Women Musicians of Uzbekistan

Influences by women's distinct influence on Uzbekistan's music, this book ventures into Tashkent's post-Soviet music scene to place women musicians within the nation's evolving artistic and political arenas. Drawing on fieldwork and music study carried out between 2001 and 2014, the book challenges the Western idea of Central Asian women as sequestered and oppressed. Instead, the book notes the ways Uzbekistan's women stand at the forefront of four prominent genres: maqom, folk music, Western art music, and popular music. The book's recounting of the women's experiences, stories, and memories underscores the complex role that these musicians and vocalists play in educational institutions and concert halls, street kiosks and the culturally essential sphere of wedding music. Throughout the book, the book ties nationalism and femininity to performances and reveals how the music of these women is linked to a burgeoning national identity.