Inessa Belova,
Musicologist
The pianist – Inna Abdullayeva is the winner of the national competitions, the professor of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, the promoter, performer and teacher, she has dedicated her life to the art of music. Inna Abdullayeva performed her solo programs and together with such orchestras as “Turkiston”, “Sogdiana” and “The Soloists of Uzbekistan”, she collaborated with conductors like G. Tulyaganov, K. Usmanov, E. Azimov, A. Rayimjanov, and V. Medulyanov.
The repertoire of I. Abdullaeva consists of the piano works by R. Schumann, F. Chopin, I. Brams, P. Tchaikovsky, A. Scriabin, D. Shostakovich, B. Gienko, S. Jalil, A. Malakhov, H. Azimov and others.
One of the specific features of this piano player’s programs is the desire for interpretation of cyclic compositions. Such cycles as the “Scenes for Children” by Schumann, “The Seasons” by P. Tchaikovsky, 24 preludes by Alexander Scriabin, 24 preludes by D. Shostakovich, and Rubayi (12 pieces) by B. Gienko take an important place in her concert repertoire. Performing the piano cycles, this pianist provides a new, different interpretation of them and, of course, she knows how to convey the alternation of contrasting images: mournfully lyrical, elegant, graceful, romantically passionate, impetuous and tragic themes. Such work requires a special psychophysical predisposition, maximum output of feelings and emotions, deep and soulful understanding of music, as well as mastering of the rich acoustic palette and other interpretative means.
When reading the biography of the pianist Abdullayeva, one can get the impression that everything in her life was consequential and as if predetermined by fate. Inna Abdullayeva was born in the city of Namangan in the family of employees where everyone was very fond of classical music. Her grandfather and her father sang well, therefore in childhood she has acquired the delicate artistic taste. When the family moved to Tashkent in 1951, Inna entered the music school named after R. Glier, where she learned to play the piano, what she dreamed of since her childhood. Her first teacher of music was Nina I. Aksakova, who helped her to assure the correctness of her choice of becoming a musician. In addition to her desire to become a musician and musical abilities, she had to work hard. The aspiring pianist had the first experiments of the recitals on stage already in high school, where, apart of the regular school and municipal performances, there was a tradition of visiting student concert troops. It was hard to become a part of such troop and it was honorable.
I. Abdullayeva has graduated from the Tashkent Conservatory, where she studied in the class of Lea B. Schwartz, who brought up a galaxy of brilliant artists and who created her own piano school. After graduating from the Conservatory, Inna Abdullayeva worked, according to her assignment, at the Namangan College of Music, in the Department of Special Piano. Apart from teaching, the piano player paid great attention to her performance art.
Since 1978, Inna Abdullayeva worked in Tashkent Conservatory, where she lead an active teaching, research and performing life, being engaged simultaneously in chamber and ensemble performances. Competitions, which she participated to as a pianist and accompanist, were awarded with diplomas, including the diploma of the Second National Competition of Singers arranged in honor of G. Sharipov and Sh. Gafurov (1981).
Inna Abdullayeva is an active propagandist of the creative work of Uzbek composers. Thus, for the first time she played the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by the talented composer Albert Malakhov (conductor K. Usmanov), piano pieces dedicated to the memory of Amir Timur and Ulugbek by Sayfi Jalil. The original interpretation of the composer’s idea by Inna Abdullayeva, her wish to share her views and thoughts are noteworthy.
An active part the pianist Abdullayeva has taken in the concerts of the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Ilkhom XX”, in the international festivals of symphonic music, in the festivals “The Wreath for Chopin” and “An Homage to Bach”. In the framework of the Second International Festival of Contemporary Music “Ilkhom XX” the piano miniatures by A. Malakhov have been played, and at the Sixth International Festival “Ilkhom XX” accompanied by “Turkiston” Chamber Orchestra, I. Abdullayeva has performed “Tabula Rasa” by Arno Part – Concerto for two violins, chamber orchestra and grand piano in three parts (2001). The grand piano sounded quite unusual, its tone was different, and its sound was deep, thick and resembled the gong. This effect was achieved with the help of the coins that were placed between the strings and the grand piano was configured respectively.
