Yurii Alekseevic Smirnov is a guitarist and composer from St. Petersburg, where he was born in 1935. His name is well-known in guitar and musical circles, but also in the theatrical scene, for Smirnov has been working for 30 years at the "Bol'shoj Dramaticheskiy Teatr imeni G. Towstonogowa" at St. Petersburg, thus providing a worthy contribution not only to the guitar society of St. Petersburg, but to the theatrical one as well. In the beginnings of his musical activity his name is connected with those of the guitarists and teachers Piotr Isakov and Yadgiva Kovaleskaia, who are the major contributors to the success of the guitar school of S. Petersburg, which is already seeing its second and third generation of students. Yurij Smirnov finished the night school “Rimski-Korsakov” in guitar and then the class in orchestra at the Institute of Culture at Leningrad; he was the first guitarist to graduate from this school. Smirnov's music has been used frequently in radio and television programs, and in performances in many theaters. His works absorbed the best features of the various genres of the forms of the theatrical music. His music is characterized by a plasticity of form and of melodic theme, thanks more to his classical training than to the influence of contemporary musical innovation, and certainly to his splendid utilization of the rich resources offered by the guitar as a concert instrument. In his works Smirnov is drawn more to the miniature than to large-scale forms. Beyond his original compositions Smirnov has produced a large number of arrangements and transcriptions for guitar of the works of other composers. Among those of his works most frequently done in concert are several that make use of Russian popular songs, such as the “Sredi doliny rovnya,” by Mikhail Visotskij; and the “Fantasia of Shumeev,” using the theme of the romance “Kalikta” (“The gate”); among his frequently performed original compositions are “Oriental Picture;” “Romance” (dedicated to his teacher Yadviga Kovaleskaia); “Pushkin Waltz;” “Concert Piece;” “Oriental Dance;” and “Fantasia on Russian Themes.” Smirnov, who years of theatrical activity have enabled him to visit over 20 countries, has written music for many diverse instruments, and has learned to play them as well. In his hands the classical guitar meets fully the expectations of the soloist, as well as for the accompaniment of singers and actors, not just as a "classical" solo instrument, but also in the related genres of jazz and pop guitar. Among the merits of Yurij Smirnov as a composer one needs mention his talent for sketching out pieces of small porportions, such as dances, as well as studies of pure and expressive musical form. The music of the composer is inclined more to thematic perfection than to development, and in this sense is very accessible to the listener. Of great interest is the fact that many of his pieces are dedicated to children; among his works a significant proportion are pieces which are easy and intended for teaching, and several studies which are worthy of publication either under their own titles or in school collections. We cannot refrain from mentioning another field in which as composer Smirnov acquits himself well, and that is the song forms ballad and romance. These forms allow the composer to express more vividly his melodic gift. Further, the romances of Smirnov complement the verses of classical and contemporary poets wonderfully. S. Ilyin
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List of the works of Yuri Smirnov
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