On November 2, the Turkmenistan Cinema and Concert Center played host to an evening of classical music with the String Orchestra directed by Takhir Ataev. The band of talented musicians, who recently celebrated the first anniversary since they played their first concert, performed dazzling pieces of European classical music.
The young and ambitious performers first broke into the music scene as a new band on October 14, 2018, playing on stage in the Music Conservatory’s Big Hall. Their performance was warmly greeted by professionals and the audience alike.
The concert celebrating the orchestra’s first anniversary opened with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ (A Little Night Music). The concert program also featured works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Alfred Schnittke, Kara Karaev, among others.
Accompanying the musical performances was video footage showing highlights of the composers’ lives and creative work. Transporting the audience to the period when the pieces were composed, it created an immersive experience and reinforced the power of the music.
The concert was brought to a spectacular close by Grigoraș Dinicu’s Hora Mărţişorului’ (Little March Hora) that evoked intense emotions and drew a storm of applause from the audience. As a musical treat to the listeners, the orchestra also performed Henryk Wieniawski’s Caprice’ full of lyricism and expressiveness.
From an interview with Takhir Ataev:
- How many concerts have you given so far?
- This is the sixth one, but we are striving for excellence and quality not quantity. Our musicians have great potential as performers and are artistically talented. Every concert helps them to hone their professional skills and increase their experience.
- One of the distinctive features of your orchestra, as stated earlier, is that you introduce audiences to pieces of music that have not been performed in our country ever before.
-Yes, we do our best to stick to the principle. In today’s concert it was Elegy’ by Giovanni Bottesini. What is more, the double bass is rarely used in solo playing. I think double-bass player Guvanch Saryev performed brilliantly.
- Thank you. We wish your band more success ahead and are looking forward to new sparkling classical music concerts performed in an original way.