Alexey Vitalyevich Arkhipovsky (also spelled as Arhipovskiy, russian: Алексей Витальевич Архиповский; born 15 May 1967) is a modern-day Russian

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

player.

Personal life

Alexey Arkhipovsky was born in 1967 in the town of Tuapse,

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part o ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. His father was passionate for music and played the

garmon The garmon ( rus, гармо́нь, p=gɐˈrmonʲ, links=yes, from rus, гармо́ника, p=gɐˈrmonʲɪkə, r=garmonika, cognate of English ''harmonica''), commonly called garmoshka, is a kind of Russian button accordion, a Free reed aer ...

and the accordion. At the age of nine Arkhipovsky started to take

lessons at a music school. In 1982, he entered the

Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State Musical College (russian: link=no, Государственный музыкальный колледж имени Гнесиных) and Gnesins Russian Academy of Music (russian: Российская академия музык� ...

, the department of folk instruments, and studied the balalaika under

Valery Zazhigin The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name '' Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The ...

Musical career

In 1985 Arkhipovsky became a

laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music direct ...

of the Contest of Folk Instrument Performers in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Upon completing his studies, he joined the

Smolensk Folk Orchestra Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the old ...

as a balalaika soloist. From 1998 on he toured around

and abroad with the State Academic Folk Ensemble "Rossiya" directed by

Lyudmila Zykina Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina (russian: link=no, Людми́ла Гео́ргиевна Зы́кина; 10 June 1929 – 1 July 2009) was a national folk singer of Russia. She was born in Moscow and joined the Pyatnitsky Choir in 1947. Her surna ...

. Starting from 2002, he cooperated with Stas Namin, the musician, composer, and record producer. As a soloist-performer, Alexey Arkhipovsky took part in Russian culture festivals in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, China,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. He participated in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

festivals in

and abroad, in radio and TV programmes. In 2004

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

remarked that Alexei Arkhipovsky's balalaika solo on weeklong Russian Nights Festival, (was) full of impressive irony and virtuosity. In August 2006 the Dutch daily «

De Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized ...

» commented about Arhipovsky participating in the Jazz Zomer Fiets Tour in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

: “Arhipovsky is a mix of such guitar’s gods as

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock music, rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, ...

and

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

and this on a traditional triangular and three stringed folk instrument. His technique catches breath; his sound is all-spacious. The sparkling expressiveness in his rendering of traditional melodies sets your teeth on edge”.http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2844/Archief/archief/article/detail/787458/2006/08/28/Russen-maken-er-in-Groningen-meer-een-tentoonstelling-van.dhtml In 2009, he was invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the second semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. The reactions to his performance included comparisons to

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

but with a

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

approach.

Original discography

*DVD album “Alexey Arhipovsky” 2009

References

External links

Official site
(in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arkhipovsky, Alexey 1967 births Russian balalaika players People from Tuapse Living people