Тexт a russian soul mirrored in its art

The balalaika is a Russian folk instrument with three strings and a triangular body. It belongs to the category of plucked instruments. Thanks to the particular method of playing the balalaika is irreplaceable in rendering folk dance tunes and Russian songs. Among Russian folk instruments there is no other with a similar timbre. The balalaika became very widespread, particularly among Russian peasants, at the beginning of the 18th century. In the second half of the l9th century, a man appeared, Vassily Andreyev (1861 - 1918), who dedicated all his life to perfecting this instrument. Andreyev was a Russian musician, a virtuoso balalaika player, and the founder and director of the first orchestra of Russian folk instruments.

According to his instructions and design, the Russian balalaika underwent certain changes. The new instrument, more attractive to look at and made of finer material, acquired a fresh and vivid timbre. Andreyev did not create anything basically new, but gave the balalaika a more perfected form.

Using the new balalaika, Vassily Andreyev developed his skill for one year and achieved extraordinary virtuosity. In 1886 he gave his first public recital. His repertory consisted mainly of arrangements of Russian folk songs.

In 1887 he founded a circle of balalaika players. Soon, in 1888, his group gave its first public concert of Russian folk songs. Andreyev's balalaikas got remarkable popularity, both inside Russia and abroad. The Andreyev group was a terrific success at the World Fair in Paris in 1889. Andreyev was elected an honorary member of the French Academy of Arts.

Andreyev tried to make music accessible to people. His lifelong dream was materialized. Thousands of folk orchestras and groups can now be heard at Houses of Culture, clubs, schools and everywhere balalaikas take a prominent place.

A virtuoso balalaika player Mikhail Rozhkov has given recitals for nearly half a century now. “I am happy that my balalaika makes people's hearts beat faster, carries them away, moves them”, he said and then continued: “When the Russian writer Maxim Gorky was asked what the secret of the Russian soul was he said with a smile: “Listen to a Russian song. In it you will find the answer to your question. There is everything in a Russian song – the sweep, the depth, and the humor. The Russian character itself is expressed in it”.

“To this I would only add”, Rozhkov said, “that a good musician playing a balalaika can also beautifully bring out the Russian soul in all its richness”.

Mikhail Rozhkov is equally impressive when playing Russian folk melodies and music by contemporary composers. He has also proved that the little balalaika can do justice to the most complicated works of world classics. There is always a storm of applause, for example, when he performs Liszt's virtuoso “Hungarian Rhapsody” or Chopin's waltzes. His balalaika sounds wonderfully with an orchestra and is absolutely superb in a duet with a guitar.

Rozhkov has played to enthusiastic auditoriences in many countries of Europe, the Americas and Africa. Some of the most illustrious musicians around the world have expressed their admiration of his art. The American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, for instance, wrote to Rozhkov that listening to his balalaika had been a momentous experience in his life. He believed that as a musician Mikhail Rozhkov personified the Russian soul. “The balalaika has now become my favourite instrument”, Menuhin said. And the Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan sent the following message to Rozhkov after attending his concert: “To Mr. Rozhkov, the great master, the Paganini of the balalaika, with admiration”.

Proper Names

Franz Liszt [‘frxnts ’lIst]

Frederic Chopin [‘fredrIk ‘SoupxN]

Yehudi Menuhin [je’hHdI ‘menjuIn]

Herbert von Karajan [‘hWbqt fOn kRrR’jAn]

Nicolo Paganini [nI’koulou ,pxgq’nJnI]