The Small Hall of the Maya Kuliyeva Turkmen National Conservatory hosted a creative evening celebrating the 80th birthday of Yuri Gurgenovich Sarkisov, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor in the Solo Singing Department and Honored Art Worker of Turkmenistan.
Accompanied by the music of the student orchestra, Yuri Gurgenovich entered the hall, where guests welcomed him with flowers. In a brief speech, the Maestro thanked everyone for their attention to his artistic and teaching career. A group of Yuri Sarkisov’s students then entered the hall. Among them were People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Bibijemal Amanova, Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Selbi Annadurdyyeva, Hasan Jumayev, renowned vocalists Nury Nuryev, Bahar Durdyyeva, Begench Gayipov, and others.
Yuri Sarkisov is a graduate of the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Leningrad State Conservatory. His return to Turkmenistan coincided fortuitously with the opening of the Pedagogical Institute of Arts in Ashgabat, and from that time onward, nurturing young talent became the central purpose of his life.
Color and black-and-white photographs documenting the Maestro’s life were displayed on a monitor in the hall, beginning with the family in which the future solo singing teacher was born and raised. Associate Professor Elena Osipova spoke about his stage performances, competition victories, encounters with friends and celebrities, as well as the congratulatory messages sent by his former students from abroad for his anniversary.
In addition to his concert career, Yuri Sarkisov has also distinguished himself as a scholar. He is the author of «A Brief Musical Encyclopedia,» which includes a terminology dictionary in three languages, and has researched the influence of Magtymguly’s poetry on the works of Turkmen composers. Thanks to his efforts, numerous melodies from Turkmen romances have been arranged for choral performance.
The festive concert prepared by Yuri Sarkisov’s students symbolically opened with the performance of Arno Babajanyan’s «Elegy.» Kakajan Hudayberdiyev conveyed an atmosphere of pensive melancholy and philosophical reflection on life through his performance on the duduk. This is precisely the kind of contemplative mood that often characterizes the Honored Art Worker during his mature and productive years.
The evening’s program featured the aria of Kazy from Veli Mukhatov’s opera «Kemine and Kazy,» performed by third-year student Atamyrat Nurgeldiyev. Masterpieces of world classical music were also performed, including «Bliss» by Franz Schubert, «Vagharshapat Dance» by Aram Khachaturian, «Don Juan’s Serenade» by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, «The Kiss» by Luigi Arditi, and other works.
The Conservatory’s chamber choir, conducted by Gurban Babayev, performed the traditional hymn «Mnogaya Leta»(«Many Years») with deep feeling, moving both the guest of honor and the audience. The creative evening culminated in a joint performance by all the vocalists in attendance of Arkady Ostrovsky’s «A Song Stays with a Person»—a work ideally suited to the occasion.
The evening’s accompanists were Vladimir Mkrtumov, Ekaterina Darchia, Nazar Arslanov, Merjen Aydogdyyeva, and Shemshat Amannepesova.
