― 10 апреля 2013 г.

Prof. Erkegali Rahmadiyev passed away.

The State Artist of Kazakhstan, famous composer and former Minister of Culture of Kazakhstan Prof. Erkegali Rahmadiyev passed away on April 9th, 2013.

As Minister of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Prof. Rahmadiyev who is one of the signatories of the founding agreement of TURKSOY and thus contributed to the establishment of the latter, also worked as Director of the State Conservatory of Kazakhstan and Chairman of the Union of Composers of Kazakhstan for many years.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the birthday of the artist, TURKSOY will host the premiere of "Alpamış”, a world famous opera composed by Prof. Erkegali Rahmadiyev, at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Azerbaijan in Baku on May 5th, 2013.

With his considerable contribution to the promotion of Turkic culture and art, Prof. Rahmadiyev will always be remembered through his zealous work and valuable activities.

TURKSOY hereby expresses its condolences and grief to his family and beloved ones.

Funeral ceremony: Thursday April 11th, 10.00

Venue: Opera Building in Almaty/Kazakhstan

Who was Erkegali Rahmadiyev?

Throughout his life and work, Prof. Erkegali Rahmadiyev who died at the age of 81 assumed various functions and composed a large number of musical works.

Apart from his administrative and state functions, Prof. Rahmadiyev was also an extremely prolific and creative artist who offered unique works to the Turkic World and thus rightly deserves being remembered as one of the most precious composers of the Turkic World to have lived in the last quarter of the 20th century. In addition to this, Prof. Rahmadiyev was also a student of Mukan Tolebayev whom TURKSOY dedicated the year 2013.

Besides his contribution to the development of the National Opera of Kazakhstan, Yerkegali Rahmadiyev is also known as the inventor of a new musical genre called the "Symphonic Kyui”. With his unique style, the artist who composed a great number of works has strongly contributed to the preservation of the Kazak cultural heritage. These works have been and still are being performed in many countries where they are always extremely appreciated by the spectators. According to music critics, Prof. Erkegali Rahmadiyev’s compositions are the chef-d’oeuvres of Kazak classical music.

The famous Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin describes Rahmadiyev with the following words: "Yerkegali Rahmadiyev’s works are inspired by his own national culture. The compositions of Yerkegali Rahmadiyev are cornerstones of Kazak music which have been, and will always be performed and appreciated not only in famous theatres of the country but also abroad …”

Throughout his life, the artist never broke with the strong ties binding him to his native country and always reflected his emotional attachment thereto in the works he composed. The artist who also played a pioneer role in the development of Kazak music through the creation of a new musical genre called the Instrumental/Symphonic Kyui always praised creativity as a key factor of the development of a nation and said: "Any nation whatsoever should be creative. Because the creativity of nations is an essential part of world culture. Therefore, any artist’s primary aim should always be to promote the typical art of his/her country and people. This is why I created a new genre in Kazak classical music which I called the Symphonic Kyui. Indeed, works of this kind are not only unique through their genre. Much more than this, they reflect the spiritual values of the nation I belong to. Every work composed according to the "Kyui” genre, is a unique contribution of the Kazak people to the art of music on an international scale”.

Translated by Y.Vaudable

TURKSOY Translation and Interpretation Expert