ABAI KUNANBAEV (A-1)

Kazakh poet, writer, public figure, composer, philosopher, founder of Kazakh written literature and its first classic, reformer in the spirit of rapprochement with Russian and European culture on the basis of enlightened liberal Islam. Had a huge impact on the nascent Kazakh national intelligentsia of the late XIX − early XX centuries. He mastered the Russian language perfectly and promoted the works of Pushkin, Lermontov and L. N. Tolstoy. Starting with the composition of melodies on the works of classics of Russian literature, Abai and some of his own lyrical poems shifted to music. In total, he composed about two dozen melodies as a composer. He didn't record his songs, he sang them. Abai's works, which became widespread among the people, began to be recorded only after the October revolution. Soviet composers widely quoted his works – songs by Abai were used in the works of E. Brusilovsky, A. Zhubanov, S. Shabelsky, M. Skorulsky, V. Velikanov, L. Hamidi. The name of Abai was given to the Kazakh state academic Opera and ballet theatre (Alma-Ata).