Tolibjon Sodiqov ( – 5 September 1957) was among the founders of professional music in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, as well as the composer of musical dramas, quartets, operas, and romances. Sodiqov was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. From 1924 to 1928, he studied at the Institute of Music and Choreography in Samarkand, where his teachers included leading Uzbek poets and composers, such as Sadriddun Ayni, Sergey Mironov and Viktor Uspensky. He then studied at the

Tchaikovsky Conservatory Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from 1934 to 1941, where he graduated as a composer and conductor in the class of

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier, which was later converted for standardization purposes; russian: Рейнгольд Морицевич Глиэр; 23 June 1956), was a Russian Imperial and Soviet composer of German and P ...

. His many honors included the People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR and the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize * The Stalin Peace Prize, awarded 1949 to 1955, later known as the Lenin Peace Prize The Int ...

. Sodiqov also founded the Uzbek Composers Union in 1934 and served as its director for the following 14 years. In 1939, he wrote the first Uzbek opera, ''Leili and Mejnun'', based on the poem by

Alisher Navoi 'Ali-Shir Nava'i (9 February 1441 – 3 January 1501), also known as Nizām-al-Din ʿAli-Shir Herawī ( Chagatai: نظام الدین علی شیر نوایی, fa, نظام‌الدین علی‌شیر نوایی) was a Timurid poet, writer ...

and libretto by Khurshid. The opera was given its first performance by the Alisher Navoi State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Opera and Ballet in 1940. Among his other operas are ''Gulsara'', ''Zainab and Omon''. His more than 100 songs include ''Bul-bul'' (''Song-bird''), ''Bakhor'' (''Spring''), ''Sarvi-Gul'' (''Flower''), and ''Johon kurnur'' (''I see such beauty''). He also wrote the string quartet ''Eastern Dances'', many film scores (''Alisher Navoi'', ''Yigit'' 'Young Man'' etc.) and choral works.

References

1907 births 1957 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Musicians from Tashkent Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Moscow Conservatory alumni People's Artists of Uzbekistan Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Male conductors (music) Male opera composers Soviet conductors (music) Soviet male classical composers Soviet opera composers Uzbekistani classical musicians Uzbekistani composers {{Uzbekistan-bio-stub