THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEVENTY (1970 - 1975). Sharaf Rashidov and music
UZBEKISTAN UNDER SHARAF RASHIDOV WAS CONSIDERED AMONG THE LIBERAL SOVIET INTELLIGENTSIA A PLACE LOYAL TO DISSENT. AND ALTHOUGH THERE WAS PRACTICALLY NO PROFESSIONAL DISSIDENCE IN THE REPUBLIC, ITS AUTHORITIES WERE MORE TOLERANT OF DISSIDENT THOUGHT THAN IN THE CENTRE.
Vladimir Vysotsky, a rebel with a guitar, felt better in Uzbekistan than anywhere else in the USSR. For the first time he visited Uzbekistan in September 1973, on a tour with the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theatre. Vysotsky, who had been very famous across the country for about six years, combined stage acting with concerts – apart from Tashkent, he performed in Navoi and Chirchik. He preferred to stay not in the hotel where his colleagues did, but at the home of the famous film director Georgy Jungwald-Khilkevich.
LATER, GEORGY WOULD TELL HOW "VYSOTSKY WAS JUST CRAZY ABOUT TASHKENT AND CONSTANTLY REPEATED: 'THERE IS STILL A PIECE OF HUMAN LIFE LEFT IN THIS COUNTRY!
Shortly before the Taganka, another popular Moscow theatre, Satire Theatre, toured in Uzbekistan. Theatre actress Tatiana Yegorova also shared pleasant memories of Tashkent.
YALLA AS THE FIRST BAND
Uzbekistan had its own great artists. In the early 1970s, the first professional vocal and instrumental ensemble, Yalla, appeared in the republic. Its first director was a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory, pianist Evgeny Shiryaev. Yalla featured a highly original musical style. The modern music echoed and perfectly harmonised with Oriental folklore. According to musicologists, that was what made the ensemble famous at the television contest Hello, We Are Looking for Talents! in 1971 and ensured the further popularity of the group.
