How do they become conductors? One of the most difficult music professions “getting younger” in Turkmenistan
The young musician Dovlet Okdirov cannot imagine his life without his favorite instrument and daily rehearsals in the orchestra. After graduating from an oboe class music school and enrolling in the Turkmen National Conservatory, the 18-year-old guy organized the Inspiration Chamber Orchestra with his peers on a voluntary basis, where he himself appeared as a conductor.
Perhaps, not one of the musical professions requires such a multi-stage and complex preparation as a conductor. One desire is not enough. In addition to purely creative abilities and skills, musical knowledge, the leader of the orchestra must have a strong character, take responsibility for overall success or failure, and be an outstanding person who can conquer both his team and the public.
In the past few years, an interesting tendency has been outlined in the musical landscape of Turkmenistan - young instrumentalists, who create various kinds of orchestras under their leadership, stand up to the conductor's desk. What attracts them to this? Career, fame, ambition? We ask one of the youngest conductors:
- It seems to me that it entails, first of all, a sincere desire to popularize classical music. Share with the audience your feeling and vision of it. In a music school, we teamed up with the guys to play our favorite works by outstanding composers. And even then we realized that the orchestra for beginner musicians is a very good “training ground”, because most of the skills are developed here. Being a conductor, of course, is more difficult - you need to be able to communicate with different people, inspire and unite them, says Dovlet.
Dreaming of getting into the State Symphony Orchestra of Turkmenistan, he auditioned for conductor Rasul Klychev. His wish came true, having successfully passed the exam, he was enrolled in a prestigious team of experienced colleagues.
When asked whether it is easy from the status of a conductor, albeit a student, but orchestra, to join the ranks of a large collective, Dovlet notes that his professional responsibility consists only in hard work and it does not matter in what way to broadcast music, especially the one to which he stuck with his heart.
- I grew up in a musical environment, my grandfather is the people's bakhshi of Turkmenistan, Dovletgeldy Okdirov, the elder sister Leyli Okdirova is an opera singer, we sometimes perform with her. And I was attracted to the oboe as a child by the honored artist Elaman Saryev, he told my parents that if they give me to his class, he will make me a talented musician.
And so it happened, Elaman Saryev kept his promise and became the main guide of the young man to the world of music, as Dovlet himself calls him - “my musical dad”. To a certain extent, it was the oboe teacher who influenced the formation of the musician in the conductor's role.
– I’m lucky that the guys with whom I work in the student chamber orchestra are serious people beyond their years. They, like me, are “crazy” with music. We have already played several concerts at the conservatory, and now we are preparing for serious television shootings, rehearsing the works of Nura Halmamedov. We try to replenish our repertoire from concert to concert, we select compositions that are complex in the technique of performance.
Recently, a concert was held at TNK https://orient.tm/talantlivo-dushevno-i-bez-slov-molodye-turkmenskie-muzykanty-pokorili-vechnoj-klassikoj/ of classical music, where the Inspiration chamber orchestra also performed. Under the direction of Dovlet Okdirov, “Hungarian Dance” by Johannes Brahms, the song “Don't Leave” by Chary Nurymov, the duet of Danatar and Ogulbek from the comic opera “Kemine and Kazy” by Andrian Shaposhnikov and Veli Mukhatov were performed.
“I try to always keep myself in a creative “tone,” says Dovlet Okdirov. - Working in different orchestras, playing different music programs, I am constantly looking for something new to perform. Honestly, I don’t see myself in any other field of activity, music is everything for me!
