Traditional and folk music
Coming from an originally nomadic people, the Kyrgyz culture is naturally very close to the oral tradition. This is why its music grants an important place to the bards named akyns (or manashi). These poets and composers sing great epics relating the history and the local myths, often accompanied by a lute with long handle, the famous komuz (guitar with three Kyrgyz strings). The country's iconic poem is that of Manas (sung by the manashi), a warrior symbol of the nation whose poem contains more than four million verses! The songs are therefore long, all the more so because they are full of improvisations. This last aspect is moreover particularly important in the art of the akyns, improvisation jousts (the aïtysh) being even sometimes organized. Symbolic of the importance of the akyns in the Kyrgyz culture, Toktogul Satilganov (1884-1933), the legend of the genre, gave his name to many streets, parks, schools (and even to his native city!) and his face adorns the 100 KGS banknotes. The art of the akyns is thus a treasure of Kyrgyz culture, inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. While the vocal counterpart remains predominant, there are also purely instrumental pieces. These, known as küü, also have a very powerful narrative framework since they also contain a story in a more abstract and subtle way. In order to enhance the expressiveness of their music, the musicians never hesitate to multiply their acrobatics by carrying their instrument on their shoulders, between their legs or on their backs. Just watch Maria Naumova the "Jimi Hendrix of the komuz " play to see for yourself. Or even the Tengir-Too ensemble, who play beautiful küü and are carried by Ruslan Jumabaev, the most accomplished komuz player of his generation. Another excellent group to listen to for a sound dive into Kyrgyzstan, the Kambarkan Folk Ensemble is a state orchestra of folk music. A national symbol passed through the very good label Naxos, this ensemble is the author of vibrant compositions featuring a wide range of Kyrgyz instruments and where the country's Arab and Turkish influences can be guessed. The Kyrgyz National Philharmonic proposes very beautiful representations of traditional and folk music, sometimes including dance. Immense brutalist jewel facing the town hall of Bishkek, impossible to miss it. For the anecdote, the place has also been renamed after Toktogul Satylganov and the statue on its square is that of Manas, the great national hero.
Classical music
A relic of the Soviet era, classical music is very present in Kyrgyzstan (well, in Bishkek) but it is no longer as successful. The look of the splendid orange building of the National Opera Ballet and its interesting programming (the great Russian classics) will not change anything, the place is generally little frequented. There is, however, a state symphony orchestra, the Manas Presidential Chamber Orchestra. Founded in 1999, the ensemble performs at major national events and also oversees the promotion of classical music in the country. On the lyric art side, Abdylas Maldybaev is the great Kyrgyz name (his portrait appears on 1 KGS tickets). An illustrious tenor, he was also a composer and wrote the state anthem of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic. More recently, the country has been carrying another important, though little-known, voice here : Bulat Minzhilkiev. He, whose career is intimately linked to the Mariinsky Theatre and the great Valery Gergiev, has also collaborated with the Bolshoi Theatre as well as the Milan Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
Popular music
When Kyrgyz people don't sing fabulous epics about local legends, as they do everywhere else, they talk about disappointed love or melancholy. And in Kyrgyzstan, one singer stands out for the intensity and beauty of her spleen. Her name is Salamat Sadikova, she is rightly called the "voice of Kyrgyzstan" and she is a national treasure, more or less like Billie Holiday or Edith Piaf. Having become famous by leading the national folk music and dance ensemble Kambarkan - where she was the lead singer - Salamat Sadikova has gone beyond traditional song as a soloist. Armed with the passion and tragedy very close to a Portuguese fado, Sadikova sings about the Kyrgyz people, their landscapes, their forgotten stories, often accompanied by the komuz. A bewitching artist who will make you want to visit Kyrgyzstan. Or not to leave it any more. Generally speaking, pop music is a predominantly female affair in Kyrgyzstan. Among the voices that count, Dinara Akulova nicknamed "the queen of pop music" is very popular, Samara Karimova, a soloist at the Osh Theatre, is also a singer of vocal varieties and the young Zere Asylbek is sadly famous for having received death threats after the success of her feminist anthem Kyz ("Girl"). Although Russian and Turkish imports are much listened to in Kyrgyzstan, pop remains one of the favourite grounds for participating in building a national identity. This is what the success of Gulzada Ryskulova and her hit "Aikol Manas" on the famous Manas (the national hero, again and again) or of the Kyrgyz rap duo Begish and Bayastan who released Ene Til("mother tongue") promoting Kyrgyz as a language for everyone (Russian is still widely used) tell us. To hear contemporary music, the two places indicated in Bishkek are Retro Metro, the trendiest club in the capital, and Zeppelin, a rather rock and dynamic bar.
Dance and theater
Like any former Soviet capital, Bishkek has many theatres. And although their programming works in slow motion, interesting performances can be found there. For Russian speakers, the Russian Drama Theatre is, as its name suggests, reserved for the great classics of the Russian repertoire. The National Academy of Dramatic Art presents almost exclusively plays by Kyrgyz authors. The opportunity to see works by the country's great authors: Janysh Kulmambetov and his Dantesque production or the famous Tchinguiz Aïtmatov - a time advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s - formerly translated into French by Aragon. The Kyrgyz ballet is a creation of the Soviet Union, establishing in the country the traditions of Russian ballets. Formerly very prestigious - Bubusara Beishenalieva the great Kyrgyz ballerina was a star of the Bolshoi -, the ballet is now dying out for lack of means. The representations take place at the National Opera and sometimes propose
kyiyz, popular dances become classics or productions of
Anar, the first Kyrgyz ballet.
