Ermatov Tashtan

Ermatov Tashtan

Composer. Honored Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR (1974). Born on November 18, 1928, in the village of Ak-Bash, Suzak district, Osh region, into a peasant family. He was raised in an orphanage in the city of Przhevalsk. In 1943, he entered a vocational school in Frunze. After successfully participating in the artistic amateur performance review of labor reserves in 1944, he was sent to the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic. Three years later, he became a student at the Kyrgyz studio of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1954, he entered the theoretical-compositional faculty of the renowned music institution. From 1959 to 1965, he engaged in creative work. In 1967, he defended his diploma as a composer. He later worked as a music editor at the Ministry of Culture of the republic (1967-1968), and as a teacher of composition, theory, solfeggio, harmony, and orchestration at the B. Beishenaliev Institute of Arts (1968-1975). From 1975 to 1979, he was a senior consultant for the board of the Union of Composers of Kyrgyzstan. Since 1979, he has been an associate professor at the B. Beishenaliev Kyrgyz Institute of Arts.

T. Ermatov's creative activity began in 1949. Over the past three decades, he has composed major works in symphonic and vocal genres, many instrumental pieces and chamber works, songs, and romances. His symphonic poems "D Major," "B Minor," "Dramatic," "Issyk-Kul," as well as the suite "Memory of the Ail," have gained wide recognition. In these works, the use of the riches of folklore is organically combined with the principles of classical and Soviet symphonism.

The composer's first steps in cinema include music for the documentary films "The Birth of a Song" (1961) and "The Great Epic" (1962), produced by the "Kyrgyzfilm" studio. He then made a significant contribution to the artistic uniqueness of the films "The Sky of Our Childhood" (1966), "Muras" ("Heritage," 1970), "Bow to the Fire" (1972), "Ulan" (1977) by T. Okeeva, and "The Field of Aysulu" (1976) by U. Ibragimov. In each case, the music he composed plays an important role in shaping the rhythmic structure of the film. It characterizes the environment, setting, and atmosphere of the action. Through it, the director's attitude towards the characters and events is revealed. The music also serves as a necessary means of plot development. In "The Sky of Our Childhood," it helps the viewer delve into the figurative essence of the scene. The slow, majestic "passage" of the old men is almost symbolic, thanks to the harsh, solemn intonations of the male choir accompanying this episode.

In the film "Bow to the Fire," the musical theme accompanies the main character Urkue from the beginning to the end of the narrative. Inspired by a joyful folk melody, it "illuminates" the image of the heroine. Throughout the film, the orchestral music emphasizes and emotionally enhances the drama of the unfolding events. Similarly, the composer skillfully assists the director in "Ulan" in translating the viewer's perception from the particular, concrete to the general, symbolic, conveying the characters' deep, hard-to-express feelings to the audience.

Member of the USSR Union of Composers since 1975.

WORKS ON THE COMPOSER'S CREATIVITY

Artyukhov O. On the Wings of Cinema. Frunze, "Kyrgyzstan," 1974, pp. 57-58.
Ashimov K. The Birth of Kyrgyz Cinema. Frunze, "Ilim," 1969, p. 46.
Ashimov K. The Screen of Kyrgyzstan Tells. Moscow, Bureau of Propaganda of Soviet Cinematic Art, 1976, pp. 10, 53.