Oriented on making people closer

The city is waking up, and they have been on their feet for a long time. Even before the opening of shops, boutiques, shopping centers and markets, from the very early morning, men, boys, boys and grandfathers are on duty at their entrance. And with the opening of retail outlets, something incredible begins. Moreover, no, it's not Black Friday at all! Rather, it is white, red, pink, fragrant... in a word, "floral" Friday.

It seemed that the Dutch flower markets with their varietal tulips and the famous Brussels Flower carpet festival were far from our florists. Sellers rush around like crazy, and fall off their feet from fatigue. Then all this Friday flower fuss, this whole March 8 marathon is transferred straight from the florist shops to souvenir shops, and continues in shops with sweets and gifts for beautiful ladies.

However, perhaps one of the most interesting events of this day will take place in Ashgabat a little later, in the Vatan cinema and concert hall, where an amazing evening of "Live Classics" was organized for residents and guests of the capital. Needless to say, all the seats were sold out a month in advance! The lucky ticket holders entered the hall, where they were greeted by His Majesty "Waltz of Flowers". The ladies this evening were oh, how good! In addition, the cavaliers match them. Flowers were everywhere in the hall. In the hands of the guests, at the stage, on the outfits, and even on the big screen, floral paintings replaced each other to the "floral" music.

The concert opened with the "Spring Song" by composer Ayna Shirova in a heartfelt performance by Maya Gullaeva. This piece set a romantic tone for the whole evening. A flying, airy, sunny melody seemed to rise to the rainbow, to the wind, to the clouds and from there showered with thousands of sound confetti. To match the mood of this melody, the performer herself was in her bright outfit, like a fresh March bud. The singer accurately caught the author's idea. With her artistry, amazing voice, and subtle presentation of material, she managed to make an indelible impression on the audience. The music was accompanied by a video clip on the big screen, where colorful bouquets, spring landscapes, alternated with charming female images.

Once, at one of the rehearsals, Maya heard this song for the first time in a recording. She liked the melody so much that the singer asked her to listen to it over and over again, six or seven times. As a result, it was decided to include this song in the concert (the program of which was already fully completed at that time) and perform it as the first number. Moreover, we unanimously decided to ask the composer to add additional parts to this song in order to literally and figuratively "prolong" the musical pleasure.

The authors of the "Spring Song", poet Hemra Shirov and composer Ayna Shirova - father and daughter - have been working in creative tandem for a long time. The result of this creative union were about 20 songs. At the concert, it was announced to the audience that the composer was also present in the hall. The reaction from the audience was incredible. They applauded, shouted "Ayna, well done! Ayna, bravo!", and some approached Ayna, touched and embarrassed by such attention, and gave bouquets, hugged and took pictures with her.

The evening continued with Michel Legrand's immortal composition from the Oscar-winning musical melodrama "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" performed by a musical group led by Tahir Atayev. This chamber orchestra is famous for its interesting repertoire, boldness and a new approach to concert activities.

Truly, everyone was surprised and delighted this evening by the singer Begench Moshiev. He performed the familiar song of Shamamed Bashimov "White Dove" to all of us from childhood, no less, in a rock version! The pages of the glorious history of the legendary ensemble "Gunesh" immediately came to mind. Everyone was particularly impressed by Begench's rock vocals. The audience warmly welcomed and appreciated the singer's creative performance. Thanks to Begench for such an unusual presentation of a famous song. We like experiments!

Honored Artist of Turkmenistan Selbiniyaz Annadurdiyeva sang hits of Soviet times. The song "Murmuring streams" by Isaac Dunaevsky based on poems by Mikhail Volpin from the comedy "Spring" in 1947 reminded listeners with what enthusiasm and mischief Lyubov Orlova performed this song. To the sounds of Vladimir Shainsky's song "And I like him" from Anna Herman's repertoire, the hall almost danced. But the most striking impression was made by the "Lullaby of Ayna" by the genius Nury Halmammedov from the movie "The Decisive Step". Footage from the film itself was broadcast on the screen: the very moment when the main character cradles the child and sadly remembers Artyk. The image of the mother, the Turkmen madonna on the screen and the singing of Selbiniyaz Annadurdiyeva evoked in the listeners a feeling of peace, serenity, memories of childhood and affectionate mother's hugs.

Separately, I would like to say about the talented pianist Shaislam Kamildzhanov, who accompanied the singers this evening. As music connoisseurs say about him, Shaislam is like a casket with jewels hidden in it. He looks like an ordinary guy, but as soon as he sits down at an instrument and starts playing, he opens up, as if turning into another person. Brilliant technique, lightness and lightness of execution, amazing elegance - all this is about him.

The male chamber choir conducted by Arslan Oveniyazov performed the songs "Girls" by Nury Muradov and "Nocturne" by Arno Babajanyan. From the very first moment they entered the stage, it became clear that the beautiful ladies in the hall were waiting for pleasant musical offerings. The male choristers were dressed to the nines, in suits with snow-white shirts and elegant neckerchiefs. And, most importantly, their festive costumes were complemented by an incomparable accessory - charming smiles, the beneficial effect of which spread like radio waves in circles around the hall, igniting answering smiles on the faces of listeners. They sang, by the way, very soulfully and touchingly. So the surprise was undoubtedly a success!

