Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev, Vol. 1

The present collection is the first volume of selected works by Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev (1888–1963). While the prominence of world-renowned classical composers, pianists, violinists, cellists from the former USSR is well-known, the 20th-century history of guitar in Russia is a sad one. Because of a number of unfortunate circumstances, both varieties of guitar in this country –– the Western-European six-string and the Russian seven-string –– were mostly out of favor with Soviet officials. The guitar in Russia had a very late start, and only towards the end of the 20th century did Russian guitarists reach the international arena. At the same time, the guitar compositions of Pavlov-Azancheev stand alone in this context. He was a conservatory-trained cellist, orchestra conductor, and composer, who learned the Russian seven-string guitar (tuned DGBdgbd’) in his adolescence and carried it with him through his difficult life, including ten years in one of Stalin’s labor camps (1945–55). His most ambitious guitar pieces are found in the manuscript that he compiled from 1928 to 1935, the pages which are used for the cover design of our volumes. This publication is produced by Oleg Timofeyev (Iowa City, US) and Stefan Wester (Piteå, Sweden), who spent four years discussing and polishing their editorial decisions. This collection is a treasure of 20th-century music for anybody who pursues a performing career on the Russian guitar, but we firmly believe that it also should be of great interest to all guitarists.