Popping Tradition: Performing Maqom and Uzbek “National” Estrada in the 21st Century

Abstract

Uzbek performers who identify as traditional contribute in a number of ways to Uzbekistan's project of creating a national popular music. In doing so, they manifest a deeply hybrid musical form that includes Western harmony, amplified synthesizers, traditional instruments, and Uzbek-language vocals, which encodes the important political message that Uzbekistan is a modern nation that values its traditional roots. With influences from state-run institutions, a Soviet history, and musical practices that pre-date Russian presence in Uzbekistan, traditional musicians are actively shaping their music to align it with their individual and local understandings of nationalism and tradition. A narrative account of a popular music concert by a vocalist trained in traditional music in 2005 suggests a variety of influences, interpretations, and identity negotiations involved in the production of a national popular music. Closer study of Uzbek practices reveals ways in which traditional music is positioned to support a notion that Uzbekistan is an active participant in modernity, while maintaining ties to its traditions.

Notes

^[1] There are differing accounts of what occurred in Andijan on the morning of 13 May 2005 (see Akiner and the BBC's coverage at < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4550845.stm> for examples of the contrast). Although there are many versions of what happened, most agree that police/troops fired upon and killed a number of people gathered in Andijan's central square that morning. The events are relevant to my research and to this article in the ways in which people reacted to reports of this event in Tashkent (which lies approximately 180 miles away from Andijan). Although the increased police presence and news of the violence created tension, people clung fervently to their everyday routines. The people I spent time with had no interest in revolution or violence and wished only to be able to go peacefully about their lives, making the music that they love. It was that spirit, the tenacious grip on business-as-usual despite uncertainties and heightened security, that was so notable as I attended the concert on 21 May.

^[2] This article focuses on one performance on 21 May 2005, which came toward the end of a ten-month fieldwork period in Tashkent from October 2004 to July 2005 that was supported by a Fulbright-Hays doctoral dissertation research fellowship. My analysis stems from my total of a year and a half of fieldwork in Uzbekistan over 2002–08, which has been sponsored by grants from the American Councils for International Education, the Social Science Research Council, Fulbright-Hays, and U.C. Santa Cruz's Committee on Research.

^[3] Maqom, in general, is a term used in Middle-Eastern and Central Asian music to refer to a system of modes that provides the basis for art music repertoires. In Uzbekistan the term is also used to refer to the genre of “classical” (mumtoz) music as a whole.

^[4] The Yunus Rajabi Maqom Competition is a prestigious nation-wide competition held every four years.

^[5] Originally founded in the 1930s, Uzbek folk orchestras are large performing ensembles that play symphonic music on reconstructed Uzbek instruments that have been tempered and otherwise altered for orchestral performance.

^[6] An alternative translation is “Peace be upon the Uzbek People,” since “assalomu aleykum” derives from Arabic and translates to “peace be upon you.” However, I believe most people in the audience heard it as “Greetings to the Uzbek People,” since Uzbek has its own word for peace (tinchlik), which is normally used when referencing peace lexically.

^[7] The Uzbek State Conservatory (and other institutions of higher education) offer courses in both Uzbek and Russian. Students enroll in either one language track or the other; however, traditional music education has only the Uzbek track.

^[8] For a more thorough discussion of Nazarkhan's version of the song, see Merchant.

^[9] It is worth noting that Juraev and Zakirov are often used as evidence of the previous complexity and authenticity of Uzbek estrada and that they provide a gendered contrast with the bevy of pretty female stars that are often criticized in the current estrada scene. This may be something of a coincidence, since Yulduz Usmanova's example is also often contrasted with young performers. Usmanova is often described as presenting an Uzbek essence in her music and is credited with refusing to lip synch in her concerts (lip synching is very prevalent in estrada performance). Nonetheless, there appears to be a gendered aspect to the criticism of Uzbek estrada performers, especially in the press, which criticizes women more sharply for the foreign influences in their music (Djumaev 179).

^[10] The prestigious Nihol award is awarded annually to young musicians (age 25 and under) and dancers from all regions of Uzbekistan.