This year marks the 105th anniversary of the birth of the great Kazakh composer Mukan Tulebaev. The life of this ingenious man was not long, but it was bright and eventful. At birth, he was given the name Muhamedsalim. And Mukan is an affectionate nickname given to him by friends and relatives. It was his composer who chose to sign his works. Tulebaev was born in 1913 in a small village of Almaty region.
Mukan's childhood
Mukan Tulebaev inherited his incredible talent from his mother’s relatives. His mother herself composed songs, performed them. All her life she was the soul of the company at various holidays and gatherings in their small village. Mukana was taught by his maternal uncle to play the first musical instrument, the Kazakh dombra.
Tulebaev’s father also had a musical gift. He was considered an expert in Kazakh folk music. In general, a creative, relaxed atmosphere always reigned in the house where the boy was growing. The boy learned to play dombra when he was only 6 years old. And uncle always took him with him to various local holidays in order to please the people with funny songs. And, apparently, since he grew up in such a musical environment, he chose the profession of a musician.
Mukan Tulebaev began to compose original songs literally at school age. After receiving primary education, the young man worked in the village council in the village, and then went on to study further at the pedagogical college. He did not have time to finish it, because his father died when he was in his third year, and he had to return home in order to take care of his family. Then he got a job as an accountant in his village and took an active part in local creative life, in amateur circles, performed at concerts and so on.
All the young years, he often played at weddings. There is such a story that once Mukan Tulebaev, whose photo you can see in the article, was invited by a musician to a wedding one where a young girl was married to an old man by his fourth wife so that her family could improve their financial situation at the expense of that money that Kazakhs usually pay for the ransom of the bride. Mukan was a fair man, he sang a song written right there on the go, in which he accused the girl’s brother of wanting to improve his financial situation due to the happiness of his young sister. Then the girl’s relatives began to cry in her voice, hugging her, and the wedding was upset. In this way, with the help of his magnificent musical and poetic gift, Mukan saved the young beautiful girl from unhappy marriage.
Education in Moscow
A turn in the biography of Mukan Tulebaev took place in 1936. He was noticed at a rather large local music competition. And together with other talented, according to the jury, participants were sent to the next stage in Alma-Ata. He so impressed the jury at this competition that in August of the same year he went to study in Moscow, at the Academy named after Pyotr Tchaikovsky. I must say that in order to enter there, Mukan did not even know the musical notation, however, he wrote very good quality songs.
It was during training at the academy that the future great composer of Kazakhstan formed a true musical aesthetic taste. Life and education in Moscow made it possible for Mukan to attend theaters, listen to classical chamber music. What he loved in music formed the basis of the classical Kazakh great opera Tulebaev, which is called Birzhan and Sarah.
Initially, Tulebaev entered the vocal department, but after a while he had to transfer to the composer department, as he had problems with his lungs. There he meets a new musical instrument - the piano. And he wrote the first truly professional work exactly when he transferred to study as a composer. This work was a romance, which in Kazakh is called "Keshki kÓ©k". Translated into Russian, it means "Evening Blue." The author of the words of this romance is the poet Ilyasov. And this was the first step of Mukan, when he brought something new to the Kazakh song, made it much more complicated than in the folk version.
War period
When the Great Patriotic War began in 1941, Tulebaev, like many young people of that time, rushed to the front to defend his homeland. But he did not go through the medical board because of his chronic lung disease. And already in August 1941 he had to return to Almaty.
Despite the fact that he could not physically participate in the hostilities, the songs of Mukan Tulebaev supported the spirit of the soldiers and civilians who remained to work in the rear for the approach of victory. He dedicated his songs to both contemporary heroes and heroes of past years. Also during the war, Mukan co-authored with famous composers several patriotic operas, including Abai, Tulegen Tokhtarov and Amangeldy.
Post-war life
Further years of life lead Tulebaev to triumphal success. He creates many great works and raises Kazakh national music to the highest level. Of course, the crown of Tulebaev’s creation is the opera “Birzhan and Sarah”, in which the cult actress of Kazakhstan Kulyash Baiseitova went on stage on real horses. Since then, by the way, no one violates this tradition. And the opera is staged on the best stages of the world as an example of one of the brilliant creations of mankind.
Unfortunately, Tulebaev passed away quite early in 1960. And all the blame was his pulmonary disease. But, despite this, he left a huge bright mark in world culture.