It is worth mentioning the series of concerts “The Four Seasons” in the lecture hall of the Museum of Sergey Yesenin. This project even after several years impresses with its artistic design, figurative synthesis of sublime poetry and classical music. The verses by A. Pushkin, S. Yesenin, B. Pasternak, A. Feinberg, S. Nadson, I. Bunin, and N. Zabolotsky, recited by actor of “Ilkhom” Theatre – Eugeniy Dmitriev, were interleaved with music: Inna Abdullayeva performed “The Seasons” by P. Tchaikovsky, A. Scriabin’s preludes, the Ballade No. 3, opus 118 by J. Brahms. The performance was dynamic and artistically convincing. Marina Artishevskaya was the project’s author and presenter. The concerts left an indelible impression on the listeners.
Inna Abdullayeva today is the only pianist in Uzbekistan, who insistently develops and promotes the harpsichord performance. The harpsichord always attracts attention by the singularity of its sound, the timbre originality, and most importantly, the opportunity to perform the original music of the famous harpsichord composers such as F. Couperin, F. Rameau, J. Chambonier, F. E. Bach and others. On the initiative of I. Abdullayeva the interesting concert programs have been prepared together with the violinist Alexander Pavlovsky and the singer (soprano) Galina Eroshina: “Music for violin and harpsichord”, “Baroque and Neo-Baroque”, “The Voice and the Harpsichord”, which brought the audience closer to spiritual atmosphere and musical traditions associated with old music. In 2005, in Bonn (Germany), I. Abdullayeva has successfully attended the master class taught by the harpsichordist and organist Johann Gefert, she visited the concerts of the world-famous musicians in Cologne, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden. Inna Abdullayeva painstakingly revives the technique of playing the harpsichord. It only seems that the piano and the harpsichord are very similar. In fact, the specificity of their sounding is absolutely different. Studying and exploring the special editions, Inna Abdullayeva develops the melismatic traditions, decodes the audio “ornaments”, roughly outlined in the musical editions of the works by the old masters. These “ornaments” were not recorded, but marked by special marks, and used to be transcribed in different ways in the different countries. Interestingly, Inna Abdullayeva performs Rameau and Couperin “in French way”, while Zipoli and Marcello “in Italian”.
The historical event in the life of the capital of Uzbekistan has become a concert in the organ hall, “Harpsichord for All Seasons”, in which this old Western instrument almost for the first time sounded in ensemble with traditional Uzbek musical instruments – gijak and nai. The duos were formed by the young and talented musicians – the winner of the international competitions, Kamoliddin Urinboev (gijak) and the awardees of the national contests – Batyr Dosimbetov (nai) and Nazima Normatova (soprano). The harpsichord, sounding solo and in duets with the Uzbek folk instruments, like a “time machine” was transferring the listeners to several centuries back in time.
The concerts of the winner of the national competition, I. Abdullayeva, in the Grand and Small Halls of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, in the Museums of Sergey Yesenin, Tamara Khanum, Anna Akhmatova, in the music halls of Namangan, Ferghana, Andijan, Qoqand, and Almalyk had a great success.
In her pedagogical activity, Inna Abdullayeva continues a remarkable tradition of L. B. Schwartz, bringing a lot of new things in the process of teaching and educating young musicians based on her own performing experience. She brilliantly conducts a huge number of the open lessons and master classes, as well as an active scientific and methodological work. She published many articles, which contain extensive methodical recommendations on performing the piano pieces of such composers as H. Azimov, B. Gienko, R. Abdullayev. Inna Abdullayeva has published the educational-methodical manual “Performing the Album of Piano Miniatures by H. Azimov” (2009). Among the talented pupils of I. Abdullaeva are D. Musabaeva, L. Petlina (who at present is the chorus master of the State Choir of Uzbekistan), A. Gabitova, N. Khalina, Yu. Krukovskaya, H. Hasanova, G. Hasanova, Z. Abdullayeva (at present they are the trainers of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan), Sh. Gafurov – the honored artist of Uzbekistan, soloist of the Grand Theater named after A. Navoi, K. Orynbaev – awardee of the international competitions. Creativity of Inna Abdullayeva is one of the brightest pages in the rich with talents performing art of Uzbekistan.