The Festival ‘’My Friends are My Treasure’’ gathered Kasseinov's friends in Ankara

Within the framework of the festival “My Friends are My Treasure” dedicated to the  70th birthday celebrations of TURKSOY Secretary General Dusen Kasseinov, a concert gathering Kasseinov’s friends  from various countries of the world took place in Ankara.

The event  held in the Concert Hall of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra on November 25^th, 2017 took place with the contribution of many famous artists from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Bashkortostan (RF), Tatarstan (RF) and the Russian Federation.

The concert featuring the Karagandy Symphony Orchestra from Kazakhstan with performances of world classics along with works by composers of the Turkic World, gathered the Chief Advisor to the President of the Republic of Turkey Yalcın Topcu, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ankara Hazar Ibrahim, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ankara Abzal Saparbekuly, the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Ankara  Ishankuli Amanliyev, the Ambassador of Russia to Ankara Alexei Yerhov, the spouse of the deceased Ambassador of Russia to Ankara Andrey Karlov, Mrs. Marina Karlova, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Yıldız, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Akhmet Yassawi International Kazak-Turkish University Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız, along with chiefs of diplomatic missions and many other guests.

The concert where some of the spectators had to remain standing due to the fact that the concert was full was moderated by Dusen Kasseinov himself.

In the opening speech he delivered at the concert  Ambassador Kasseinov said: “Since the beginning of my term of office within TURKSOY  we have come together in many events. With TURKSOY events we carried out worldwide, we have promoted our rich cultural heritage on every occasion and transmitted it to future generations. These events have not only contributed to the development of ties among countries but also to many new friendships which I qualify as a true source of wealth and happiness. It is a tradition in Kazakhstan to celebrate anniversaries, so in previous years, I had celebrated my 50^th and 60^th birthdays together with my friends. Now, I am celebrating my 70^th anniversary with you in Turkey. Throughout my term in office in Turkey, I have always felt the strong interest and sincere friendship of the Turkish people. Throughout the years, I have made many new friends. Today, I can say  that all those friends whom we meet and share moments of life with are a true source of wealth for us. This is why I have named these concerts “My Friends are My Treasure”. I it is a great pleasure for me to offer these concerts to you as friends of TURKSOY and I hope that they will also bring about new friendships for you’’.

The concert started with « Dayrabay » by Erkegali Rahmediyev, one of the greatest artists of Kazakhstan who used to be Kasseinov’s teacher and Rector. This was followed by Antonio Vivaldi’s “Concerto for 4 Violins” performed by Mr. Kasseinov together with young violinists of the Youth Chamber Orchestra of  TURKSOY Arslan Saifi, from Tatarstan (RF), Aliya Okeyeva from Kyrgyzstan and Nazlı Avcı from Turkey.

The concert also featured performances of works by the Kyrgyz composer Altynbek Canybekov, the Turkmen composer Recep Alayarov, the Kazak composer  Sydyk Muhamedjanov, the Russian composer Piotr Tchaikosky, the Turkish composer Turgay Erdener, the Azerbaijani composers  Uzeyir Hajibeyli,  Fikret Amirov and Rauf Aliyev, the Uzbek composer Suleiman Yudakov and the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skorikin. The highlight of the concert was the performance by Maxim Fedotov, known as the Russian Paganini, who played “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint Saëns.  

The concert featured  Petr Gribanov from Kazakhstan, Mustafa Mehmandarov from Azerbaijan,  Aminbay Sapabayev from Uzbekistan and  Rovshan Nepesov from Turkmenistan as conductors with soloists, Medet Chopabayev and Talgat Idrisov from Kazakhstan, Alfiya Karimova from Bashkortostan and Gorkem Ezgi Yıldırım from Turkey.

In a special performance of the concert, the Orfeon Chamber Choir took the scene under its conductor Elnara Kerimova, State Artists of Azerbaijan and Conductor of the TRT Polyphonic Choir of Ankara.

The concert “My Friends are My Treasure” ended with a performance by TURKSOY Secretary General Dusen Kasseinov who played “My Way”, the famous song which was composed by the French singer Claude François (“Comme D’habitude”) and later became world famous thanks to Frank Sinatra.

At the end of the concert, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ankara Abzal Saparbekuly  congratulated Secretary General  Dusen Kasseinov and extended the Medal of the 25^th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties of Kazakhstan to him on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız  extended the Honour Medal of the 25th Anniversary of the Khoja Akhmet Yassawi University to Prof. Kasseinov.

The Chief Advisor of the President of the Republic of Turkey Mr.   Yalçın Topçu who came on stage to congratulate Mr. Kasseinov expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for having entrusted Mr. Kasseinov with the duty and function of TURKSOY  Secretary General.

In the speech he delivered, Mr. Topcu said: "I would like to thank our wise leader Nursultan Nazarbayev  from Ankara, the Heart of the Turkic World  on behalf of the Turkic Islamic World for having introduced such a distinguished person as Mr. Kasseinov to us and to the Turkic Islamic World. May he live long.” Addressing Mr. Kasseinov himself, Mr.Topcu said:  “May you live many years ahead. May you serve the unity of the Turkic and Islamic World  for many years ahead with your energy, knowledge and excellent qualities as a diplomat and statesman."

The Karagandy Symphony Orchestra

The Karagandy Symphony Orchestra was established in 1983  in Karagandy. Since its establishment, the Karagandy Orchestra has given many concerts throughout the world. The orchestra which was established by Maestro Tolepbergen Abdrashev later pursued its activities under Maestro Kanat Ahmedov, State Artist of Kazakhstan and Maestro Petr Gribanov, award winner of the international competition of conductors held in Russia.  

Besides various cities of Kazakhstan, the Karagandy Symphony Orchestra has performed in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, France and Turkey and successfully represented Kazakhstan with its colourful repertoire.