“YALKONLO YASHLEK” IS 30 NOW!

Shamil DJALIMOV

On the 9th of April, 2000, the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Tatar music company “Yalkonlo Yashlek” (Flaming Youth) was held in Samara.

In Mordovia, we also have a Tatar company which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. That’s “Umorzaya” (Snowdrop) from Lyambir.

But “Yalkonlo Yashlek” destiny is far better than that of “Umorzaya”

The company became the laureate of the Russian National competition of the song, dance and poetry, it tours in many regions and republics of the Russian Federation.

Ilgiz Koluchev, the permanent director of the company got the title of “The Honoured Culture Worker of the Russian Federation”.

Shamil Satdarov, Midhat Galimov, Kamil Shamkaev (passed away), Fakia Gayazova-Zyatova and Fahima Mirgaleeva started together with Ilgiz Koluchev in 1970.

Such professionals as Galia Mustafina, Ismail Mustafin, Iskander Ahmetov joined them later, giving the company a second chance.

Aisolu Abdeeva has been singing in the company for 20 years already and keeps on rejoicing the audience with new songs.

When the veterans of the company – Rifkat Fahretdinov, Ideal Galavetdinov, Alfia Ginnatillina, Anvar Gizatullin, Rumia Yakupova, Midhat Aminov, Rinat Valiev and many others organized a concert of the old participants of the company in the “Metallurg” recreation centre, there were not enough ticket for eveyone willing to see the show, that’s how the Samara audience remembers them.

Our newspaper has already written about them, but it seems that it’s never too much to write about these wonderful performers.

“Yalkonlo Yashlek” is famous in the whole Tatar world. If there is an invitation, they will come to Mordovia in the Autumn of 2000.

The young people take active part in the company for 5 years in average. Having gained much experience, having perfected their skills, a part of them leave to be professionals, some leave for other cities and some of them organize their companies here, in Samara. For example “Idel”, that has been performing for 4 years already.

It is customary to think that the Tatars are left behind from the modern trends in culture, that the Tatar performers are old-fashioned, that the young don’t attend the Tatar concerts. They say that the other peoples have developed such a strong youth culture that we can’t catch up with them. They apply such terms as “sex-idols”, “sex-star”, “sex-bomb” to the foreign and Russian performers. Of course, these words are used not in vulgar sense, but like a substitute for “highly attractive for the opposite sex”. They say that it can’t exist among us, the Tatars. Take my word, it can.

You should just watch a concert of “Yalkonlo Yashlek”. It justifies its name “Flaming Youth”. They are really flaming, they inflame all of them, the young and the old, the men and the women.

Their beauty, their youthful energy, their plastic movements, perfectly fitting clothes – they all rejoice the audience. Ilnur Altonbaev is a good example.

When Ilnur comes out to the stage, very few women look at him indifferently. You can’t be indifferent to such a charming person – his black eyes, his black moustache, his fine figure, his fine movements, his unforgettable, a little burring voice. When the brunet Ilnur comes out to the stage dressed in everything white - white trousers, white shoes, white shirt - many girls just scream with pleasure.

And Guzal Fahrutdinova? I’m sure that her success is not solely for her voice and her manner of performing. You can’t help admiring her when she moves on the stage, when you see her flashing look. That is just a miracle, everyone admires her, but the men get completely astonished.

For example, when “Yalkonlo Yashlek” was performing in Buguruslan by the invitation of local mufti Ismail Shangereev, the audience was so excited that the mufti lowered his head to keep away from the sin. Everyone would understand the khazrat - the temptation was too strong to resist.

In short, this company includes so many bright, beautiful and young Tatars that it has no rivals even in Kazan.

I have visited their concerts many times but I always enjoy their art and every time I discover something new for myself. I’m already acquainted with most of the participants of the company and I’m very grateful to them for what they are doing for the Tatars.

I’d like to mention Albina Mamedalieva in particular - she dances remarkably - I can remember her dancing “Chabata” (“Bast Sandal”). Talgat Hairullov, the arranger, Neil Nurmuhamedov, an accordionist and a composer - he’s written the song which are performed in their new programme, the deceased choreographer Albert Gayazov, they all contributed a lot to the astonishing success and the popularity of the company.

In the late October I happened to accompany “Yalkonlo Yashlek” in their tour to Buguruslan, where they were invited by Rais Karimov, the chairman of the local Tatar Culture Society “Tugan Tel” (Native language) and by the mufti of Buguruslan as well.

The concert started at 2:00 p.m. The Buguruslan audience knows “Yalkonlo Yashlek” very well, because it had performed there for a few times before, so they were waiting for them with impatience.

A soloist of the company, Ilnur Altonbaev was the first to come out to the stage and got the audience excited at once.

Then the audence was conquered by the natural talent and the beauty of Gelfia Gainutdinova. She has a special, original voice that wakes up all the finest feelings and touches the strings of every soul.

I’m very pleased with the fact that Gelfia performs my favorite song “Sin garmuncho, min jercho” (“You’re an accordionist, I’m a singer”). This song doesn’t leave anyone indifferent, because it brings the joy of life, the nostalgy for the times now gone, the cry from the bottom of the heart. Gelfia works as the chief accountant in a polyclinic of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Samara and has been performing in “Yalkonlo Yashlek” for 4 years already.

A soloist of the company and an accordionist, Radik Gazizov performed alone and with his young and charming wife Gulfia. They left the stage with a great ovation.

The star of “Yalkonlo Yashlek” and the compere of the concert at the same time, Farida Zinnatullina was up to the mark as always. Farida-khanum plays the guitar and performs not only Tatar popular songs, but religious beits (“beit” is a special kind of Tatar songs) and munadjats (muslim religious songs) as well. She magnificently performs songs written to the words of the great tatar poet Gabdulla Tukai, accompanying herself with a guitar, and this is highly original and very aesthetic. She performs her own songs as well.

The dance group of the company performed Tatar and Bashkir danced on a very high level.

The director of “Yalkonlo Yashlek” Ilgiz Koluchev declaimed some poems. The audence bursted out with applauses.

As always, in the end of the concert, all the participants of “Yalkonlo Yashlek” came out to the stage and sang their anthem, which is called “Flaming Youth”.

The two-hours-long concert seemed to pass like one moment, the audience didn’t want to leave their favorite performers, some of them came out to the stage with flowers and thanked the performers for the joy they had.

After that Ismail-khazrat, the young imam Fail-khazrat and some oldermen took the floor to say a few words of gratitude, Ismail-khazret thanked the performers and said that the art, the culture and the religion of the Tatar people should go together, should supplement and enrich each other, serve the aim of uniting our nation, the aim of rising its spirit, its morals.

Ismail-khazret invited the performers to his place for the dinner. Prayers were read at the table. Mufti asked Farida Zinnatullina to perform a munadjat, a religious muslim song, and Farida did it magnificently. Often the religion and the art are opposed to each other, but that was a case when they reached harmony.

The 30th anniversary is a great jubilee. 30 years means beauty, the youthful energy, a lot of power and a great experience. Good luck to you, “Yalkonlo Yashlek”!