Andrey Vinogradov

Andrey Vinogradov is a Russian magician of hurdy-gurdy who mostly gives solo performances. He plays modern European hurdy-gurdy (or viola) crafted by Wolfgang Weichselbaumer from Vienna. With this perfect instrument he presents a peculiar mix of ethnic tunes (Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian,Greek, Austrian, etc.), contemporary classical music, jazz improvisations and authentic Russian sacred chants. Andrey’s virtuoso playing technique and elaborate multidimensional compositions create a unique musical atmosphere. The high point of his concert is usually a “Reverse Dance”, a piece which has got more than 6 million views on YouTube lately. Being a devoted enthusiast and popularizer of his instrument, after the show he usually answers the questions about his certain hurdy-gurdy, which is more sophisticated than a common Russian version.

Andrey started his musical career in the early 1980s as a keyboard player in Alexey Kozlov’s Arsenal group. Later he got interested in world music and recorded several CDs as a composer and arranger.

Having mastered playing hurdy-gurdy Andrey took part in numerous musical festivals in Russia and abroad and recorded two albums dedicated to the Russian wheel lyre ("Russian Hurdy-Gurdy Tunes" and "Russian Strolling Beggars Tunes"), and three CDs - "Music For Hurdy-Gurdy", "Aequilibrium", and "Distant Calls" – where he plays instrument of European style.

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