The celebrations of the 110th birth anniversary of Veli Mukhatov (1916–2005), the founder of Turkmen professional musical art, occupied a special place among this year’s most prominent cultural events. The commemorative events once again highlighted the composer’s outstanding contribution not only to national but also world culture. This was reflected in the format of the anniversary celebrations, jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan and the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY).
Speaking at the anniversary celebrations, TURKSOY Secretary General and People’s Writer of the Kyrgyz Republic Sultan Raev noted that Veli Mukhatov was a composer of world stature who made a significant contribution to the development of the musical culture of both the Turkmen people and the Turkic world as a whole.
Veli (Velimuhamed) Mukhatov is one of Turkmenistan’s most highly distinguished composers. His prolific creative, pedagogical and public activities were recognized with numerous state awards and honorary titles. He is also the composer of the National Anthem of Turkmenistan.
The many facets of the composer’s life and work as well as his remarkable biography were the focus of a scientific and practical conference held at the Special Music Boarding School under the Maya Kuliyeva Turkmen National Conservatory. The Conservatory also hosted master classes led by opera artists from Turkic countries. The central venue of the celebrations, however, was the stage of the Mukam Palace (Palace of Melodies) at the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan, which brought together Turkmen vocalists and their talented colleagues from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkiye.
The programme of the musical evening reflected the breadth of the creative vision of this classic of Turkmen music, whose legacy for future generations remains invaluable, encompassing symphonic, vocal symphonic and chamber works, operas, compositions for orchestras of folk instruments, solo songs and romances as well as music for films.
Veli Mukhatov’s creative path is a living history and an inseparable part of the evolution of Turkmen national art. The more I explore publications devoted to his life and work and speak with those who knew him best – his students, his son Batyr, his daughter Leyli, and his niece, art historian Ogulnabat Mukhatova – the more I understand that Mukhatov’s legacy is foundational in every sense of the word. It remains a vivid embodiment of the creative energy of the Turkmen people, their history, musical culture and the family traditions and values.
A visit to the composer’s home, located in the historic centre of Ashgabat and preserved in its original form to this day, provided further confirmation of this. Nestled amid the greenery of century old trees, the modest house with its cosy courtyard seems sheltered from the bustle and noise of the city by the surrounding high rise buildings. A vine covered gazebo, rose bushes in full bloom, and the topchan where the family gathered on summer evenings – all bear witness to a memorable period when music filled this home. Mukhatov moved into the house with his family in the early 1960s and remained there until his passing in January 2005. His children have carefully preserved not only the furnishings of the rooms, but, more importantly, the warm atmosphere of a home that always welcomed guests. Visitors came not only from Moscow but also from other fraternal republics, and it was here that the magnificent voice of Azerbaijan’s “nightingale,” People’s Artist of the USSR Murtuza Mamedov (Bulbul) could often be heard.
“My father loved three things above all else: his family, music and roses. In his spare time, he devoted himself to caring for the flowers, and today I do my best to ensure that our courtyard remains as beautiful as it was during his lifetime. In a way, it is a living monument to his talent, kindness and love of life. My mother, Adygul, created every possible condition for my father’s work. She was his muse and succeeded in providing the strong family support that enabled him to devote himself fully to his art. By our parents’ decision, all the children in the family received musical education, but only the eldest son, Serdar, chose music as his life’s calling. He went on to become a renowned composer and an Honoured Artist of Turkmenistan,” Batyr Veliyevich recalls.
Batyr and Leyli Mukhatov invite visitors into the room that once combined the functions of a study, salon and library. Everything has been preserved exactly as it was during his lifetime: manuscripts, sheet music collections, gramophone records, musical instruments, books and photographs of teachers, family members and friends. A writing desk and, of course, the grand piano once touched by the hands of Veli Mukhatov stand in the centre of the room.
It is impossible to know how the fate of the young Veli might have unfolded had it not been for a fortunate turn of events – the admission of students to the Turkmen Studio established in 1935 at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory to train professional musicians for the republic. It was through this programme that he came to Moscow together with other musically gifted young Turkmen men and women. During their years of study, they completed the curriculum of both a music school and a music college, while the most talented were subsequently admitted to the Conservatory itself. His love of string instruments led Mukhatov to the class of Vasily Moiseyev, a violist with the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. Moiseyev not only trained him as an outstanding violist but also instilled in him a deep appreciation and understanding of contemporary music.
After three or four years of study, it became clear that Veli Mukhatov’s true vocation lay in composition, and he began studying in the class of Heinrich Litinsky. Under Litinsky’s guidance, the young composer produced his first works, including a cycle of piano pieces, including “Caravan”, a vivid musical sketch inspired by traditional Turkmen life. Mukhatov’s talent earned him a unanimous recommendation for admission to the Conservatory.
The graduation examinations at the Turkmen Studio concluded on 21 June 1941. Fate would bring him back to the Conservatory many years later, already a forty year old man, together with his wife Adygul Orazova and their two sons. A graduate of the Turkmen Studio herself, Adygul had given up her successful career as a vocalist for the sake of her family.
A soldier and an artist – this combination of service to one’s country and devotion to art was emblematic of the Mukhatovs’ outlook on life. In 1941, Veli was among the volunteers who helped build defensive fortifications around Moscow. Determined to reach the front, he returned to Ashgabat and, after graduating from an infantry school, was deployed to the Stalingrad Front in December 1942 as a member of the 99th Rifle Division. He was wounded in action. His brothers Aky, Nury and Artyk also fought in the Great Patriotic War. Nury, the youngest of the brothers, served as a reconnaissance scout. The roads of war took him to Budapest, where he was reunited with Artyk. The eldest brother, Aky, fought all the way to Berlin. All three were awarded orders and medals in recognition of their military service.
