On May 8, the Maya Kulieva Turkmen National Conservatory’s Big Hall hosted an evening of music entitled ‘Wartime Songs’ to mark the 76th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The event was organized by the Chamber Ensemble Department.
The soul-stirring lines from Robert Rozhdestvensky’s poem ‘Requiem’ served as a prologue to the concert.
“People!
With every heartbeat, remember!
The ultimate price paid for happiness,
Remember!”
“Arise! Arise! Great Motherland! And grid yourself to fight!” When the song ‘The Sacred War’ (music by Alexander Alexandrov, lyrics by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach) was being performed, audience members were standing.
Amangeldy Amanov and Bakhar Durdyeva sang the established favorites ‘In the Dugout’ by Konstantin Listov, ‘The Blue Scarf’ by Jerzy Petersburski, and Matvey Blanter’s ‘In the City Garden’, ‘In the Forest near Battle Line, and ‘Katyusha’. Everyone was singing along with ‘Katyusha’ performed by mezzo-soprano Maya Gullaeva.
Maya Gullaeva, who compered the concert, shared with the audience that classical music was especially popular during those difficult war years, and radio stations were inundated with requests for classical pieces.
Most often radio listeners requested works by Tchaikovsky. In memory of this, the concert program also featured three pieces by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. ‘Valse Sentimentale’, ‘Melodie’, and ‘Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2’ were performed by flutist Emir Bairamdurdyev, violinist Aibolek Mukhieva, and pianist Merjen Amanova respectively.
Violinist Enegyz Yomudova played the soundtrack to the movie ‘Schindler’s List’ composed by John Williams. The heart-piercing violin phrases powerfully conveyed the dramatic moments from the famous movie about the tragedy of the war.
The evening of music ended with a rousing finale. Amangeldy Amanov sang the iconic song ‘Victory Day’ (music by David Tukhmanov, lyrics by Vladimir Kharitonov). All those who performed in the concert took to the stage and joined the singer in chorus.
Stella Faramazova, an award winner of international competitions, provided piano accompaniment at the concert.
Tamara GLAZUNOVA
