Oriented on making people closer

The organizing committee of the VIII Moscow International Arts Festival “Sounds of Dutar” named after Nury Halmamedov announced the start of accepting applications for the competition of composers “Musical works based on the poems of Magtymguly Fragi”, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the great Turkmen poet and philosopher.

The creative competition, held under the auspices of the Union of Composers of Eurasia and Russia, opened the world borders for young composers to demonstrate their art. The competition takes place in two stages and is open to musicians from all countries.

The mission of the competition is to introduce contemporaries to the great heritage of world culture, reflect the dialectical unity of the art of East and West, and popularize the work of modern composers.

Today's world is torn apart by contradictions: on the one hand, it is the global economy, the universalization of technology, the creation of a single digital space, and on the other hand, it is the desire of people to preserve their ethnic identity, historical memory, to determine their and their people's destiny in the world process.

Art is called upon to respond to the challenges of the time. Music, being one of the universal world languages, most successfully solves the problems of mutual understanding and self-identification, concentrating universal human ideals and identifying the specific spiritual values of peoples.

Moreover, music can make a word of an unfamiliar language understandable, revealing its inner sacred essence. This is proven by the popularity of romances and vocal works based on poems by poets of the world, which are more often performed, more loved and in demand by the listener than the poems themselves. Music and poetry flow from the same musical and poetic source of folk art, let us remember the Aeds, Gusans, Guslars, Bakhshis…

The works of composers, presented in various musical styles and genres, solve the important task of enriching the modern performing repertoire. One of the most pressing musical gaps is the absence of modern academic vocal music based on the golden fund of world poetry, the brightest pages of which were written by the great Turkmen poet and philosopher of the 18th century - Magtymguly.

Composer competition at the VIII Moscow International Arts Festival “Sounds of Dutar” named after Nury Halmamedov is intended to attract the attention of creative individuals to the poetic heritage of Magtymguly.

There are no age restrictions in the competition; composers can submit their own academic works for voice and piano or instrumental ensemble. The main condition is that this work be presented for the first time.

Applications are accepted from March 1 to August 1, 2024 inclusive. The best works can be performed at the final concert on October 29 in the Russian State Library, Pashkov House, in the concert hall of the department of music publications and sound recordings, open to the public during the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Magtymguly and His Role in World Culture.” There will also be a presentation of the music collection of the winners' competition works.

Famous artists, composers, musicologists, and vocal teachers from Russia and Turkmenistan have been invited to join the jury of the competition.

The results of the first and second rounds of the competition are published on the website of the Sounds of Dutar Festival .

Details here.

ORIENT news

Photo: courtesy of the press service of the organizing committee of the Sound of Dutar festival