The Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments (russian: Музей музыкальных инструментов имени Гурминджа Завкибекова; tg, Осорхонаи асбобҳои мусиқии ба номи Гурминҷ Завқибеков) ( or Gurminj Museum (russian: Музей Гурминджа)) is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in the center of

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, behind the Office of the Mayor on Bokhtar Street.

History

The museum was founded in 1990 by

Gurminj Zavkibekov Gurminj Zavqibekov (May 1, 1929 - October 21, 2003) was a Tajik actor and musician. Early life and education Zavqibekov graduated from the Institute of Theatre and Art named after Aleksandr Ostrovsky in Tashkent in 1954. In 1977, he became the ...

(1929–2003), Tajik actor and musician, who was honored as a National Artist of Tajikistan and a

laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music direc ...

of the most prestigious national prize in arts for significant contributions to the cultural heritage of Tajikistan - the Rudaki State Prize. After his death in 2003, his son Iqbol Zavkibekov (also a professional musician) took charge of the Museum.

Collection

There are about 100 musical instruments in the Museum collection mostly representing the Pamiri and

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

i musical tradition. The collection is dominated by

string instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the Str ...

, such as the

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

, rubab,

Pamiri rubab The Pamiri rubab (Russian and Tajiki: рубоб) is a fretless six-strung lute, carved from a single piece of wood with a skin head. It is played in the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, as part of the Pamiri musical tradition. The Pamiri ruba ...

tanbur The term ''Tanbur'' ( fa, تنبور, ) can refer to various long-necked string instruments originating in Mesopotamia, Southern or Central Asia. According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', "terminology presents a compli ...

, dutor,

setor The setor ( Tajik: сетор) is a stringed musical instrument played in the eastern regions of Tajikistan, within the Pamiri culture. It is a much larger instrument than the Iranian setar, and more closely resembles the Uzbek tanbur or Indian s ...

, qashqar, and ghizhak. There are also number of drums such as tabl,

daf Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...

, and

doyra Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...

. The collection was gathered by Gurminj Zavkibekov during his trips to his native Kuhistoni-Badakhshon. There are a number of other instruments that do not belong to the Pamiri traditional instruments and some other antiquarian casual items are on display at the museum.

Cultural events

The museum also hosts a variety of cultural gatherings and events, many featuring the Tajik musical ensemble Shams and their soloist

Nobovar Chanorov Nobovar Chanorov ( tg, Нобовар Чаноров, fa, ناباور چناراف) (born December 25, 1970) is a Tajik singer of the Shams group. The Shams and Nobovar Chanorov are known as Beatles of Tajiks. Created in 1995, Shams is today ...

. Gurminj's son Iqbol Zavkibekov is the arts director of the band, which operates out of an apartment near the museum.

References

External links

Official Website
* ttp://www.naison.tj/MUZEI/foto_welcome.shtml Selected photos of the Museum on naison.tj Museums in Tajikistan Buildings and structures in Dushanbe

Musical instrument museums Museums established in 1990 Music organizations based in Tajikistan {{tajikistan-struct-stub

History

Collection

Cultural events

See also

References

External links