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Professors discouraged me against grad school - and it worked

Fun fact -- I did not go to grad school -- my only degree is a bachelor's in viola performance. Everything else I do -- I learned on the job. This was not the original plan.

Fun fact — I did not go to grad school — my only degree is a bachelor’s in viola performance. Everything else I do — composing, arranging, film scoring, improvisation, fadolín, recording — are things I’ve gained experience in outside of an academic setting, on the job, in the act of doing. This was not the original plan — I intended to go to college and major in music composition, but my dad,…

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Are you looking for a world premiere? Step right up!

Friends - In my composing work, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had most of the pieces I've composed performed at least once. This is a post about the opposite -- pieces I've composed that haven't (yet) been performed. A video playlist awaits you!

Dear Friends, In my composing work, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had most of the pieces I’ve composed performed at least once. This is a post about the opposite — pieces I’ve composed that haven’t (yet) been performed. Rather than speculate on why these pieces never received a single hearing, I’m going to share the score demos below, in the hope that you — or someone you know — might be…

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Checkpoint 45

In the winter of 1977-1978, my parents, composer Alexander Zhurbin and poet Irena Ginzburg embarked on an ambitious collaborative project, the ramifications of which are still unknown, the effects of which are still compounding in front of our eyes....

Dear Friends, In the winter of 1977-1978, my parents, composer Alexander Zhurbin and poet Irena Ginzburg embarked on an ambitious collaborative project, the ramifications of which are still unknown, the effects of which are still compounding in front of our eyes. After an initial incubation period, their project came up for air on August 18, 1978, and, as you might expect, I gave my first…

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Shtetl Portrait

"Shtetl Portrait" was the first piece that came out of this beautiful fadolín, at the house of its maker, Alexander Tulchinsky, in Connecticut, in early February of 2022. I often play "Shtetl Portrait" as a warmup while practicing. It's quiet and tender.

Ljova: Shtetl Portrait (2022)Ljova, fadolín Ljova’s fadolín was made by Alexander TulchinskyCreated with support of Ljova’s Patreon community. “Shtetl Portrait” was the first piece that came out of this beautiful fadolín, at the house of its maker, Alexander Tulchinsky, in Connecticut, in early February of 2022. It’s inspired by a vision of a portrait — perhaps an early photograph — of a family…

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Where are the off-ramps?

Something I've been thinking about for a while -- the internet experience as many of us know it has become insufferable. Could there be any alternative? If you could offer your friends & fans a better way to experience your work, why wouldn't you? #ideas

The internet experience as many of us know it has become insufferable. Could there possibly be any alternative? If you could offer your friends and fans a better way to experience your work, why wouldn’t you? On the ‘Book and ‘Gram, there are ads and recommended posts between every two to four posts from people you follow; on the ‘Tube, there are one or two ads before a video — sometimes as long…

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Trio Fadolín returns to the Metropolitan Museum's Petrie Court Cafe this Friday and Saturday!

Our group Trio Fadolín (with Sabina Torosjan on violin, Ljova on fadolín and Valeriya Sholokhova on cello) returns to the Petrie Court Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this Friday and Saturday, July 21 and 22, for live music from 6pm until 8:30 ---

Hello friends! Our group Trio Fadolín (with Sabina Torosjan on violin, Ljova on fadolín and Valeriya Sholokhova on cello) returns to the Petrie Court Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this Friday and Saturday, July 21 and 22, for live music from 6pm until 8:30 — free with museum admission! The venue is a gorgeous expansive salon overlooking Central Park, and the bar will be running 2-for-1…

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Trio Fadolín in Times Square / Carnegie Hall Citywide

A brief photo report about Trio Fadolín's performance in Times Square as part of Carnegie Hall Citywide -- and also a check to see how well I can post to various socials directly via Wordpress. Let's try! Thanks for looking.

In June 2023, our group Trio Fadolín (with Sabina Torosjan, Valeriya Sholokhova and myself) had the great joy of playing in the heart of Times Square as part of the Carnegie Hall Citywide series, an event made even more joyous by the fact that the show was once postponed due to rain — second time was the charm! The weather was perfect, and the concert was all the more precious that all of our…

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Trio Fadolín and Alexander Zhurbin and Irena Ginzburg at Lincoln Center Atrium

When I was a kid, my parents – composer Alexander Zhurbin and poet/vocalist Irena Ginzburg – would often perform shows together. These shows would typically consist of three parts – first, my dad would come out to play piano and sing his many hits and banter with the public. Eventually he would invite me to the stage and we’d play a song or two – and for the final act, my mom would come out and…

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Twin Hallelujahs

Which "Hallelujah" shall we play today -- how about both? ..

