Adamkaly Baybatyrov (1895—1953) — a brilliant temir komuz player, puppeteer, and harmonist, a versatile artist and organizer.
He was born in the village of At-Bashy, now part of the Kant district in the Chui region. He lost his parents at an early age and worked for local Russian settlers. He learned to play the balalaika and harmonica from Russian musicians. Since 1912, he began performing as a puppeteer. From 1918 to 1921, he served in the Red Army. After that, he resumed his performances for the residents of the Chui, Issyk-Kul, and Naryn regions. In the repertoire of A. Baybatyrov, the actor, were miniature performances such as "The Doll Kurtunay," "The Woman Who Was Gored by a Goat," and "Love Was Found."
In 1930, Adamkaly Baybatyrov worked as the chairman of the village council, and in 1931, he became an artist at the Kyrgyz State Theater. In 1937, he became a soloist at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic. In 1941, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR.
That same year, in the magazine "Ethnos" (STOCKHOLM, Sweden), folklorist Ernst Emsgeimer published musical notations of several tunes from A. Baybatyrov's repertoire and spoke highly of his mastery. A. Baybatyrov gathered a group of folk performers on the temir komuz and in 1939 organized a unison ensemble of eight people based at the philharmonic, becoming its leader. The ensemble's repertoire included kyuu that had previously existed in the folklore community — "Kuygon," "Kek muzoo," "Bulbul," "Kyzdaray," "Kunutay." Ancient melodies were performed professionally by the artists of the philharmonic. Additionally, Baybatyrov is the author of several popular kyuu, including "The Fate of Mountains" ("Tagyldyr too"). The ensemble participated in the first Decade of Kyrgyz Art in Moscow (1939).
