Marrying Past, Present, and Future

This chapter examines the ways in which musicians cross the four musical genres in Uzbekistan: maqom, folk music, Western art music, and popular music. Most of the women interviewed for this book interacted with all four genres at some point, and most have strong opinions about each type of practice. The diversity of styles of music present in events associated with Uzbek weddings and the ubiquity of weddings means that they act as unifiers for Tashkenters across disciplinary divides. The chapter first provides an overview of the importance of wedding music throughout Central Asia before discussing the significance of musical performance at weddings. It shows that wedding music is a vital part of the musical economy in Tashkent and is one that involves a wide range of musical styles, including most of those institutionalized in the Uzbek State Conservatory.