Zhaniya Aubakirova

Zhaniya Aubakirova is a Kazakh pianist, music teacher, professor, and former long-serving rector of the Kazakh National Conservatory. She was born on April 19, 1957, in Alma-Ata, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR. She received the title of People's Artist of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in literature and art in 2002, and the State Prize for Peace and Progress of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2012.

She graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1979 and completed postgraduate studies there in 1981 under Professor L. N. Vlasenko. From 1979, she worked as accompanist at the Abai State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and as an assistant trainee at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

From 1981, Aubakirova served as senior lecturer, associate professor, and head of the special piano department at the Alma-Ata State Kurmangazy Conservatory. From 1983, she was a soloist of the Zhambyl Kazakh State Philharmonic. In 1993, she became a professor at the Almaty State Conservatory.

In 1994, she founded the Author's School of Zhaniya Aubakirova, which works according to modern educational methods and technologies. From 1997 to 2018, she was rector of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory, and under her leadership the institution received national status in 2001.

In 1998, on her initiative, the music agency Klassika was established. It carried out several international projects, including Kazakh Seasons in France, organized concerts in more than 18 countries, recorded more than 30 compact discs, and produced more than 20 musical films about performers from Kazakhstan. With her support and participation, the international program Rising Stars was founded in 2001, the Zhaniya Aubakirova College in 2002, and in 2004 a master's program in Arts Management, as well as an international pianists' competition and festivals of contemporary music.

In November 2009, the Student Symphony Orchestra of the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory toured five major cities in the United States—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Boston, and New York. Aubakirova appeared with the young musicians in such renowned venues as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

Among her distinctions are the second Grand Prix and a special prize for best performance of works by contemporary French composers at the Margaret Long and Jacques Thibaud International Competition in France in 1983, and the Grand Prix of the International Chamber Ensemble Competition in Paris in 1985, received together with Gauhar Murzabekova. She was also made a holder of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 1998, received the Gustav Mahler Prize of the European Union of Arts in 2003, the Parasat Order in 2008, the Gold Cross of Merit of Poland in 2011, and the Order of Barys, 1st class, in 2020.

Aubakirova has also been active as an author. Her books include Word About Father: Pages of Memory, a book about Venera Ibrayeva titled The Simple Riddle of an Angel, Musical Voice of Kazakhstan, and Variations on Themes. Her discography on DVD includes a duo performance with violinist Marat Bisengaliev, a concert at the Salle Gaveau in France, a concert with the Russian National Orchestra, and a concert at Saint-Louis Church in France.

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