Nury Mukhatov also became a renowned musician, composer and conductor. He was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Turkmenistan. Until the end of his life, he served as chief conductor of the Magtymguly Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. Veli Mukhatov’s another brother, Anna, was a gifted writer and poet, whose verses inspired a number of musical works composed by Veli Mukhatov.
After returning from the war, Veli Mukhatov took part in the contest announced in 1944 to create the anthem of the Turkmen SSR. To the surprise of the selection committee, only three days after submitting his application he presented a completed composition, which was subsequently declared the winner of the contest. Mukhatov succeeded in creating one of the finest examples of a lyrical anthem, and its melody would later serve as the basis for the first national anthem of independent Turkmenistan.
The formative roots of Mukhatov’s development as a composer also played a decisive role in shaping his artistic voice. His profound knowledge of Turkmen folklore, national musical traditions and the world’s classical heritage, above all the Russian musical tradition, determined the distinctive character, genre diversity and innovative principles of his compositions. His works reflect a subtle national flavour, the emotional richness of folk melodies, the classical foundations of world music and the compositional techniques of the twentieth century. While preserving the oral traditions, epics and melodies of his ancestors, the composer gave them new expression, weaving folk motifs into contemporary musical forms.
During the 1950s, first as a student and later as a postgraduate at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Mukhatov brilliantly absorbed the lessons of his distinguished teachers, matured as a musician and composer, and created original works that would shape the development and achievements of Turkmen musical art for decades to come.
The composer, conductor and People’s Artist of the RSFSR and the Uzbek SSR, Sergey Vasilenko, was one of the mentors who played a crucial role in shaping Veli Mukhatov’s artistic career. It was under his guidance that the artistic identity of the future founder of Turkmen professional musical art took shape.
Vasilenko had himself been a student of the outstanding Russian composer, pianist, teacher and musicologist Sergey Taneyev, who, in turn, was the favourite pupil of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This musical inheritance is reflected in the lyrical character of Veli Mukhatov’s music, as he had a deep affection for Tchaikovsky’s music. Portraits of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Modest Mussorgsky hang on the wall above the composer’s grand piano, representing two great Russian composers of the nineteenth century, united by their deep interest in their native culture, their spirit of innovation and creation of masterpieces that have become an integral part of the world musical repertoire.
Thus, the deep roots of Mukhatov’s musical language were strengthened by a rich cultural foundation and a strong connection to the classical traditions of Russian composition. At the same time, the Turkmen master absorbed the lessons of the great composers as a true artist, remaining faithful to himself and to his role as a voice of national aspirations.
He encouraged his students to develop independent artistic thinking and a distinctive compositional voice, teaching them to achieve a balance between emotional expression and logical coherence of musical form. In the view of the great composer, the strength of the emerging Turkmen music lay in its ability to master a contemporary musical language without losing its national identity and unique cultural character.
According to one of his students, composer Sukhan Tuyliev, Honoured Artist of Turkmenistan, “the most important lesson Veli Mukhatov taught future composers was to create works rooted in the traditions of folk music. ‘No matter where in the world your music is performed, the professor used to say, ‘Turkmen motifs should always be recognizable in it.’”
One could speak at length about Veli Mukhatov’s contributions to the establishment and development of professional Turkmen music. He is widely regarded as the founder of Turkmen symphonic music and, more broadly, the national classical school of composition. Each of his four symphonies is considered a musical masterpiece.
Mukhatov significantly expanded the genre range of Turkmen music. In collaboration with composer Alexander Znosko Borovsky, he composed “Akpamyk”, the first fairy tale fantasy ballet in the history of Turkmen music. His cooperation with Adrian Shaposhnikov resulted in the comic opera “Kemine and the Judge”, followed some years later by their second joint work, a new version of the opera “Zohra and Tahir.” Mukhatov’s original opera “Ganly Saka” (the end of the bloody divide), based on a libretto by Ch.Ashirov and K.Kurbansakhatov, went beyond the conventions of traditional epic narratives. The work, which occupied the composer for an entire decade, marked a transition to a qualitatively new stage in the musical dramatic conception.
As a man of his time, Veli Mukhatov also devoted part of his work to patriotic themes, celebrating both the military heroism and labour achievements of the Soviet people in large and small compositions alike, yet all marked by the same emotional sincerity and personal conviction. Deeply conscious of his responsibility for the national culture and its future, Mukhatov created a legacy intended to unite generations while remaining actively engaged in public and cultural life.
The composer’s open-mindedness and active public involvement fostered broad professional and creative networks, not only with the country’s most prominent musicians, composers and conductors but also with outstanding representatives of many other professions. Professor Veli Mukhatov trained a whole generation of young Turkmen composers and was among the principal initiators of the establishment of a specialized higher educational institution for training of music professionals. Following the opening of the Turkmen Institute of Arts and Pedagogy in 1972 (now the Turkmen State Institute of Culture), Mukhatov headed the Department of Composition and Music Theory at the institution’s Faculty of Music Theory and Composition.
One of the articles the composer published in the national press was entitled “The Happiness of Creating”. Working with inspiration until the very last days of his life, Veli Mukhatov was blessed in full measure with that happiness.