IX Tallinn feat. Reval – The Story of the Seven-String Guitar

The Story of the Seven-String Guitar – England, Poland, Ukraine

Programme: R. Bremner, I. von Held, A. Sychra, P. Pettoletti, V. Sarenko and others

Oleg Timofeyev – Romantic seven-string guitar (USA)

Where did the Russian seven-string guitar come from, and why does it have such an unusual tuning? What connection did the instrument’s development have with the Third Partition of Poland in 1795? Why were the first players of the seven-string guitar in Moscow and St Petersburg not Russians, but Poles, Czechs or Germans? And how can the Ukrainian dance kozak, or kozachok, help us understand the links between Russian and Polish guitar traditions?

At this concert, Oleg Timofeyev—a musicologist, guitarist, composer and documentary filmmaker, regarded as one of the leading international experts on this tradition—will explore the fascinating history and musical world of the Russian seven-string guitar. He will perform music on two historical instruments, the oldest of which dates back to 1761.

Oleg Timofeyev earned a master’s degree in early music performance from the University of Southern California and a doctorate from Duke University. He has received two IREX grants, two Fulbright research and teaching exchange grants, and the prestigious Noah Greenberg Award for the CDs “Music of Russian Princesses at the Court of Catherine the Great.” Timofeyev has recorded more than twenty solo and ensemble albums featuring music for the seven-string guitar, and has taught at universities and conservatories in the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

His publications include a book on Russian-Romani guitar playing (Centerstream, 2018) and a critical edition of the collected works of Matvei Pavlov-Azantcheev (co-edited with Stefan Wester, DGA Editions, 2020). In 2023, Cambridge Scholars Publishing released his monograph, the first comprehensive historical study of the seven-string guitar.

For more information about festival concerts with paid admission, free admission or youth concerts requiring a museum ticket, as well as masterclasses, workshops and meetings, visit the festival website: www.tallinnfeatreval.eu