Museum of Musical Instruments

The Museum of Musical Instruments in Almaty is situated in eastern part of famous Panfilov Park and part of most tours in Kazakhstan. Music plays an important role in everyday life of any nation. Kazakh music is a rich heritage of the history and culture of Kazakh people. Music reflects the soul and inner world of people and is comprehensible not depending on language or race barriers. To keep the Kazakh national music is the main purpose of the museum. You can leave your rent car in one of the parking areas around and continue your tour in Almaty after paying a small visit to this wonderful museum.   

The Museum of Musical Instruments was opened in 1980’s and it bears the name of Ykylas Dukenov, who was a famous Kazakh composer and the founder of first musical schools. The building is older though, it was constructed in 1908 along with the Zenkov Cathedral and is a typical Russian constrcution. It was used as head quarter for army during Tsarist Russia and later it was transformed into Official House before it finally became a museum. 

Nowadays the museum collection exceeds 1,000 objects including those dating back to the 17^th century. In general there are 60 types of musical instruments of different nations including the main Kazakh instrument dombra. After studying the evolution of music art, folklore and instruments you can listen to the performance of local ensemble called “Sazgen sazi”. 

Travelling in Kazakhstan will open you wide horizons of history of ancient nomads living in steppes and mountains of Central Asia. Learning their music is one way of exploring their culture. Do not miss this chance and visit the Museum of Musical Instruments in Almaty, Kazakhstan. You can use a rent car and make your own tour.