On October 28, 2019, Karaganda state industrial university hosted an evening of memory dedicated to the 150^th  anniversary of the musician-ethnographer, people’s artist of Kazakhstan Alexander Zataevich. The evening of memory was organized by the Department “Kazakh, Russian and foreign languages”.

The event was held within the framework of the special project ” Great names of the great steppe “of the program”rukhani zhangyru ” and was aimed at popularization of the Kazakh culture, history, philosophy, values of the Kazakh people among the ethnic groups living in the great Kazakh steppe.

The guests of the evening were researchers of the historical and cultural center of the first President of Kazakhstan Kurmanshady Orazymbetov and Kuanysh Tynybekuly, who introduced students to the creative heritage of the great musician.

Alexander Zatayevich was born in 1869 in the Orel region (Russia). In 1886 he graduated from the military gymnasium in Orel. In 1896 he met the composer Rachmaninoff S. V., who showed interest in the plays of A. Zataevich and contributed to their publication. Rachmaninoff also dedicated the play “Six musical moments”to Alexander Zataevich. In 1904-1915, Alexander Zataevich served in Warsaw, where he also engaged in musical and social activities. He was a music critic for the Warsaw Conservatory newspaper.

Basically, his creative activity was expressed in the collection, recording and systematization of Kazakh folk music. He recorded more than 2300 works of musical folklore of Kazakhstan. Collections of A. Zataevich “1000 songs of the Kazakh people” and “500 Kazakh kuys and songs” are an anthology of Kazakh musical folklore from ancient times to the 1930s.

For the first time in the history of Kazakhstan A. Zataevich characterized a number of outstanding Kazakh folk composers, among them: Abay Kunanbayev, Kurmangazy Sagyrbayev, Birzhan Kozhamgulov, Zhayau Musa Baizhanov, Dauletkerei, Baluan Sholak, Mukhit, ybyray and some biographical information about them was given.

Alexander Zatayevich is one of the founders of the Kazakh professional piano music. Author of music collections “Kazakh songs in the form of miniatures for piano”, “Songs of Kazakh Tatars”, “Songs of Kazakhstan”, “250 Kyrgyz instrumental pieces and tunes”, “Songs of different peoples”, “Kyrgyz instrumental pieces and tunes”. He was  the first to whom the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1923 awarded the title “people’s artist of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic”.

In memory of the life and work of Zataevich A.V. in Almaty, a memorial plaque is installed and one of the streets is named after him.

During the event, a report was made and a documentary film about the life and work of the composer Alexander Zataevich was viewed.

The press-service of  KSIU