Oleg Timofeyev
Encyclopedia
Oleg Vitalyevich Timofeyev ' onMouseout='HidePop("36376")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
), is an American musicologist
and musician of Russian origin, specializing in lute
and Russian guitar
. He is best known for his pioneering work in the discovery, promotion, interpretation, and authentic performance of the repertoire for the 19th- and 20th-century Russian seven-string guitar
.
(1993), and a Ph.D. in Performance Practice from Duke University
(1999) . Since 1983 he has been performing early music on authentic instruments of the plucked family (lute
, guitar
). In 1989 his musical interests brought him to the U.S., where he studied with Patrick O'Brien, James Tyler, and Hopkinson Smith
.
, the Kolpakov Trio (Timofeyev, Kolpakov Trio and Talisman 2005), and the American guitarist John Schneidermann (Timofeyev and Schneidermann 2006). Among the fruits of his research has been his rediscovery and recording the music of Matvej Pavlov-Azancheev (1888–1963), who was among the rare composers for the seven-string guitar in the first half of the twentieth century.
Timofeyev has performed and taught widely in Europe and the United States. A recipient of numerous scholarly awards, including IREX
and Fulbright
fellowships, he has taught and lectured at Maimonides State Academy (Moscow), Duke University
, the University of Kansas
, Northwestern University
, Princeton University
, the University of Iowa
, Grinnell College
, and the Smithsonian
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
), is an American musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and musician of Russian origin, specializing in lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
and Russian guitar
Russian guitar
The Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban...
. He is best known for his pioneering work in the discovery, promotion, interpretation, and authentic performance of the repertoire for the 19th- and 20th-century Russian seven-string guitar
Russian guitar
The Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban...
.
Studies
Timofeyev comes from a musical family, being the son of cellist Natalia Timofeyeva. He began his study of the classical guitar in the early 1980s under the tutelage of Kamill Frauchi, about whom he later produced a documentary film, Frautschi . He holds an M.A. in Early Music Performance from the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(1993), and a Ph.D. in Performance Practice from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
(1999) . Since 1983 he has been performing early music on authentic instruments of the plucked family (lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
). In 1989 his musical interests brought him to the U.S., where he studied with Patrick O'Brien, James Tyler, and Hopkinson Smith
Hopkinson Smith
Hopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
.
Revival of the Russian seven-string guitar
Since earning his doctorate he has worked for the revival of Russian music played with authentic technique on the seven-string guitar, often in collaboration with other artists, including the Russian Roma guitarist Sasha KolpakovSasha Kolpakov
Sacha Kolpakov . Coming from a "Servo" family, a group of Romani people found mostly in Russia and Ukraine, he started playing a seven string guitar at an early age while living in the region of Saratov...
, the Kolpakov Trio (Timofeyev, Kolpakov Trio and Talisman 2005), and the American guitarist John Schneidermann (Timofeyev and Schneidermann 2006). Among the fruits of his research has been his rediscovery and recording the music of Matvej Pavlov-Azancheev (1888–1963), who was among the rare composers for the seven-string guitar in the first half of the twentieth century.
Timofeyev has performed and taught widely in Europe and the United States. A recipient of numerous scholarly awards, including IREX
International Research & Exchanges Board
International Research & Exchanges Board is an international nonprofit organization providing leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development....
and Fulbright
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
fellowships, he has taught and lectured at Maimonides State Academy (Moscow), Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
, and the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
External links
- Олег Витальевич Тимофеев - Biography in Russian in the Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedic Dictionary: Guitarists and Composers by V. V. and S. V. Tavrovskij (В.В. и С.В Тавровские, ред., Иллюстрированный биографический энциклопедический словарь: Гитаристы и композиторы)
- Semistrunka - Timofeyev's personal website with project and discography listings
- International Academy for Russian Musica, Arts, and Culture - Foundation for the promotion of the Russian seven-string guitar, its music, and tradition
- Iowa Roots: Oleg Timofeyev, Russian Jewish Guitarist - Interview with audio files and text by the Iowa Arts Council
- Mel Bay Artist's Profile: Oleg Timofeyev
- Talisman Ensemble