Madrid, 21 October 2026 – The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Spain organised a gala concert at the National Auditorium of Music (Auditorio Nacional de Música) to mark Kazakhstan’s Republic Day. The event, which has become a cherished tradition, was dedicated this year to the musical legacy of the distinguished Kazakh composer Shamshi Kaldayakov, one of the authors of Kazakhstan’s national anthem. The concert was held in cooperation with the Shamshi Alemi Public Foundation and with the support of the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation.
The event launched a series of performances as part of “Shamshi 100”, an international cultural project dedicated to the centenary of the composer’s birth, which will be celebrated in 2030.
The concert featured leading soloists from the Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre, members of Shamshi Kaldayakov’s family and Kazakhstani performers living in Spain. They were accompanied by the Madrid Festival Orchestra, conducted by Albert Skuratov.
Guests included representatives of Spanish public institutions, business and academia, the diplomatic corps, international organisations and the media, as well as Kazakhstani citizens living in the Kingdom of Spain.
Addressing the guests, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Spain, Danat Mussayev, said that the concert, held ahead of the national holiday, had brought Kazakhstan’s musical heritage closer to Spanish audiences.
“ Shamshi Kaldayakov’s songs are especially dear to our people. Performing them in Spanish brings this music to a new audience. I am confident that the ‘Shamshi Alemi’ concert will help strengthen cultural ties between Kazakhstan and Spain,” the ambassador emphasised.
A highlight of the evening was the first performance of Spanish adaptations of 20 songs by Shamshi Kaldayakov. The programme included such well-known works as “You Were My Song”, “Song About Mother”, “Where Are You?”, “The Beauty of Syr ” and “In the Embrace of Happiness”. The new versions preserved the melodic beauty and sincerity of these songs about love, mothers and the homeland, familiar to several generations of Kazakhstanis. The composer’s works became a symbolic gift for Republic Day and a musical tribute to the friendship between the two countries.
