Vasily Andreev - Russian musician, balalaika virtuoso, composer. He organized and directed the first orchestra of folk instruments in Russian history. Andreev introduced the fashion for Russian folk instruments, which won recognition all over the world, ensured their distribution on the stage.
The biography of Vasily Vasilyevich began in 1861. He was born in Bezhetsk on January 3 (15) into a merchant's family. The son did not continue his father's business. He chose music. Andreev is not just a composer. He is an excellent organizer and promoter of this art form.
Organizer of the folk orchestra
The musician gathered the first orchestra in St. Petersburg. He included a zhaleika, balalaika, gusli, tambourines in the composition. After concerts all over the country, the passion for playing the balalaika began. The composer himself mastered the instrument masterfully. In fact, he created a new area of musical creativity, the Russian folk-instrumental art of the written tradition. It included academic and folklore elements, so everything that Vasily Vasilyevich did became unique.
Balalaika fascinated the boy from childhood. He enjoyed his distinctive timbre and performance capabilities. The composer was distinguished by outstanding dedication. He liked a lively virtuoso performance, at the same time he remained a theorist who created many books on his favorite topic. Andreev was also engaged in the improvement of folk instruments since 1883. The composer did not leave his studies of academic music.
He received his violin education for three years from the outstanding master Nikolai Galkin, professor at the Conservatory. Therefore, Andreev's requirements for the balalaika are more typical for concert instruments. With the help of movable frets, it was possible to create only diatonic scales. Vasily Vasilievich took advantage of the chromatic fixed temperament, making a reformatory contribution to the improvement of the performance technique.
In 1887, the musician created the chromatic balalaika with Franz Passerbski. She immediately gained popularity. Balalaika School was published in the summer. For the first time, a folk instrument became academic, retaining all its characteristic features. Prospects for the development of the classical heritage with its help have appeared.
Modernizer
It was Andreev who became the author of the improved and improved instrument. Until this moment, the nationality was limited to the ethnography of origin. Now the balalaika has become widespread.
The phenomenon in musical history is recognized as unique. For a decade, the balalaika has traversed a path in centuries long. The fashion of the era was determined by many articles and a new performing technique created by Andreev. The improved model has become more accessible for beginners. The sound has acquired intonation sonority and distinctness, the form has become more convenient, and compactness has appeared. At the same time, the instrument retained its simplicity and low cost.
It was equally suitable for folk songs and for temperamental dances. Attracted by these virtues, enthusiasts willingly mastered the unknown art of music. The chromatic balalaika provided the composer with a huge number of students. Together with the teacher, they became the most popular orchestra in the city. The first concert took place on March 20, 1888.
Instrumental parts were duplicated, divided into bass, melody and chord accompaniment. Balalaikas played in unison. From eight people, the orchestra had doubled in size by the nineties. Having gained fame in the capital, the already famous Andreev began to popularize. He organized circles in military units.
According to him, after demobilization, the soldiers will begin to awaken love for the balalaika among their relatives. Folklore revived, aesthetic musical education of the broad masses began. The plays of the author are widely known. They were used as a base for training.
In 1897, a teaching staff was established in the army, they are busy promoting the balalaika game. Those who have learned performed at the Mariinsky Theater. About four hundred balalaika players performed at the tenth anniversary of the Andreev collective. At first, many officials and the military apparatus had to be convinced of their innocence.
After the triumph in St. Petersburg, folk orchestras began to appear throughout the country. The highest popularity was achieved by the composer's student Nikolai Fomin. The student of the conservatory added academicism and professionalism to the circles. He wrote many transcriptions and adaptations for the folk music orchestra. Fomin's works are recognized as classics. To a large extent, Vasily Vasilyevich himself influenced the student's education. The works of Andreev "Faun", "Meteor" turned into a guide for several musical generations.
Composer and virtuoso
Vasily Vasilyevich considered the uniformity of the balalaika composition to be a disadvantage. He set to work introducing new instruments into the orchestra. The program at their expense was updated with new works of the classics. In his quest for new opportunities, the composer turned to domra. Reconstructing it, the musician received a variety of timbre for the entire orchestra. The first improved designs appeared in 1896.
After their introduction, the orchestra began to be called the Great Russian, since new instruments were common in the middle and northern bands of the country. At the same time, the orchestra was replenished with reconstructed helmet gusli. From childhood, Andreev was fascinated by the harmonica. He played on it from an early age. Balalaika numbers often alternated with her.
The harmonica made it possible to perform serious and detailed works. But the harmonica did not become a member of the orchestra. It was more suited to urban songs, and the composer revived the early layers of folklore. Vasily Vasilyevich's works "Memories of Vienna", "Butterfly", "Polonaise No. 1", "Orchid" have become widely known numbers. The composer's arrangement of the folk song "Shines the Month" is popular to this day.
All the pieces are distinguished by their color, brightness and melody. Even recognized academics were impressed by the new instrumental composition. The influence of Andreev's work is noticeable in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera about the city of Kitezh. The idea of writing new large-scale works for their musicians was supported by the organizer of the orchestra. Concerts were successfully held all over the world.
The Italian composer Leoncavallo refused to attend the premiere of his opera "Pagliacci" in Berlin for the sake of attending Andreev's performance. During the Civil War, the composer and his orchestra performed at the front. The great leader passed away in 1918, on December 26. Until the last days, he remained faithful to his work and energetic.
