Fatima Kuinova
{{Short description|Tajik singer (1926–2021)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Fatima Kuinova
| image = Fatima Kuinova.png
| caption = Kuinova in 1948
| alt =
| birth_name = Panir Ibragimova
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|12|28}}
| birth_place = Samarkand, Uzbek SSR
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2021|12|28|1926|12|28}}
| death_place = Queens, New York, U.S.
| genre = Shashmakom
| occupation = Singer
| instrument =
| years_active =
| label =
| associated_acts =
| website =
}}
Panir Ibragimova (28 December 1926 – 28 December 2021), better known by the stage name of Fatima Kuinova ({{langx|tg|Фатима Куэнова}}, {{langx|fa|فاطمه کوینوا}}), was a Bukharian Jewish Shashmakom singer. She was named "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union".{{cite book |last=Orleck |first= Annelise |year=1999 |title=The Soviet Jewish Americans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRjiPR-GnnoC&dq=Fatima+Kuinova&pg=PA196 |series=The New Americans|location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=196 |isbn=9780313300745 |oclc= 39045169}}
Biography
Kuinova was born in Samarqand, Uzbek SSR on 28 December 1926.{{cite news |last1=Chan |first1=Ying |title=2 Emigres Win Grants |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91798378/daily-news/ |access-date=4 January 2022 |work=Daily News |date=10 May 1992}}{{cite web |title=Panir Ibragimova |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/252728427:1732?tid=&pid=&queryId=7c3c87e0e46360204a6bbddf33bcce82&_phsrc=Dqh1588&_phstart=successSource |publisher=U.S., Public Records Index, 1950–1993, Volume 2 |access-date=4 January 2022}} She moved to Stalinabad, Tajik SSR with her seven brothers and two sisters when she was thirteen years old, after their father was jailed and murdered by the Soviet government for his mercantile prosperity. Her family's last name was originally Cohen, but she changed it to Kuinova to escape the persecution Jews faced under Stalin.{{cite book |last=Govenar |first=Alan |year=2001 |chapter=Fatima Kuinova: Jewish American Singer (Bukharan) |title=Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary |volume=2 (K-Z)|location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-Clio |pages=352–354|isbn=1576072401|oclc=47644303}} During her childhood, she knew the famous Mullojonov family and was a friend to Shoista Mullojonova. Her father was the cantor of a synagogue in her hometown and taught his daughter the music of her Bukharian Jewish heritage.
Life and career
Kuinova began singing in different festivals at a young age.{{Clarify|date=May 2010}} She also sang for Joseph Stalin, who was likely unaware of her Jewish faith and ethnicity.
Kuinova became famous after performing for the soldiers during World War II. In 1948, she was named "Honored Artist of the Soviet Union".{{cite web|url=http://arts.gov/honors/heritage/fatima-kuinova|title=Fatima Kuinova: Bukharan Jewish Singer |author= |date=n.d. |website=www.arts.gov |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=December 14, 2020}} After that, she began to study Shashmakom music and sang it throughout the Soviet Union and Central Asia. Kuinova became the lead singer of the Tajik State Philharmonic, with long-time friend Shoista Mullojonova. The two were widely recognized in the republic and were some of the Soviet Union's leading traditional performers.{{cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=January 1, 1988 |title=Music From A Crossroads Of Cultures |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DB1730F932A35752C0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 November 2017}} Both Kuinova and Mullojonova were soloists in the Tajik Ensemble "Rubobistok" that performed on television and radio throughout the Tajik SSR, Central Asia and the USSR and traveled to sing in areas like Kiev, Leningrad, and Moscow. She also went on tours to Europe, Afghanistan, and Iran, where she sang for the Shah.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
She immigrated to Queens, New York, U.S. in 1980, and settled in Rego Park, where she founded and was the lead vocalist for the Shashmaqam Music of the Bukharan Jews Ensemble.{{cite web |url=http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemID=2299 |title=Shashmaqam |author= |website=www.folkways.si.edu |publisher=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings |access-date=28 November 2017 |archive-date=19 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519030142/http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=2299 |url-status=dead }}{{YouTube|ECsmWRGWXBc}} In 1992, Kuinova was a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship award, given by the National Endowment for the Arts.{{cite web |url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/year/1992|title=NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1992 |author= |website=www.arts.gov |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629085045/https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/year/1992 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |url-status=dead}} In Queens, Kuinova worked with the Bukharian Jewish musical community and performed in numerous cultural and folk events in New York City.{{YouTube|4binKttjtCs}}
Kuinova died in Queens on 28 December 2021, her 95th birthday.{{cite web |title=Fatima Kuinova |url=https://www.forevermissed.com/fatima-kuinova/about |website=Forever Missed |access-date=4 January 2022}}
References
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Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:20th-century Tajikistani women singers
Category:People from Samarkand
Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States
Category:Tajikistani emigrants to the United States