Qushtor (1954)

Sirojiddin Juraev, dutar Composed by Kuzikhon Madrahimov (1888-1954) Sirojiddin’s virtuosic performance of “Qushtor” evokes the sound of flamenco guitar, and uses several of the fingering techniques typical of flamenco style: hammering down and pulling off on the strings with the left hand (ligado) while tapping the soundboard of the instrument with the right hand (golpe); and playing rhythmic rolls (rasgueado) and rapid repetitions of a single note (tremolo). These evocations point to the long-ago connections between Andalusia and the Arab world, which at one time included Central Asia. Sirojiddin Juraev is a master performer on long-necked lutes from Central Asia. Born and raised near the ancient city of Khujand, in northern Tajikistan, Sirojiddin learned to play the two-stringed dutar as a child and later studied with the great Uzbek master Turgun Alimatov. As a student at the Dushanbe Academy of Maqom, created by the Aga Khan Music Initiative in 2003, Sirojiddin also studied tanbur and sato (bowed tanbur) with ustad Abduvali Abdurashidov. Sirojiddin is active as a composer and arranger, and has created a body of new virtuoso works for dutar, tanbur, and sato. He performs both as a soloist and as a member of several ensembles, including Soriana Project, the Academy of Maqom, and Tajikistan’s State Shashmaqom Ensemble.