She participated in the commission of the Ministry of Culture, which evaluated the works submitted for the competition to create a new anthem. According to Umetalieva, only experienced composers can create an anthem, as writing music of this level can be a challenging task even for talented musicians. The music of the anthem should differ in sound and rhythm from mass patriotic music.
“Not every composer is capable of writing an anthem. Even in Russia, talented composers have failed to create suitable musical material, and now the music of Alexandrov is used. I was surprised when the Jogorku Kenesh announced a competition among the people. This could have been done to engage the wider public. Throughout the year, we received submissions, and the participants showed great enthusiasm, but none of the submitted options were suitable,” she noted.
The musicologist also added that an anthem is a unique, epic musical call that, in the case of the Kyrgyz people, should also have a heroic character.
“Our outstanding composers Nasyr Davlesov and Kalyy Moldobasanov wrote the current anthem. I believe it is beautiful in both text and music. These composers studied in Moscow and were well-versed in world musical traditions, being true professionals,” Umetalieva said.
The commission presented three main options to the Jogorku Kenesh, but the other works did not meet the requirements, as they were too simple and easy. Of the three proposed, the most suitable option was the one with the music of Muradeli, written in the 1940s-50s; however, this option also did not quite match the tempo. The other two options were simply songs for mass performance. This is my personal opinion,” she added.
It should be noted that the idea to change the anthem was voiced by the speaker of parliament Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu in 2024, and the president supported this proposal. In February 2025, the Ministry of Culture announced a competition, resulting in over 700 works being submitted by April. However, none of them met the requirements for a state symbol, leading to the announcement of a repeat competition. As a result of the second competition, the Ministry of Culture presented three options for a new anthem to the deputies, all of which were rejected.
