“Not every composer is capable of creating music for an anthem. Even in Russia, despite the presence of outstanding composers, the music chosen for the anthem was by Alexandrov. I was surprised that the Jogorku Kenesh initiated a competition among the public. I assumed this was done to engage the community. Over the course of a year, we received submissions, and people did actively participate; however, none of the options were suitable,” she noted.
The musicologist added that an anthem represents a special musical call, which, in addition, should contain elements of heroism, especially in the context of Kyrgyz culture.
“Our anthem was written by renowned composers Nasyr Davlesov and Kalyy Moldobasanov. I believe it is magnificent both in text and music. These composers studied in Moscow and had deep knowledge of world musical art,” Umetalieva continued.
According to her, three main options were presented for the consideration of the Jogorku Kenesh, while the other works did not meet the requirements as they were too simple and light. Of the presented options, the most suitable was the one that used Muradeli's music, but even that was written in the 40s-50s and does not quite match the tempo. The other two options, in the musicologist's opinion, resembled songs for mass choirs. “This is my personal opinion,” she added.
It is worth noting that the speaker of the parliament, Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, proposed to change the anthem in 2024, and this proposal was supported by the president. In February 2025, the Ministry of Culture announced a competition, resulting in over 700 submissions by April. However, none of the proposed projects met the necessary requirements, and the Ministry of Culture announced a repeat competition. As a result of the second competition, three options for a new anthem were presented by the deputies, but all were rejected.
