By Faith Talamantez
Outside of Uzbekistan, it is largely impossible to find recordings or proper sheet music that allow musicians to play Uzbek compositions, says Gulia Gurevich, a seasoned violinist pursuing a doctorate in Music Arts at UC Santa Barbara.
“None of the music scores were available to me in the United States,” she said. “There wasn’t any way for me to do it, other than actually physically going to Uzbekistan and getting the music.”
In an attempt to share Uzbek music with the West, Gurevich has compiled a selection of violin pieces from Uzbekistan, from both the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, each of which holds significant historical and cultural significance.
She shared her research with a UCSB audience last week in a joint lecture and recital that focused on composition, Uzbek history, and gender in music, hosted by UCSB’s Department of Music.
In describing her research, Gurevich noted that much of the music was influenced by Western classical music, drawing together Uzbek folk tradition with hints of the music being composed in the West. Music and culture in Uzbekistan were heavily influenced by geopolitical shifts going on globally, and by changes within the country as the Soviet Union dissolved and Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991.
Once Uzbekistan became independent, it experienced a cultural renaissance, pulling from its rich history to bring forth new art and artists that complemented the work done in the past. Shashmaqom is a music genre known for its use of poetic lyrics and combinations of instruments commonly used in Middle Eastern and Asian music. Uzbekistan considers it to be of great historical and cultural significance.
UC Santa Barbara graduate student Gulia Gurevich performing La Baroque (2010), an Uzbek composition for solo violin.
“It became apparent to me that Shashmaqom is traditionally associated with male performers. It has been a genre historically driven by men,” Gurevich noted, saying it prompted her to look more closely at gender in her native country’s music world.
Now, in a post-Soviet era, music has carried over in new ways, and inclusiveness is evident in Uzbek music, as well as in Western music made in Uzbekistan. Many women have contributed to the musical scene in Uzbekistan whether it be through composition or performances of different varieties. “It has evolved to include professional women performers, composers, singers, and dancers,” Gurevich said.
UC Santa Barbara graduate student Gulia Gurevich beginning her lecture on composers in Uzbekistan, from her perspective as a performer.
She explained that although her instrument, the violin, is not a traditional instrument in Uzbek folk music, it is very similar to an instrument called the gidjak. The gidjak also uses a bow, and similarly to a violin, requires the artist to change the tension of the hairs on the bow to create different sounds. Much of the music Gurevich performs is inspired by techniques used when playing the gidjak, combining Uzbek folk music with the sounds of classical Western music.
“Uzbek rhythm is distinguished by irregular meter, hemiolas, and syncopation,” Gurevich said, giving typical Uzbek music a much different style than Western music. For example, a piano would be used for a much more percussive sound, which is not as common in Western classical music.
Following her lecture, Gurevich performed several pieces on violin from various Uzbek composers with pianist Natalia Kislenko. Before each piece was performed, she gave an explanation referencing its history, and what type of music it is. One of the pieces, “La Baroque (2010),” was a solo piece written by Aziza Sadikova, a contemporary Uzbek composer, which Gurevich performed by herself. Her wide-ranging performance finished with “Eliza Aria (2006),” written by Elena Kars-Chernin, which earned Gurevich a standing ovation.
Faith Talamantez is a third year UCSB student majoring in Writing and Literature. She is a Web and Social Media intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.