Draft:Yunus Rajabiy

Yunus Rajabiy (5 January 1897, Tashkent – 23 April 1976, Tashkent) was a Soviet and Uzbek composer, academician, People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR, singer, instrumentalist-performer, folklore scholar, organiser and leader of musical groups, teacher, public figure.

Biography
Yunus Rajabiy collected, systematised and recorded more than 1,500 folk songs and instrumental pieces that have been in folk memory for centuries; he preserved them for future generations. In fact, Yunus Rajabiy accomplished a feat in the field of preserving folk music, because until the 20th century, there was no musical notation in Uzbekistan, so the melodies were passed on by word of mouth, from one generation to another.

As academician Vahid Zahidov said of Yunus Rajabiy:"'Having torn the veil of oblivion from the dust-covered centuries of beautiful melodies, he polished them, turned these precious pearls into the patrimony of posterity.'"Yunus Rajabi was born in Tashkent on 5 January 1897, in the mahalla "Chakar". He was the last, 16th child (10 of whom died) in the family of Rajab-aka and Oysha-bibi.

His father was engaged in farming and cattle breeding, his mother managed the household and looked after the children. Yunus Rajabiy's mother was a very gifted woman - she read the Quran by heart, was fond of poetry, composed poems, knew many verses and recited them with pleasure in the company of her friends. And her hands were truly golden: she herself at home spun yarn, knitted, sewed clothes for children. Father was a cheerful and enthusiastic nature, loved art and music. He always took little Yunus with him to folk festivals, parties and weddings. It was there that the boy first heard famous singers perform and joined the world of music, which forever became his main passion.

His elder brother gave Yunus a dutar. His father also encouraged his son's passion for music. Little Yunus performed for the first time in Ilkhom's teahouse. The boy had absolute hearing and phenomenal musical memory.

Even in early childhood, when he heard a very complicated and long melody, he quickly memorised it and reproduced it accurately. The famous hafiz Mirza Qasim lived next door to Rajabiy's family, and little Yunus began to learn to play the dutar from him. At that time, his peers spent their time playing in the street, and he spent hours practicing, perfecting his performing skills.

Yunus performed the music of M. Kasym:


 * "Omon yor",
 * "Ajam",
 * "Eshvoy"
 * and others.

At the same time, he studied at school and in a madrasa, graduating in 1913. In the same year, his father died. The teenager started working in a slaughterhouse to support his family. Whilst working, his only dream was to return home and take up music. After a memorable evening in a teahouse, he became popular - and famous singers invited him to accompany them at festivals and parties. And soon there was a meeting that finally convinced the young man that his vocation was music. In 1916 he met the folk singer Shorahim Shoumarov. The friendship developed into a perfect creative union.

In his youth, Yunus Rajabiy acquired a low baritone with a velvety timbre. Then he began to learn singing from a hafiz, Mulla Toychi Toshmuhamedov, and soon became his best pupil, mastering the technique of singing so much that he often substituted for his teacher in concerts.

Yunus' ability to organise and teach was also revealed. He found young, talented boys and girls and organised circles, teaching them music. So, by the time the People's Conservatory was opened in Tashkent in 1919, he was already an established performer and an experienced teacher. Therefore, when Yunus decided to enter the conservatory, people around him discouraged him: "You are already a famous musician, why do you need it?" But Yunus realised that he needed professional musical education. He became a student; during 4 years Yunus improved his dutar and nai playing, learnt Bukhara Shashmaqam, mastered theoretical disciplines.

In 1923 he was sent to Samarkand, where he engaged in active concert activity, becoming the head of the musical drama theatre. In Samarkand, Yunus met the greatest hafiz and dutarist, a connoisseur of maqoms, Hodji Abdulaziz Rasulev; this meeting largely determined his creative credo. It was in Samarkand that Yunus Rajabiy's historical mission of collecting and recording maqoms began. He persistently searched for melodies and songs, recorded them (his musical education came in handy), and engaged in their careful processing. He traveled all over the republic in search of new compositions.

Awards and honours

 * Order of Lenin (18.03.1959)
 * Order of the Red Banner of Labour
 * Order of the Badge of Honour (25.12.1944)
 * Order of Outstanding Merit (25.08.2000) - posthumously
 * People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR

Memory

 * A metro station in Tashkent is named in honour of Yunus Rajabiy.
 * A house-museum of Yunus Rajabiy is located at 20 Yunus Rajabi Street (Kosmonavtlar (Tashkent Metro)) in Tashkent.
 * Educational institution in Tashkent: Tashkent Pedagogical College named after Y. Rajabiy