Mustafa Bafoyev

Mustafa Bafoyev was born in Ganchkash, in the Bukhara district, on 10 November 1946, and is one of the leading figures of Uzbek composition in the second half of the twentieth century. His work, rooted in the folk traditions of Uzbekistan, is heard at festivals and competitions as well as at local celebrations, which explains its wide acceptance among audiences.

He trained at the Tashkent Conservatory, where he first studied as a performer on Uzbek instruments, from 1964 to 1969, and then as a composer, from 1972 to 1977. In 1979 he completed a postgraduate course under the direction of Boris Giyenko. Before establishing himself as a composer, he taught at the Bukhara Pedagogical Institute from 1969 to 1972. From 1980 until 1986 he conducted the orchestra of Uzbek folk instruments of the national television and radio, and in 1986 he was appointed artistic director of that same ensemble.

His output encompasses musical theatre, with titles such as Ettinchi jin, Uzilgan torlar and Omar Haiyam, as well as television ballets, among them Ulugbek Burgi and Velikiy shyolkovïy put'. In the symphonic field he wrote five symphonies, several of them with literary or historical references, along with numerous choral and chamber works. The exact extent of his reputation outside the country is not known with certainty, but he has received national honours such as the A. Kadiri State Prize (1997) and the title of Merited Worker of the Arts of Uzbekistan (1995), which reflect his standing in the musical life of his country.