The Dushanbe authorities have adopted a decision on relocation of the Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments (or Gurminj Museum), which is located in the center of the city, as part of ambitious municipal redevelopment plan that includes the construction of modern buildings.
The Museum director Iqbol Zavqibekov says the Museum will move to another place, 8 Shota Rustaveli.
“The music studio will be placed in the Museum,” said Iqbol Zavqibekov. “But there will be no concerts in the new place anymore because the new space does not permit.”
The Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments (or Gurminj Museum) is a museum currently located in the center of Dushanbe, behind the Dushanbe mayor’s office on Bokhtar Street.
The museum was founded in 1990 by Gurminj Zavqibekov (1929–2003), Tajik actor and musician, who was honored as a National Artist of Tajikistan and a laureate of the most prestigious national prize in arts for significant contributions to the cultural heritage of Tajikistan – the Roudaki State Award. After his death in 2003, his son Iqbol Zavqibekov (also a professional musician) took charge of the Museum.
There are about 100 musical instruments in the Museum collection mostly representing the Pamiri and Badakhshani musical tradition. The collection is dominated by string instruments, such as the tar, rubab, Pamiri rubab, tanbur, dutor, setor, qashqar, and ghizhak. There are also number of drums such as tabl, daf, and doyra.
The collection was gathered by Gurminj Zavqibekov during his trip to his native Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). There are a number of other instruments that do not belong to the Pamiri traditional instruments and some other casual items of antiques are for display at the museum.
The museum also hosts a variety of cultural gatherings and events, many featuring the Tajik musical ensemble Shams and their soloist Nobovar Chanorov. Gurminj's son Iqbol Zavkibekov is the arts director of the band.
