The art of gijjak performance in contemporary Uzbek musical practice

Abstract

The gijjak, a bowed string instrument with a bowl-shaped resonator and a history spanning more than a millennium, occupies a singular position within Uzbek musical culture. Once described by medieval theorists as the instrument closest in timbre to the human voice, the gijjak has moved from the courts of Timurid princes and the chambers of maqom masters into the concert halls, symphony orchestras, and digital archives of the twenty-first century. This article examines the art of gijjak performance as it exists in contemporary Uzbek musical practice, tracing the instrument’s historical foundations, its enduring role within maqom ensembles, the transformation of its construction and technique through modernization, and the expanding contexts in which it is now heard. Particular attention is given to the tension between tradition and innovation that characterizes the instrument’s present-day trajectory, as performers and pedagogues negotiate the demands of a globalized musical landscape while preserving the expressive core that has defined gijjak artistry for centuries.