In July, the Operaliya International Music Festival at Astana Opera will offer classical arts connoisseurs an exciting instrumental programme as part of the Homeland Concerts series: the symphonic music evening Viva Cello and the chamber concert Piano Stories: From Chopin to Prokofiev. The highlights of these events will be guest appearances by the celebrated cello virtuoso Eldar Saparayev and a promising new generation of Kazakh musicians: cellists Batyrkhan Issak and Danagul Azhikenova, and pianists Bekzat Rakymov, Sanzharali Kopbayev, and Beibars Smail.
Accordingly, on 8 July, the Viva Cello symphonic music evening will take place in the Astana Opera Grand Hall. Residents and guests of the capital can look forward to a performance by Eldar Saparayev, one of the most sought-after cellists of his generation. A laureate of numerous prestigious international competitions, including the famous Antonio Janigro Competition in Croatia, Saparayev possesses flawless technique and a deeply interpretive style. Today, the artist successfully combines performances on major stages across Europe and Asia with his role as a Professor at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. His appearances alongside outstanding conductors and orchestras are invariably landmark events in the art world.
“The programme of our upcoming performance includes three large-scale premieres, each of which will be a true revelation for listeners,” says Eldar Saparayev, one of Central Asia’s leading cellists. “Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor will be performed for the first time in Kazakhstan. This powerful, vibrant, and monumental work, which is undeservedly performed less frequently than the First Concerto, will be presented by Batyrkhan Issak.”
Another premiere will be Arthur Honegger’s Cello Concerto, performed by Danagul Azhikenova.
“The author of this exquisite work lived in Paris and created his compositions during the golden age of Impressionism. As is well known, the figures of this movement were deeply enchanted by Japanese culture,” Eldar Saparayev notes. “I have long studied Japan and travelled across all its islands, and I am fascinated by this aesthetic. The simplicity of Japanese prints and traditional art contains incredible depth. For me, Honegger’s music resonates powerfully with this philosophy. The concerto’s first movement, written in a jazz style with elements of pentatonic scales, mentally transports me to a journey on a high-speed train from ancient Kyoto to Tokyo. Endless landscapes, rice fields, and people dressed in traditional attire come alive before my eyes. It feels as though this way of life has remained unchanged for thousands of years, while Mount Fuji rises majestically on the horizon. The second movement, to me, is the absolute manifestation of Kabuki
theatre. It is extraordinary how keenly Honegger managed to convey this authentic spirit in a European concerto, creating a profound musical visualisation of it.”
The third premiere and the culmination of the programme will be the first Kazakhstani performance of Giovanni Sollima’s unique work for three cellos and orchestra, Caravaggio. Together with Eldar Saparayev, his pupils Batyrkhan Issak and Danagul Azhikenova will present this virtuoso creation.
“This piece by an outstanding Italian composer, cellist, and friend of mine is based on a rare find. In a church in southern Italy, Sollima discovered an ancient manuscript containing a chorale dedicated to Caravaggio’s famous painting The Flagellation of Christ. Remarkably, the composer links the authorship of this manuscript to the artist himself. In his musical visualisation of the canvas, Sollima integrated this medieval original into the beginning and finale of the work, significantly quickening the tempo. In the central section, he recreated the intense drama of the flagellation using a cello ensemble. Performing this unique opus will introduce our audience to an unknown facet of Caravaggio’s artistry for the first time, serving as a powerful finale to our concert,” the musician explains.
International competition laureates Batyrkhan Issak and Danagul Azhikenova, who will participate in this concert alongside their mentor Eldar Saparayev, represent a new generation of Kazakh cellists rapidly conquering European venues. It is symbolic that Batyrkhan Issak will take the stage at the Astana Opera shortly after his brilliant victory at the CellEAST International Competition in Bucharest, where he won first prize, once again confirming the high standard of the Kazakh cello school abroad.
“As a professor at one of Europe’s largest universities, I actively work to promote Kazakh cello performance,” shares Eldar Saparayev. “Today, our talented students proudly represent the republic on the international stage. For instance, 19-year-old Batyrkhan Issak has already claimed two prestigious awards, taking second prize at a competition in Italy and securing a convincing victory against adult participants up to 35 years of age at a major competition in Romania. In turn, Danagul Azhikenova successfully completed a tour of the south of France, where she performed as a soloist with the New European Strings chamber orchestra under the baton of the legendary violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky. She also took part in a tour with the American ensemble iPalpiti under Eduard Schmieder. Following a recent performance in Prague and a concert in Ljubljana, she is flying out to Kazakhstan to connect with our home audience.”
It is worth noting that the evening’s programme also features Ravel’s Second Suite from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. A distinct highlight of the concert will be Qurmanghazy’s kui “Perovsky’s March” from the opera Qurmanghazy by the outstanding composers Akhmet and Gaziza Zhubanov.
All guest soloists will perform alongside the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Elmar Buribayev.
“Performing on the most prestigious stage in Kazakhstan is a deeply moving experience for me and an immense pleasure. Our creative collaboration with what I consider to be the finest orchestra in Central Asia – and one of the best in all of Asia – spans around ten joint programmes over the last decade. Many of my close friends and former classmates perform in this orchestra, and we are united by forty years of friendship. This upcoming concert, taking place immediately after my performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto in Seoul, will be an eagerly anticipated reunion with
my home audience in Kazakhstan, whom I rightfully consider to be among the finest in the world,” Eldar Saparayev concludes.
A day earlier, on 7 July, Piano Stories: From Chopin to Prokofiev will be presented to audiences at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall. Brilliant young Kazakh pianists and international competition laureates Bekzat Rakymov, Sanzharali Kopbayev, and Beibars Smail, currently studying at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, will showcase their artistry. The rich programme of solo and ensemble performances is designed to demonstrate the full breadth and multifaceted nature of the piano. This evening, Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major, Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Paganini (Book I), Ravel’s choreographic poem La Valse, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, and Scriabin’s Waltz will be performed. Rachmaninoff’s Andante, transcribed by Volodos, Balakirev’s oriental fantasy Islamey, and Prokofiev’s monumental Sonata No. 7 will further enrich the evening’s musical palette.
It is worth noting that the upcoming festival concerts featured as part of the Homeland Concerts project reflect an unbroken continuity of generations within Kazakhstan’s classical arts. Joint performances by renowned masters and young musicians underscore the Astana Opera’s mission to nurture creative youth. The Homeland Concerts project serves as a unique cultural exchange: while representing Kazakh national art on global stages, these talents return home to introduce rare masterpieces of the world classics to domestic audiences with the opera house’s support. By providing artists with a prominent stage for such major symphonic concerts, Astana Opera fosters their professional growth and uncovers new names in the national performing arts school.
The concerts will begin at 7 pm.
