, performers and composers, but also to rehearse and then perform within these walls. It was there that Nury Khalmamedov composed a romance based on Magtymguly’s poem “The Exile” during his student years which was included in the program of the concert “He truly became the mouth of Turkmenistan”.
“Beautiful instruments and a welcoming creative atmosphere. This is an amazing world of high art,” this is how Turkmen musicians spoke about rehearsals at the Moscow Conservatory.
“We are proud and happy that in this historical building we will be able to present the best pieces of classical music by outstanding Turkmen composers: romances, arias by Veli Mukhatov, Nury Khalmamedov, Chary Nurymov, Khydyr Allanurov, Yuli Meytus on the poems by great Turkmen poet Magtymguly. Our main goal is to show our art,” the participants of the creative action said.
Moscow befriended Turkmen and Russian musicians who met on the same stage to pay tribute to the great poet and thinker, Magtymguly Fraghi. The program of the concert, which took place in the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, was composed in such a way as to emphasize the unity of the peoples of the two countries. It included vocal and instrumental works on the poems by Magtymguly Fraghi, as well as compositions dedicated to the great classical poet and premieres. In the polyphony of the performances of musicians from fraternal countries, one could clearly trace the common origins of art, and most importantly, its peacekeeping, creative power.
It is obvious that the powerful and fresh musical wave that has captured the representatives of Turkmen and Russian art will not dry up after the warm, emotional summer. The autumn promises to be no less productive. It is musical and linguistic communication that remains the most reliable way to hear each other and identify mechanisms of establishing good-neighborly contacts between the peoples of the world.