The concert “Shәмshi World”, dedicated to the 95th anniversary of Shamshi Kaldyakov and the 60th anniversary of Mukhtar Kaldyakov, brought together audiences for whom the creativity of this family has long become part of their personal history. From the very first minutes, the hall was filled with familiar melodies that returned everyone to cherished moments of the heart. The music embraced the audience with warmth, filling the evening with the bright and gentle atmosphere of Shamshi’s world.
The concert was organized by the “Shamshi Alemi” Foundation headed by Mukhtar Kaldyakov. The producer of the evening was the director of the foundation, Botagoz Kaldyakova, who developed the concept of the program and coordinated the entire preparation process. Today, under her leadership, the foundation actively works to preserve and promote the legacy of the Kaldyakovs through publishing, educational and concert projects.
The program consisted of two parts and unfolded like a journey through the world of Kazakhstan’s song culture. The first part featured the golden classics of Shamshi Kaldyakov — songs that have long become symbols of their era. They were performed by leading soloists of the Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre: Venera Alpysbayeva (“Aqmandaiym”), Aidos Zhabagin (“Enіm sen edің”), Islam Khamzayev (“Keshikpei kelem dep em”), Darkhan Zholdybayev (“Bərinen de sen sulu”), Farhad Kubiev and Madina Erlanova (“Aq bantik”), Ilyas Artagaliev (“Syr sulu”), Tolegen Rakhymbayev (“Quanysh valse”), Gulnar Koshenova (“Omir ozen”), Taira Tazhi (“Aq erke – Aq Zhaiyq”), Baluan Berkenov (“Qaidasyң”), Takhaui Rakhmetov, Maksat Samatov, Ayazhan Kuanyshalieva and Sunkar Alimusy.
Each performance revealed familiar melodies in a new vocal interpretation. The richness of timbre and intonation gave the songs scope and expressiveness. Warm applause accompanied Medeu Arynbayev’s performance of “Ana turaly zhyr”.
The second part included works by Arno Babajanyan and Alexander Zatsepin, as well as songs from the repertoire of Muslim Magomayev and Ermek Serkebayev. Aidos Zhabagin, Tolegen Rakhymbayev, Baluan Berkenov and Ilyas Artagaliev presented their interpretations of famous vocal pieces: “Above Me the Blue Sky”, “Listen”, “As Long as I Remember, I Live”, “Return the Music”, “I’m Looking for You”, “Nocturne”. The song “Men bilmein” performed by Dayana Doskhana — a work by her father Zhanbolat Kenzhekeev — was also featured. This part added lyrical tenderness to the evening.
The main intrigue of the evening was the premiere of two new works by Mukhtar Kaldyakov. The instrumental composition “Wedding March” performed by the pop-symphonic orchestra and the vocal piece “For a Birthday”, interpreted by Sitora Abdurakhmanova — soloist of the Alisher Navoi National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (Tashkent), became the artistic climax of the program.
For many listeners, it was their first encounter with Mukhtar Kaldyakov’s music in a symphonic sound. The live polyphony of the orchestra revealed a new facet of his compositional thinking. Sitora Abdurakhmanova performed the vocal premiere with great expressiveness. These two premieres enriched the musical palette of the evening and expanded the repertoire of Kaldyakov Orchestra, which is shaping a new direction in Kazakh song-symphonic music today.
The finale once again turned the audience to Shamshi Kaldyakov’s songs — “Teriskey”, “Otyrardagy toi”, “Arys zhagasynda”, which beautifully завершили the evening.
The jubilee evening highlighted the central role of the Kaldyakov musical dynasty in the cultural life of the country and showed how Shamshi’s legacy and Mukhtar’s new works form a common musical line while preserving intergenerational continuity.
I congratulate the Kaldyakov family on another successful creative project.
With love,
Director of the A. Seleznev Academy of Choreography –
Aya Kalieva
