Yakov Eshpai

He was born in 1890 in the village of Kokshamary (now Zvenigovsky district of the Republic of Mari El), located at the confluence of the Kokshaga with the Volga. Honored Artist of the Mari ASSR (1941)

He was the creator of the first Mari instrumental works for symphonic, wind orchestras, orchestra of folk instruments, for violin and piano, a large number of solo and choral vocal compositions. He has recorded and processed more than 500 folk melodies. In 1920, together with his cousin I. S. Palantai (Klyuchnikov) and V. M. Vasiliev, he participated in an expedition to collect and record songs of mountain Mari. Candidate of Art History (1946).

He was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1946) and the Badge of Honor (1951), two medals.In the homeland of Eshpai, in the village of Kokshamary, there is a memorial plaque, one of the central streets in Yoshkar-Ola and the Palace of Culture in the city of Kozmodemyansk bears his name.

Yakov Eshpai's musical hobby required deeper knowledge. He enters the Moscow Conservatory at a fairly mature age – at the age of 37.

The musician studies the composition. He becomes a real composer. His "Mari Suite", which the author wrote in 1931, was the beginning of Yakov Eshpai's composing career. He managed to combine the canons of Mari folk music and the strict rules of classical music.

In 1933, Yakov moved to Yoshkar-Ola and got a job at the College of Arts. The experience accumulated over the years of his life and studies was useful to him in teaching theoretical disciplines. Yakov Eshpai becomes the author of musicological articles and essays, continues his research. During the war, Yakov experienced a great tragedy – his eldest son died at the front.

The Mari art critic devoted the rest of his life to creating works that are still performed by symphonic and brass orchestras, choral groups.