Muhitdin Qoriyoqubov[a] (Uzbek Cyrillic: Муҳитдин Қориёқубов; 1 May 1896 – 22 February 1957) was an Uzbek baritone singer and one of the first Uzbek folksingers. A co-founder of the Muslim Youth Dance Troupe along with Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi in 1918, he became a major player in the development of the early music and theater scene of the Uzbek SSR.

Muhitdin Qoriyoqubov
Background information
Born(1896-05-01)1 May 1896
Fergana, Uzbekistan
Died22 February 1957(1957-02-22) (aged 60)
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Occupation(s)musician, theater artist
LabelsMuslim Youth Dance Troupe
Formerly ofEthnographic Musical Ensemble of Uzbek SSR
Partner(s)Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi

Early life edit

Qoriyoqubov was born on 1 May 1896 in what is now Fergana to a working-class family. He attended religious schools, which he did not like. A lover of music since he was child, he sang in mosques and recited the Quran, but he did not engage in secular music until later on.[1][2][3] In his youth he attended a religious school, which he hated as it discouraged his musical aspirations.[4] However, he pursued a career in music and theater despite the disdain from religious authorities, and went on to organize a small orchestra in Skobelev in 1916.[5] This was followed by the Muslim Youth Dance Troupe he founded with his friend Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi in 1918.[6][5]

Soviet era edit

He began his stage activity with the creation of the Fergana folk brass band in 1919, with which in 1919–1921 he performed in the Red Army units on the Turkestan Front. In the performances of the "Political Troupe" of H. Hamza performed as a dramatic actor. Participated in the organization of musical theaters in Tashkent, Andijan and Kokand. After the rise of Soviet power in Central Asia, music and dance groups received support from the state. Having become a member of the Communist Party in 1919,[7] Qoriyuqubov went to study theater first in Tashkent in 1919 followed by attending the Theater Art Institute in Moscow from 1922 to 1924.[8] He then worked on the development of music and theater in the Uzbek SSR, organizing the Ethnographic Musical Ensemble in 1925.[9] The ensemble was a success, and began to attract talent from prominent artists from across the Uzbek SSR, from a variety of backgrounds, with Tamara Khanum joining as a dancer in 1926 and Usta Olim Komilov contributing music.[10][11] In addition to organizing the group and recruiting musicians, Qoriyoqubov himself sang in performances.[12] The troupe was devastated by the loss of Nurkhon Yuldashkhojayeva, who joined the troupe as a dancer but was murdered by her family in an honor killing in 1929, leaving the troupe in mourning.[13][14] In November that year the ensemble was renamed the Uzbek State Musical Theater.[15] Qoriyoqubov continued to work in the promotion and production of Uzbek music, collecting and writing down popular melodies. He also helped organize the Uzbek State Philharmonic Union, which he became the artistic director of in 1929—1939 and 1946—1950.[8][16][17] Throughout his career he performed across the Soviet Union and internationally with his group, appearing in Moscow as well exhibitions in Paris and Berlin.[18][19]

He was awarded the title People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR in 1936 and the Order of Outstanding Merit posthumously in 2000. In January 1957, as a result of an accident, he suffered a fracture of the femoral neck. He died two weeks later in Tashkent on 22 February 1957. Muhitdin Qoriyoqubov is buried in Tashkent at the Chigatoy cemetery.[8] The Uzbek Philharmonic Society was named in his honor.[20]

Family edit

Selected parties edit

Sultanbek ("Arshin Mal Alan" by U. Hajibeyov);

Hosrov ("Farhad and Shirin" by Uspensky and G. Mushel);

Naufal ("Leyli and Majnun" by R. Glière in collaboration with T. Sodiqov);

Ulugbek (Ulugbek by A. Kozlovsky);

Mahmud Tarabi ("Mahmud Tarabi" by O. Chishko);

Er Targin ("Yor Targyn" ("Courageous Targyn") by E. Brusilovsky);

Governor-General ("Buran" by M. Ashrafi and S. Vasilenko).

Awards edit

Memory edit

M. Qoriyoqubov's name was given to the State Philharmonic of Uzbekistan.

The Academy of Folk Song and Dance and a street in Tashkent are named after Muhitdin Qoriyoqubov.

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ sometimes anglicized as Mukhitdin Kari-Yakubov based on the Russian spelling Мухитдин Кари-Якубов

References edit

  1. ^ Shmidt, Otto I͡Ulʹevich (1937). "Кари-Якубов, Мухитдин". Great Soviet Encydlopedia (in Russian). Vol. 31 (1 ed.). p. 563.
  2. ^ Uvarova, G. A. (1959). Узбекский драматический театр.
  3. ^ Doi, Mary Masayo (2002). Gesture, Gender, Nation: Dance and Social Change in Uzbekistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-89789-825-6.
  4. ^ Nosirova 1962, p. 148.
  5. ^ a b Общественные науки в Узбекистане (in Russian). Изд-во Академии наук Узбекской ССР. 1984.
  6. ^ Театральная энциклопедия: Гловацкий-Кетуракис (in Russian). Гос. науч. изд-во "Сов. энциклопедия". 1963.
  7. ^ "Қориёқубов Муҳитдин". Ўзбек совет энциклопедияси (in Uzbek). Vol. 14. Tashkent: Uzbek Soviet Encyclopedia. 1980. p. 202.
  8. ^ a b c "Қориёқубов Муҳитдин" (PDF). Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi (in Uzbek). Vol. 11. Tashkent: Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi. 2005.
  9. ^ Культура и жизнь: ежемесячный журнал Союза советских обществ дружбы и культурной связи с зарубежными странами (in Russian). Союз. 1972.
  10. ^ Nosirova 1962, p. 152.
  11. ^ Uvarova, G. A. (1959). Узбекский драматический театр: очерк истории (in Russian). Гос. изд-во Искусство.
  12. ^ Советская музыка (in Russian). Государственное Музыкальное издательство. 1967.
  13. ^ Nosirova 1962, p. 113.
  14. ^ Kozlovskaya, Galina (2015). Шахерезада. Тысяча и одно воспоминание (in Russian). Litres. ISBN 9785457942769.
  15. ^ Алишер Навоий номидаги давлат академик опера ва балет катта театри (in Russian). 2003.
  16. ^ Karev, V. M. (2003). Краткая Российская энциклопедия (in Russian). Большая Российская энциклопедия. ISBN 978-5-329-00653-7.
  17. ^ V.O.K.S. Soviet Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. 1930.
  18. ^ Shay, A. (2014-07-10). The Dangerous Lives of Public Performers: Dancing, Sex, and Entertainment in the Islamic World. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-43238-4.
  19. ^ Portraits of Prominent USSR Personalities. Scarecrow Press. 1969.
  20. ^ The Daily Review. August 1969.
  21. ^ "УП-2702-сон 25.08.2000. О награждении мастеров литературы и искусства, внесших огромный вклад в развитие узбекской национальной культуры". lex.uz. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  22. ^ https://naukaprava.ru/catalog/1/129/187/662/61479/?view=1

Bibliography edit