Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev (; 26 December 1918)
article on the city site of Bezhetsk was a Russian musician responsible for the modern development of the
balalaika and several other
traditional Russian folk music instruments, and is considered the
father of the academic
folk instrument movement in Eastern Europe. His accomplishments included:
* developing in the 1880s a standardized
balalaika made with the assistance of violin maker V. Ivanov.
[History of balalaika]
* reviving the domra, a three-stringed long-necked melody instrument with a melon-shaped body, which he developed in prima, alto, tenor, and bass sizes.
* reviving the gusli, an autoharp chorded with piano-type keys.
* arranging many traditional Russian folk songs and melodies for the orchestra[
* composing many tunes of his own.][
]
Biography
Vasily Andreyev was born in Bezhetsk, Tver Governorate, Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
to the family of an honorary citizen of Bezhetsk and merchant of the first guild, Vasily Andeyevich Andreyev and his wife, the noblewoman Sophia Mikhaylovna Andreyeva. When the boy was one year old, his father died. The family moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, where the boy was brought up by his stepfather, Nil Seslavin.[ At the age of ten, Vasily began playing the balalaika and other folk instruments.][
Initially, Andreyev was studying to play the violin and working as a musician in the various salons catering to European tourists to the Russian capital. On numerous occasions, he was asked about performing traditional Russian music, and he started collecting examples. He once came upon a peasant playing a balalaika and had the instrument copied. His solo performances were very popular, and a group of players developed around him. He also developed an ensemble playing different sized balalaikas that proved to be very successful. Ultimately, the group grew into a full orchestra.
In 1887 Andreyev was inspired by Ginislao Paris' mandolin orchestra.][
The popularity of Andreyev's group grew significantly after their performance in Paris, France at the world Exhibition, where they became celebrities.
]
The Great Russian Orchestra
In 1881 Andreyev organized his '' Great Russian orchestra'' that included string instruments: four types of domras, six types of balalaika, gusli, woodwind instruments: zhaleikas; percussion instruments: makras (a sort of timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
), bubens. Many instruments were heavily customized to work in an orchestra setting. In a few years, the orchestra became famous, generating thousands of followers as well as causing an explosion of balalaika compositions.
Criticism
Still many members of the intelligentsia criticized the orchestra and its instruments for being not Russian (as the name implies) but Turkish.[ More recently, Iurii Boiko pointed out in 1984 that the orchestra's technique of playing a melody in the form of a sustained tremolo on one stringmuch copied and widely thought of as "Russian" in style (witness Maurice Jarre's film score for ]David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...
's '' Doctor Zhivago'')is in fact not a Russian manner of playing at all; rather, it was a technique borrowed by Andreyev from the Neapolitan mandolin orchestra.[cited by Olson (2004), p.17]
This new form of folk music gained international popularity after Andreyev's many concert tours in Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
between 1900 and 1910.
Notes and references
External links
Государственный академический русский оркестр им. В.В.Андреева
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andreyev, Vassily Vassilievich
1861 births
1918 deaths
People from Bezhetsk
People from Bezhetsky Uyezd
Musicians from the Russian Empire
Balalaika players
Members of the Russian Assembly
Russian inventors
Inventors from the Russian Empire
Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery