Zagir Ismagilov

Zagir Gharif uly Ismagilov (January 8, 1917 – May 30, 2003) was a Soviet Bashkir composer and pedagogue. He was granted the title People’s Artist of the USSR in 1982, and was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1943. The performing arts center in Ufa, Russia is named after him. The first rector and founder of the Ufa Institute of arts (1968–1988) (associate professor since 1973, professor since 1977). Biography The son of a woodcutter, the composer was born January 8, 1917, in the village of Sermenevo. In 1932 he went to study at the Inzer wood-chemical school. He graduated early and began working in Beloretsk lespromhoz appraiser. In 1935, Arslan Mubaryakov invited him to take part in the Bashkir Academic Drama Theatre, Ufa, where he played in the evenings as a quray player (musician). During the days he studied at the music studio, which opened in Ufa (1936). In 1937, Ismagilov went to study at the Bashkir studio of the Moscow Conservatory. After the war, he finished training in the studio in 1948, then became part of the music composition faculty at the Moscow Conservatory. Ismagilov became chairman of the Union of Composers of the Bashkir Republic in 1958. An