APersonIndependent states
Nurgisa Tlendiyev
Composer, dombra virtuoso and conductor (1925–1998), founder of the Otrar Sazy folk orchestra.
Nurgisa Tlendiyev was born in Almaty Region and was known as a dombra prodigy as a child. He served at the front in the Second World War and later studied at the Moscow Conservatory.
He wrote hundreds of songs, kuys and film scores, including "Alatau", "Ata tolgauy" and "Olmeidi mahabbat", and in 1981 founded and led the Otrar Sazy orchestra of Kazakh folk instruments.
A People's Artist of the USSR, he had the centenary of his birth included in UNESCO's calendar of anniversaries in 2025.
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Updated: October 2, 2026