Jahan Talyshinskaya
Encyclopedia
Jahan Mir Rzakhan qizi Talyshinskaya (9 February 1909, Lankaran
– 1 March 1967, Baku
) was an Azerbaijan
i folk singer and theatre actress.
's Uns School for Girls and moved to Baku at the age of nine to attend the Azerbaijani Girls Seminary. While residing at her older sister Bilgeys's house, she learned how to play the piano and the tar
with no professional instruction. Her exceptional ear for music and voice was quickly gaining her fame as an amateur mugham
singer, and in 1934 she became a soloist at the Azerbaijan Philharmonic Society. She travelled to Azerbaijan's remote rural regions to collect samples of folk music, many of which would later be performed publicly for the first time. By 1936 she had given concerts in Moscow
, St. Petersburg and Kiev
, and had released a gramophone record
.
, Talyshinskaya was treated by government institutions with suspicion, sometimes to a point of being refused permission to go on tour. Despite being recognized as an Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan in 1940, Talyshinskaya and her fourteen year-old son Nazim were eventually exiled to Petropavl
ovlsk, Kazakhstan
as "enemies of the people" in 1942. She was later permitted to settle in Tashkent
, Uzbekistan
, where she managed to continue her career at the local philharmonic society. She soon met with the member of the USSR Council of Ministers Arts Committee and future Deputy Minister of Culture Vladimir Surin who had happened to know Talyshinskaya from a pop music contest in Moscow, in which she had participated and won back in 1938. Following his approval, she left Tashkent for Tbilisi
, Georgia
to perform at the Tbilisi Azeri Drama Theatre, and later (at the insistence of director Shamsi Badalbeyli
) at the Azerbaijan Musical Comedy Theatre, where she proved to be an outstanding comedy actress. In 1949, her case was revoked and she was exiled to Central Asia
for the second time. Talyshinskaya and her son were exonerated shortly after Stalin's death but continued to live in Tashkent until the devastating earthquake of 1966 destroyed their house. They immediately returned to Baku where Jahan Talyshinskaya died a year later of heart failure, while playing the piano.
Lankaran
-History:The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent,...
– 1 March 1967, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i folk singer and theatre actress.
Early career
Born in Lankaran to a wealthy noble family (from her maternal side, she was the niece of general Samad bey Mehmandarov), Talyshinskaya first studied at Maryam BayramalibeyovaMaryam Bayramalibeyova
Maryam Teymur qizi Bayramalibeyova was an Azerbaijani social activist and feminist.-Early life:...
's Uns School for Girls and moved to Baku at the age of nine to attend the Azerbaijani Girls Seminary. While residing at her older sister Bilgeys's house, she learned how to play the piano and the tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
with no professional instruction. Her exceptional ear for music and voice was quickly gaining her fame as an amateur mugham
Mugham
Mugam also known as Azerbaijani Mugham is one of the many folk musical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrast with Tasnif, Ashugs. Mugam draws on Iranian-Arabic-Turkish Maqam....
singer, and in 1934 she became a soloist at the Azerbaijan Philharmonic Society. She travelled to Azerbaijan's remote rural regions to collect samples of folk music, many of which would later be performed publicly for the first time. By 1936 she had given concerts in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, St. Petersburg and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, and had released a gramophone record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
.
Exile and later life
After the arrest and exile of her ex-husband, brother, sister and two brothers-in-law in 1937 during the Stalin PurgesPurge of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Purges with a "small-p" purge was one of the key rituals during which a periodic review of party members was conducted to get rid of the "undesirables"....
, Talyshinskaya was treated by government institutions with suspicion, sometimes to a point of being refused permission to go on tour. Despite being recognized as an Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan in 1940, Talyshinskaya and her fourteen year-old son Nazim were eventually exiled to Petropavl
Petropavl
Petropavl is a city on the Ishim River in North Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 261 km west of Omsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is capital of the North Kazakhstan Province...
ovlsk, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
as "enemies of the people" in 1942. She was later permitted to settle in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, where she managed to continue her career at the local philharmonic society. She soon met with the member of the USSR Council of Ministers Arts Committee and future Deputy Minister of Culture Vladimir Surin who had happened to know Talyshinskaya from a pop music contest in Moscow, in which she had participated and won back in 1938. Following his approval, she left Tashkent for Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
to perform at the Tbilisi Azeri Drama Theatre, and later (at the insistence of director Shamsi Badalbeyli
Shamsi Badalbeyli
Shamsi Badal oglu Badalbeyli was an Azerbaijani theatre director and actor.-Life and career:Shamsi Badalbeyli was born in Shusha to Badal Badalbeyli, a music teacher, and his wife Rahima...
) at the Azerbaijan Musical Comedy Theatre, where she proved to be an outstanding comedy actress. In 1949, her case was revoked and she was exiled to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
for the second time. Talyshinskaya and her son were exonerated shortly after Stalin's death but continued to live in Tashkent until the devastating earthquake of 1966 destroyed their house. They immediately returned to Baku where Jahan Talyshinskaya died a year later of heart failure, while playing the piano.