This was followed by the song "Mama's Eyes" from the repertoire of Tamara Gverdtsiteli, which brought tears to the entire beautiful half of the auditorium. This piece performed by Maya Gullaeva sounded so sincere and so poignant. Perhaps because her lines directly echo the singer's personal biography? Performing the words: "My son, my flower, my bud, my happiest dream," she could hardly restrain herself from crying. But the listeners in the audience did not have to hold back at all, and they cried.

Well, as the culmination of Maya's performance, to the last chords from both sides, her sons suddenly rose onto the stage and approached her with flowers. From the kisses and hugs of the boys and, of course, from the tears, the happy Maya was already singing the last phrases of the song with difficulty. The audience cheered her on with ovations. But the song ended. The ladies in the audience were crying and smiling at the same time. Everyone asked each other for napkins to wipe away tears and save makeup. But, the tragic fate of the festive makeup of the beautiful ladies this evening was already a foregone conclusion.

Begench Moshiev came on stage with Gazmanov's song "Mama". Begench sang this song in Russian and Turkmen, for all the mothers present in the hall, but first of all for his own. Photos from the singer's family album were broadcast on the big screen. Here he is at the Christmas tree - a naive kid clutching a gift to his chest, and here he is again, but already older, he is diligently writing something in his first notebook. Or here is the first photo of Begench after returning from military service, a shot from the wedding day, a picture taken on the day of discharge from the hospital of the singer's first child… And in all the photos, she is present next to him, like a guardian angel - his mother.

With each frame, mom gets older and older, and now her whole head is covered with silver, but her loving gaze remains the same young and smiling. Maternal love is timeless. To the last sounds of music, a large bouquet was brought into the hall for the singer's mother. Needless to say, a couple more of these songs and heavy rainfall in the hall in the form of tears could simply not stop.

Fortunately, the situation was saved by funny duets from Kalman's famous operetta "Queen of Chardash". Begench Moshiyev and Selbiniyaz Annadurdiyeva lit up the hall with their singing and dancing. The audience also did not lag behind and performed their own special "spectator dance". This is when you are sitting in an armchair yourself, but your hands are dancing in the air, flying, making various shapes and pretzels. The piano part was beautifully performed by Begench's wife, the talented pianist Mahri Moshieva.

However, a woman is not only a mother. A woman is multifaceted and multifaceted. Segidilla from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet, performed by Maya Gullaeva, showed another side of female nature – stormy, passionate. The singer holds a scarlet rose in her hands, her eyes are burning, the music expresses the fire and flame of love, electric discharges seem to hover in the air. A wise man was right when he said that a woman is exactly the same force of nature as wind, lightning and electricity. When the last chord of the Seguidilla sounded, Maya-Carmen threw her rose into the hall with a defiant, defiant gesture. Voila!

Maestro Tahir Atayev prepared an original musical declaration of love this evening. He and his wife Sahra Atayeva played the melody of Arno Babajanyan's "Thank You". The viola complemented the violin, and the violin complemented the viola, just as it often happens in a harmonious family life. The rich, confident musical movements of the viola and the subtle, graceful passages of the violin made up an extraordinary duet. To the applause of the audience, Maestro Tahir slipped unnoticed behind the curtain and again "emerged" from there with a huge bouquet for Sahra.

Maya Gullaeva further informed the audience that two married couples were taking part in the concert that evening. These are Begench Moshiev with his wife Mahri and Tahir Ataev with Sahra. But she forgot to mention the third pair. While Maya was conducting a concert, reading her poems, singing, her husband helped her unnoticed by everyone, being in the auditorium. Then he would tell the photographer which frame and when to take it off, then he would seat late guests in the hall, then he supervised the removal of bouquets. But this is all talk about already established experienced and sophisticated couples. Nevertheless, just at this concert, a small miracle happened in front of the audience. Everyone present witnessed the birth of a new family.

In the midst of the celebration, a young man named Mekan, kneeling in front of his chosen Selby, made her a marriage proposal. Unaware of such an "insidious" plan, the girl was simply shocked at that moment. She cried, laughed, was embarrassed that she was in the center of everyone's attention, then was angry at her fiancé, but eventually hugged him and, of course, to everyone's glee, answered him: "Yes!". Well, now there will be a beautiful story in their family history, passed on to grandchildren and great-grandchildren about how many, many years ago their grandfather Mekan, right at the concert on March 8, made an insanely romantic marriage proposal to Grandma Selby.

At the end of the final appearance on stage of the musicians and singers to the sound of the song "These eyes are opposite", a lottery with prizes from the general sponsor of the concert was held for the audience. By chance or not, all the prizes in the lottery were won by beautiful ladies. The presenter announced that the next concert from the "Live Classics" series will take place very soon – on May 9.

Leaving the hall, the guests of the festive evening involuntarily fell into a flowery river, the current of which carried them towards the stage. After all, many people after the musical evening wanted to thank the musicians and singers for their wonderful performance and mood and give bouquets purchased during the morning flower collapse.

The concert is over. However, white, red, pink, (whatever! But not black and not the thirteenth) Friday was still going on, and it was in full swing. All festive events from concert halls and venues smoothly moved to the capital's cafes and restaurants. Nevertheless, that's another story and not so important. The main thing is that we all celebrated this beloved holiday perfectly!

On my own behalf, I will add: Dear women! Without you, this world would not be so bright and harmonious! You are a source of inspiration and joy! Your humble servant,

Anay Yolbarsov

Photo: author