Which “Hallelujah” shall we play today — how about both? A few days ago my Canadian viola brother Pemi Paull posted a delicious VIOLACAM video of him and his stand partner playing the Hallelujah chorus with an orchestra in Montreal.. And then I thought – there’s another Montreal-local “Hallelujah” — can they go together? Let’s try.So here’s that — Twin Hallelujahs, featuring the great duo…

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Ljova's Extra Trout Variations, live from the Musikverein in Vienna

Sometime ago as a student at Juilliard, I wrote extra variations on the "Trout" theme as an encore -- hear them now performed beautifully in Vienna's Musikverein!

Ljova (after Schubert) — “Trout Out and About” Altenberg Trio Vienna: Christopher Hinterhuber, Piano – Ziyu He, violin and Christoph Stradner plus Gerhard Marschner, viola and Dominik Wagner, double bass. What do you play as an encore after Schubert’s “Trout Quintet”? During my first or second year of studies at The Juilliard SChool I had the fortune of playing this piece as a violist with Lera…

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The Fadolín Trio performs Ljova's "Plume"

A new live studio recording of Ljova's "Plume" by The Fadolín Trio

Ljova: Plume performed by The Fadolín Trio Sabina Torosjan, violin Valeriya Sholokhova, cello Ljova, fadolín recorded by John Kilgore mixed by James Sizemore filmed by The Fadolín Trio and edited by Ljova Check out The Fadolín Trio‘s page for more videos and upcoming performances!

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Natalia Lafourcade - Que te vayo bonito Nicolás (with arrangements by Ljova)

Grateful to have written a string arrangement for Natalia Lafourcade's new album that was released today! #natalialafourcade #graciasvida

I first met Natalia Lafourcade in 2010 when creating arrangements for the Mexican bicentennial with conductor Alondra de la Parra. Here are some of those first arrangements. Since that time, Natalia and I have worked together on many orchestral projects, including twice with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil, and during the pandemic I had the honor of recording strings for her video of “Alfonsína y…

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Where to watch Alberto and the Concrete Jungle

A quick post about where you can watch "Alberto and the Concrete Jungle", the soundtrack to which forms the bulk of my new album "Lost in Kino 2" -- enjoy!

Some of you have asked where it’s possible to watch Alberto and the Concrete Jungle, the soundtrack to which forms the bulk of my new album “Lost in Kino 2” — well, these days you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime! (You can also find it on YouTube – though I’m unsure if you’ll have to endure it with ads… lots of ads there lately..) Alberto and the Concrete Jungle should have been a massive…

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The Gaze (from Lost in Kino 2)

Ljova's new album "Lost in Kino 2" releases in one week -- here's a video of the first track, "The Gaze", from Banning Bouldin's dance work "The Triangle", filmed at Oz Arts Nashville

“The Gaze” from the dance work “The Triangle” by Banning Bouldin score composed and performed by Ljova available on Ljova’s new album “Lost in Kino 2” performers James Barrett David Flores Becca Hoback Mary Ruth Isbell Emma Morrison Hadassah Perry Rebecca Steinberg Curtis Thomas director Banning Bouldin camera Baxter Hussung filmed at OZ Arts Nashville

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Chorinho 101

A little newsie: "Chorinho 101", written on a playground in about 2 minutes -- enjoy! #fadolín #fadolin #chorinho #brasil #brazil #patreonsupported

Ljova: Chorinho 101 Ljova, fadolín composed October 6, 2022 Patreon supported –> https://patreon.com/ljova ©2022 Ljova Music (ASCAP) / http://www.Ljova.com #fadolín #ljova #music #patreon #choro #brasil #brazil

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The Compost Post

Ljova – The Compost PostJuly 6 2022Ljova, fadolín and composition How many fiddle tunes were inspired by composting? It’s a small “hill” to — “good composers never die, they just decomp — “ So after nearly nine years of taking our compost to the farmers market on a weekly basis, this week our building had its first collection! We’ve gone back to the future here in a real sense. To celebrate…

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