Nury Halmammedov

Nurmammet Halmammedovich Halmammedov (Nurmämmet Halmämmedowiç Halmämmedow; Нурмаммед Халмамметович Халмамметов; 20 June 1938– 4 August 1983), also known as Nury Halmammedov (Nury Halmämmedow; Нуры Халмамметов) or Nury Halmammet (Nury Halmämmet; Нуры Халмаммед), was a prominent Turkmen composer described as one of Turkmenistan's "Greatest Sons".

His legacy has been commemorated with anniversary events in Turkmenistan and Russia.

Halmammedov was born on 20 June 1938 in Daýna village near Bäherden, Turkmenistan, to Halmammet Bayliyev and Hangul-Eje Mammedaliyeva.

He had a cat, which died protecting Nury from a snake when he was an infant.

Nury never forgot about him.

Nury had a very difficult childhood.

According to Jemile Gurbanova's biography of Halmammedov, his mother died in 1944, and his father moved to Iran with two of the family's four sons, Begmammet and Ashyrberdi, abandoning Nury, his 17-year-old brother, Bayly, and older sister, Artyk.

Nury's memories of this time were grim.

He recounted at one point.

Bayly committed Nury to the Kara Kala orphanage.

In 1947 Nury was transferred to the Bäherden boarding school.

In 1948 little Nury ran away from the boarding school, boarded a train with three rubles in hand intending to go to Moscow, but ended up in Ashgabat.

When discovered by authorities, since he had no papers and could not identify his parents, he was sent to the Baýramaly orphanage.

Here he encountered a piano teacher, Olga Krivchenko, and began studying piano.

In 1954, Halmammedov was transferred to Turkmen State Music School in Ashgabat, where he studied under Viktor Khiruntsev and Elena Kulesh.

At this school he was introduced to composition by Ashyr Guliyev, and wrote his first piece, "Dance", for piano.

Other compositions during this period include "March", "Play", and "Reminisces", as well as pieces for cello and violin with piano.

Halmammedov published at least 175 works between 1956 and his death in 1983, including over 40 works for pianoforte.

These included musical scores for 30 motion pictures, including 9 animated films, 18 art films, and 3 documentaries.

In 1958 he entered Moscow State P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, graduating in 1963.

His major adviser was Anatoly Alexandrov, who described Halmammedov as "...devilishly talented..."

and "a gifted rarity".

While at the conservatory Halmammedov wrote about 30 songs, romances, and choral works, including romances based on the works of Magtymguly Pyragy and Mollanepes.

During this period, Halmammedov composed chamber music, as well as many works for piano, violin, cello, viola, and trumpet.

While studying at the Conservatory, he wrote more than nineteen compositions for piano, on top of the larger Variety Theme (1962), Scherzo (1958), Sanya (1961), Prelude in C-sharp Minor (1960), and Five-Part Turkmen Polyphonic Suite (1963).

Halmammedov wrote a major piano work during this period, Sounds of the Dutar, published in 1962 and dedicated to the prominent Turkmen dutarist Mylly Tachmyradov.

In this composition, Halmammedov sought not only to reproduce the sounds of a dutar on piano, but also to capture Tachmyradov's virtuosity as well.

These include Sonata for Violin and Piano (1963), Song Poem for Cello and Piano (1962), and Lullaby Fantasy for Viola and Piano (1963).

Halmammedov's graduation project was the symphonic portrait "Turkmenia", which premiered at his graduation examination in 1963, performed by the All-Union Radio and Television Great Symphony Orchestra.

It was his first symphonic composition.

The first of these scores was for Bulat Mansurov's 1963 film, Contest.

The score for Alty Garliyev's Decisive Step followed in 1965; Garliyev said Halmammedov's contribution made him a "full co-author" of the film.

Halmammedov additionally put verse to music, including poetry by Gurbannazar Ezizov, as well as Sergei Yesenin and Heinrich Heine.

The Soviet record label Melodiya published a phonograph of this work in 1967.

In particular, Halmammedov was noted for putting to music Yesenin's lyric poetry in Persian Motifs (1969-1971), blending Turkmen- and Persian tonalities in six parts: My Old Wounds are Healed, Blue and Joyful Country, Interview, Shagan, My Shagan, My Beloved's Hands are a Pair of Swans, and Countless Sounds of Sparrows.

He composed the music for the 1974 opera Görogly.

String Quartet (1976) was dedicated to mothers and children who suffered in Nazi concentration camps.

He wrote the libretto and score for the 1983 ballet version of Decisive Step, which was performed at the Magtymguly Theater in Ashgabat.

Halmammedov died in Ashgabat of cirrhosis of the liver and complications of diabetes.

He is buried at the Vatutin Cemetery there.