Shoista Mullodzhanova
Encyclopedia
Shoista Mullojonova was a renowned Tajik-born Bukharian Jewish Shashmakom singer.
, Tajik ASSR
to a religious Bukharian Jewish family. Her mother, Sivyo Davydova, was from Samarkand
and her father, Rubin Mullodzhanov, originally came from Bukhara
. Her family traces its ancestry to an artistocratic Levite
tribe that has been into performing and entertaining since the time of the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem. At some point as an adult she changed her surname from Mullodzhanova to Mullojonova in Soviet Tajikistan.
Her family was full of entertainers (actors, singers, and musicians). In 1924, her parents and older siblings (Ribi, Levi, Itzakhar, Roshel, Zulai) moved from Uzbekistan
to Tajikistan
, where Shoista was born a year later. She learned to speak fluent Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajiki-Persian language, and Russian
. Her mother was also a singer and her whole family was into music and acting. She graduated from the Stalinabad Women's Pedagogical School in 1943 and studied at the Moscow Conservatory
from 1947 to 1953.
for the royal family of Iran and the Shah
, the Pahlavis including Reza Shah the Great, and for the Iranian audience in Bukhori. She earned the title, Merited Artist of Tajikistan, at the age of 20.
By the mid-1940s, Mullojonova broke away from the ensemble and began to sing solo. In May 1945, at the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union
, she sang the Tajik/Russian song "Idi Zafar" (Holiday of Victory) on the Tajik State Radio in Stalinabad in honor of Victory Day over Nazi Germany. After graduating cum laude from Moscow Conservatory in 1953, she performed at the Aini Theater for Opera and Ballet. The roles that she developed there include Mahin in Tohir va Zuhro (Tohir and Zuhro) by A. Lenskii; Gulizor in Shurishi Vose (The Vose Uprising) by S. Balasanian; Marfa in Arusi Shoh (The Bride of the King) by Rimsky-Korsakov, and others.
Through the years, she sang Shashmakom music throughout Central Asia, Middle East, and the Soviet Union and made a wonderful living. She was named the "People's Artist of Tajikistan", in 1957 and Merited Artist of the USSR (http://bjews.com/modules.php?set_albumName=MUSICIANS-AND-SINGERS&id=Shoista_Mullojanova&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php). From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, she was a soloist vocalist for the Tajik State Philharmonic. Mullojonova sang music of all other Soviet republics and of Eastern people. She always preferred the music of her Eastern and Tajik people. In 1975, she was named senior instrutor at the Tajikistan State Institute of Arts. [Profile at Tajik Figures @ www.angelstar.com, ibid.] In the 1980s, Mullojonova earned a reputation for being the Queen of Tajik Music. She sang in Central Asia and all over the former Soviet Union for 50 years.
In 1991, Shoista and her family began to move from Central Asia, to the United States because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union
and the start of the civil war and rise of Islamic fundamentalism
in Tajikistan. The family settled in Forest Hills, New York.
After emigrating to New York, Mullojonova joined the Bukharan Shashmaqam Ensemble, founded by Fatima Kuinova
, "Merited Artist Tajikistan" and later the "Maqom" Ensemble, founded by Ilyas Malayev
, "Merited Artist of Uzbekistan". After her husband, Efrem Haritonovitch Benyaev, died, she dedicated an album, "I'm Singing for You", in his memory. In September 2005, in Forest Hills High School
, Mullojonova sang for an audience who all came to celebrate her 80th birthday, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
, former Governor George Pataki
, President Emomalii Rahmon of Tajikistan
, and Boris Kandov
, President of the Bukharian Jewish Congress of USA and Canada. Aged 80 she was able to touch people with her singing and remind them that she is singing for each and every one of them, as she says, "I am singing for you."
Boris Kandov
published a biography about Shoista Mullojonova, entitled "Born to Sing", written by musicologist and author Rafael Nektalov, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://bukharianjewishcongress.org/books/1810-sing-my-shoista-sing as well as making a documentary about the legendary singer. In March 2008, Mullojonova performed at the Golden Ilyas Awards Ceremony singing "Ey Dukhtari Nozanini Qadras" (Persian for "Hey, Beautiful Girl, All Grown Up) and received an award. The concert was held in honor of Bukharian poet, musician, and playwright, Ilyas Malayev
.
, is a singer, and her niece, Rosa Mullodzhanova
, is known as an "Honored Artist of Tajikistan".
and Merited Artist, she received the Order of Lenin
, the Order of the Patriotic War
, the Red Banner of Labor, two Order of the Badge of Honor
, four medals (including the Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945), and the Honorary Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan and other republics. She had a seven decade career in music, from 1941 until her death in 2010. Mullojonova was a founder of contemporary Tajik music and was often referred to as "Queen of Shashmakom Music", "Daughter of Tajikistan" and "Nightingale of the East".
