Valery Gavrilin

Russian composer Valery Gavrilin (1939–1999) was born in Vologda. From the age of 12 to 16, Gavrilin went to the music school in Leningrad to study clarinet, piano and composition. In 1954, he graduated from the Conservatory with two specialities: composition (under Professor Orest Evlakhov) and musicology (under Professor F.A. Rubtsov). Shortly thereafter, Gavrilin published the vocal cycle that would make his name, the Russian Notebook. He continued at the Conservatory as a teacher. Both the aesthetics and the style in Gavrilin's art are the vivid example of the neo-romantic. It can be seen in the composer's inclination towards the genre of song mostly favored by romantics. To reveal the tragic content the composer uses the developed and symphonized song form, which is sometimes close in the manner of intonation to "crying" and "lamentations". They are traditional genres of a Russian village song. In Gavrilin's instrumental music, an appreciable place is given to a programme miniature, to character and genre pieces forming his suites, orchestra suits and variety entertainments. Having been staged in the Naples theatre San-Carlo and in the Bolshoy in Moscow by V. Vasiliev, Gavrilin's ballet Anyuta became widely known.