In the first month of spring, Astana Opera will present two diverse, but infinitely engrossing concerts from the Musical Alliance series, featuring famous Kazakh artists, El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
Thus, on March 9, at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall, the concert Dedication to Love will mark the spring holiday – International Women’s Day. On March 26, classical music stars will perform the program Keys and Strings for the Soul.
The capital’s classical art connoisseurs know that the concerts from the popular series Musical Alliance, the author of which is the principal first violin of the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Bagdat Abilkhanov, represent high performance culture, exciting programs of brilliant musical works and immensely talented artists. These concerts are beloved by the audience, and listeners always look forward to the next meeting with high art.
Thus, on March 9, the Astana Opera Chamber Orchestra under the baton of the holder of the Order of Qurmet, Maestro Ruslan Baimurzin will take the stage in the Dedication to Love concert. Together with Bagdat Abilkhanov, renowned Kazakh instrumentalists will perform solo parts – Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, violinist Aida Ayupova, and cellist Yermek Kurmanayev.
Well-known Kazakh musician Yermek Kurmanayev already had the opportunity to collaborate with the opera house’s chamber orchestra last year, when Bagdat Abilkhanov invited the artist to take part in a concert from the same project.
“The Astana Opera Orchestra is a wonderful team, very keen and intuitive, always follows the soloist, and therefore performing with this collective is always a pleasure. As for the opera house itself, I believe that Astana Opera is one of the best, most beautiful opera houses in the world, and its Chamber Hall is, without question, a gem among the many concert venues of our country. Even the atmosphere itself here encourages one to be creative and make high art,” Yermek Kurmanayev noted.
As part of the musical evening dedicated to the spring women’s holiday, classical masterpieces by outstanding composers from different eras await the listeners. There include: Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio, George Frideric Handel – Johan Halvorsen’s Passacaglia, Jules Massenet’s Méditation, Vittorio Monti’s Csárdás, Manuel de Falla’s Spanish Dance, Astor Piazzolla’s Café 1930 from Histoire du Tango, and others. The highlight of the program will be works from popular films, such as Carlos Gardel’s Tango from Scent of a Woman, John Williams’ music from Schindler’s List, and Enio Morricone’s music from Cinema Paradiso. The composition Wait for Me by the contemporary Kazakh author Yerkesh Shakeyev will also be featured.
“Without a doubt, chamber ensemble performance represents a huge layer in world culture. There is not a single composer who did not write for chamber ensembles, because this genre is always very interesting not only to the author himself, but also, of course, to the artists. When we get together, this originates a certain creative dialogue, because there is not a single performance that could be precisely repeated at any given time. Since each person has their own character, way of thinking, and dissimilarity of relationships between people also plays a role here. Therefore, when the audience sees this kind of communication between musicians onstage, it is always captivating and enchanting,” Yermek Kurmanayev says.
And on March 26, Bagdat Abilkhanov and Yermek Kurmanayev will take the stage in a musical evening Keys and Strings for the Soul as part of the Kazakh Quartet, which also includes violinist Yerkebulan Saparbayev and violist Darkhan Sadvakassov. The ensemble will present a nuanced interpretation of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13. Together with pianist Anara Kamelinova, the musicians will perform César Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor.
Yermek Kurmanayev spoke about his long-standing close friendship and creative collaboration with Bagdat Abilkhanov, the author and the mind behind the beloved by the audience concert series.
“Bagdat Abilkhanov is a very close friend of mine, whom I have known for decades. And our acquaintance with Yerkebulan Saparbayev, Darkhan Sadvakassov and Aida Ayupova also goes back more than 20 years. All of them are great masters of their craft, and, to my great happiness, also my very good friends. The joint creative process, working on such interesting projects with like-minded people who are so close to you, invariably brings great joy and inspiration. I hope that our dear viewers will receive the same positive emotions from meeting with the beautiful music,” Yermek Kurmanayev shares.
On March 9, the concert starts at 6 PM, and on March 26 – at 7 PM.