Early life
She was born in DushanbeDushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
, Tajik ASSR
Tajik ASSR
The Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an autonomous republic within the Uzbek SSR in the Soviet Union. It was created in October 1924 by a series of legal acts that partitioned the three existing regional entities in Central Asia – Turkestan ASSR, Bukharan People's Soviet Republic,...
to a religious Bukharian Jewish family. Her mother, Sivyo Davydova, was from Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and her father, Rubin Mullodzhanov, originally came from Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. Her family traces its ancestry to an artistocratic Levite
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
tribe that has been into performing and entertaining since the time of the First and Second Temple in Jerusalem. At some point as an adult she changed her surname from Mullodzhanova to Mullojonova in Soviet Tajikistan.
Her family was full of entertainers (actors, singers, and musicians). In 1924, her parents and older siblings (Ribi, Levi, Itzakhar, Roshel, Zulai) moved from 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....
to Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, where Shoista was born a year later. She learned to speak fluent Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajiki-Persian language, and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Her mother was also a singer and her whole family was into music and acting. She graduated from the Stalinabad Women's Pedagogical School in 1943 and studied at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
from 1947 to 1953.
Career
Mullojonova had her debut at age 8 when she sang on Dushanbe radio. During the beginning of her career, in the early 1940s, she was part of the Rubab Player Ensemble in Tajikistan's Ensemble.Tajik Figures @ angelstar.com, ibid. With the ensemble, in 1945, she sang in IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
for the royal family of Iran and the Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
, the Pahlavis including Reza Shah the Great, and for the Iranian audience in Bukhori. She earned the title, Merited Artist of Tajikistan, at the age of 20.
By the mid-1940s, Mullojonova broke away from the ensemble and began to sing solo. In May 1945, at the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union
Great Patriotic War (term)
The term Great Patriotic War , Velíkaya Otéchestvennaya voyná,) is used in Russia and some other states of the former Soviet Union to describe the portion of World War II from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945, against Nazi Germany and its allies in the many fronts of Soviet-German war.-History:The term...
, she sang the Tajik/Russian song "Idi Zafar" (Holiday of Victory) on the Tajik State Radio in Stalinabad in honor of Victory Day over Nazi Germany. After graduating cum laude from Moscow Conservatory in 1953, she performed at the Aini Theater for Opera and Ballet. The roles that she developed there include Mahin in Tohir va Zuhro (Tohir and Zuhro) by A. Lenskii; Gulizor in Shurishi Vose (The Vose Uprising) by S. Balasanian; Marfa in Arusi Shoh (The Bride of the King) by Rimsky-Korsakov, and others.
Through the years, she sang Shashmakom music throughout Central Asia, Middle East, and the Soviet Union and made a wonderful living. She was named the "People's Artist of Tajikistan", in 1957 and Merited Artist of the USSR (http://bjews.com/modules.php?set_albumName=MUSICIANS-AND-SINGERS&id=Shoista_Mullojanova&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php). From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, she was a soloist vocalist for the Tajik State Philharmonic. Mullojonova sang music of all other Soviet republics and of Eastern people. She always preferred the music of her Eastern and Tajik people. In 1975, she was named senior instrutor at the Tajikistan State Institute of Arts. [Profile at Tajik Figures @ www.angelstar.com, ibid.] In the 1980s, Mullojonova earned a reputation for being the Queen of Tajik Music. She sang in Central Asia and all over the former Soviet Union for 50 years.
Personal life and later career
Mullojonova was married to Efrem Haritonovich Benyaev from 1946 until his death in 1999. They had three children: Anna (a businesswoman who lives in Forest Hills, Queens, New York), Negmat (PhD, based in Moscow) and Sofia (M.D., based in Austria).In 1991, Shoista and her family began to move from Central Asia, to the United States because of the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
and the start of the civil war and rise of Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
in Tajikistan. The family settled in Forest Hills, New York.
After emigrating to New York, Mullojonova joined the Bukharan Shashmaqam Ensemble, founded by Fatima Kuinova
Fatima Kuinova
Fatima Kuinova is a Bukharian Jewish Shashmakom singer. She was named "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union".Kuinova was born in Samarqand, Uzbek SSR, but moved to Stalinabad, Tajik SSR with her seven brothers and two sisters when she was thirteen years old, after their father was jailed and...
