Luxembourg celebrates Abai’s 175th Anniversary
The Luxembourg Philharmonie hosted, for the first time, ‘the Qazaq Steppe’ concert dedicated to the 175th Anniversary of the great Kazakh philosopher and poet Abai Qunanbaiuly.
The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Brussels and the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in Luxembourg cooperated to bring the event to the audience.
Young Kazakhstani artists – pianist Aigerim Mataeva and opera soloist Kudaibergen Abildin performed Abai’s famous songs «Желсіз түнде жарық ай», «Құлақтан кіріп, бойды алар», «Көзімнің қарасы», «Айттым сәлем, Қаламқас», romances of N.Rimsky-Korsakov and many more.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan Aigul Kuspan began her welcome speech to the audience with Abai’s poem in French:
Bonne chanson, belle mélodie
S‘emparent de ton être entier,
Traversent ton corps,
Réveillent tes pensées.
Si tu aimes la musique,
Comme moi aime-la.
...
As the Kazakh diplomat noted, “Great Abai is an important legacy of not only Kazakhstan, but is also a genius of a global scale. Abai for Kazakhstanis is like Pushkin for the Russians, Goethe for the Germans, Dante for the Italians, Voltaire for the French. Abai’s creativity allows you to deeply comprehend the cultural world of the Kazakh people. His poems and “the Book of Words” deeply reflect our nation.”
The guests watched a short video dedicated to the culture and natural beauty of Kazakhstan and could see the a special photo exhibition set in the large foyer of the Philharmonie. The guests also received a collection of Abai’s written works in French. Several copies of the book will be sent to the National Library of Luxembourg.
The next day, Luxembourg also hosted an evening of Abay's poetry, organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan and the Kazakhstan-Luxembourg Cooperation.
The guests of the evening read Abai’s poems in Kazakh, Russian, French, German, English, Turkish and Swedish languages.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan Aigul Kuspan, welcoming the Kazakhs living in Luxembourg and friends of Kazakhstan, thanked the Association for its tribute to the memory of the poet. Tenor Kudaibergen Abildin sang Abai’s songs.
The Association of Kazakhs makes a significant contribution to the rapprochement of the cultures of the peoples of Kazakhstan and Luxembourg.
Both events were carried out in compliance with sanitary and epidemiological measures prescribed by the local government set to stop the spread of COVID-19.
About Abai
Abai Qunanbaiuly (1845-1904) is a poet, composer, educator, thinker, public figure, founder of Kazakh written literature and its first classic, reformer who advocated for rapprochement with European culture. Abai contributed to the spread of Russian and European culture among the Kazakhs.
The formation of Abai’s worldview was influenced by poets and scientists of the East (Ferdowsi, Alisher Navoi, Nizami, Fizuli, Avicenna, etc.), as well as the works of Russian and European classics. Abai translated Krylov, Lermontov, Pushkin, Goethe and Byron into Kazakh.
He left around 170 poems and made 56 translations, wrote 45 “the Book of Words” (“Kara sozder”) – short parables and philosophical treatises. There are around 20 songs composed by Abai.
During the 2020, Abai’s 175th Anniversary has been celebrated across the world in USA, Germany, France, etc.