World premier of Abai and Shakarim suites in Carnegie Hall in November

Kazakhstan-inspired Abai and Shakarim suites will premier at Carnegie Hall in New York on November 12, 2014, Tengrinews reports.

The Almaty Symphony Orchestra led by Marat Bisengaliev will present the music pieces. The suites were written by a Welsh composer and Commander of the Order of the British Empire Karl Jenkins. The composer visited Kazakhstan to research national instruments and experience the land of nomads.

“The world premier of the Abai and Shakarim suites performed by the Kazakhstani orchestra will beautifully present the heritage of the Kazakh people through a language of contemporary music and performing art,” the Director of the Symphonic Orchestra Raikhan Iskendirova said.

The Symphonic Orchestra was presented for the first time in 2012 during the First World Congress of Performing Art. The members of the orchestra are winners of numerous national and international competitions. In last two years, the orchestra recorded over 10 albums at Abbey Road and Angels studios.

Marat Bisengaliev, 52, is a Kazakh violinist and conductor known around the world. The Times described him as a "brilliant violin soloist", American Journal Fanfare designated him "a Latter-day Ysaye", The New York Times said that "He has taken to heart a style of playing that was a hallmark of violin virtuosity early in the century, and is only now coming back into favour after several decades in the shadow of a more drily rational style". He won numerous awards and honorable mentions for his performances and discs.

Abai (Kunanbayev) is a 19th century notable Kazakh intellectual who contributed to the development of Kazakh literature immensly. He is considered the pioneer of Kazakh writing language. Abai's works ranged from poetry and translations of Russian literature to the Kazakh language and to composition of music.

Shakarim (Kudaiberdiyev), Abai's contemporary, is a Kazakh poet, writer, historian and composer. Shakarim was a humanist who stood against oppressive power of the Russian Empire in the Kazakh steppes. He was shot dead in 1931. Later, the USSR officials continued to ban Shakarim's works.  

By Gyuzel Kamalova