, "Merited Artist Tajikistan" and later the "Maqom" Ensemble, founded by Ilyas Malayev
Ilyas Malayev
Ilyas Malayev was an Uzbekistani musician and poet.Malayev was born in Mary to Efraim and Yelizaveta Malayev, a Bukharian Jewish family and raised in the Uzbek town of Katta-Kurgan near Bukhara...
, "Merited Artist of Uzbekistan". After her husband, Efrem Haritonovitch Benyaev, died, she dedicated an album, "I'm Singing for You", in his memory. In September 2005, in Forest Hills High School
Forest Hills High School
Forest Hills High School , dedicated in 1937, is a public secondary school in Queens, New York City. It educates students in grades 9–12 and is operated by the New York City Department of Education.- Location :...
, Mullojonova sang for an audience who all came to celebrate her 80th birthday, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
, former Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, President Emomalii Rahmon of Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, and Boris Kandov
Boris Kandov
Boris Kandov is the President of the Bukharian Jewish Congress in the United States and Canada.He is currently one of the richest men in the world rated #17 on the Forbes Billionare list. The president resides in a 42,000 square foot mega mansion in New York....
, President of the Bukharian Jewish Congress of USA and Canada. Aged 80 she was able to touch people with her singing and remind them that she is singing for each and every one of them, as she says, "I am singing for you."
Boris Kandov
Boris Kandov
Boris Kandov is the President of the Bukharian Jewish Congress in the United States and Canada.He is currently one of the richest men in the world rated #17 on the Forbes Billionare list. The president resides in a 42,000 square foot mega mansion in New York....
published a biography about Shoista Mullojonova, entitled "Born to Sing", written by musicologist and author Rafael Nektalov, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://bukharianjewishcongress.org/books/1810-sing-my-shoista-sing as well as making a documentary about the legendary singer. In March 2008, Mullojonova performed at the Golden Ilyas Awards Ceremony singing "Ey Dukhtari Nozanini Qadras" (Persian for "Hey, Beautiful Girl, All Grown Up) and received an award. The concert was held in honor of Bukharian poet, musician, and playwright, Ilyas Malayev
Ilyas Malayev
Ilyas Malayev was an Uzbekistani musician and poet.Malayev was born in Mary to Efraim and Yelizaveta Malayev, a Bukharian Jewish family and raised in the Uzbek town of Katta-Kurgan near Bukhara...
.
Death
On June 26, 2010, Mullojonova died after suffering a heart attack in Forest Hills, New York, http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.toptj.com/%3Fresource_id%2520%3D1338&ei=hGpKTPqpNoGC8gaa49gy&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB8Q7gEwAjge&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25D0%25A8%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D1%2582a%26start%3D30%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2ADBF_enUS378%26prmd%3Dv three months before her 85th birthday. In accordance with Jewish law, which requires the burial of a deceased person immediately after their death, Mullojonova was buried the day after her death in the Bukharian Jewish section of Wellwood Cemetery in Long Island, New York next to her husband and deceased family members. Soon after, the people of Tajikistan heard this and, the following day, President Emomalii Rahmon sent a message to the United States expressing his condolence to the relatives of this legendary singer.Other
Her nephew, Yudik MullodzhanovYudik Mullodzhanov
Yudik Mullodzhanov is a tenor, violinist, and music teacher. He is known, within his community, as the "Bukharian Pavarotti".-Biography:Yudik Ribievich Mullodzhanov was born in 1942 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to a Bukharian Jewish family....
, is a singer, and her niece, Rosa Mullodzhanova
Rosa Mullodzhanova
Rosa Mullodzhanova is a Tajik-American opera singer.-Biography:Mullodzhanova was born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to a Bukharian Jewish family. Her father, Itzakhor, was a stage actor, and her mother, Zelpo, originally derived from neighboring Uzbekistan...
, is known as an "Honored Artist of Tajikistan".
Awards
She won many awards and titles in her career including the prestigious "People's Artist of the Republic of Tajikistan" and "Merited Artist of the USSR". In addition to being a People's ArtistPeople's Artist
People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....
and Merited Artist, she received the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, the Order of the Patriotic War
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
, the Red Banner of Labor, two Order of the Badge of Honor
Order of the Badge of Honor
The Order of the Badge of Honour was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.It was instituted on 25 November 1935 and conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in production, scientific research and social, cultural and other forms of social activity, for promotion of economic,...
, four medals (including the Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945), and the Honorary Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan and other republics. She had a seven decade career in music, from 1941 until her death in 2010. Mullojonova was a founder of contemporary Tajik music and was often referred to as "Queen of Shashmakom Music", "Daughter of Tajikistan" and "Nightingale of the East".