Mikhail I. Imkhanitskii

Scholar, educator, methodologist, bayan performer, and composer.

After graduating from the Kharkiv Specialized Music Boarding School in 1964, he enrolled in the Kharkiv Institute of Arts the same year, joining the Faculty of Folk Instruments, and in 1965, he also entered the Faculty of History, Theory, and Composition. 

In 1969, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Folk Instruments as a concert bayan performer (class of L. M. Gorenko) and an orchestra conductor (class of V. F. Savinykh). In 1970, he graduated from the Faculty of History, Theory, and Composition (class of music theory under M. D. Tits and I. N. Dubinin). During his five years of study at the latter faculty, he also studied composition under Prof. D. L. Klebanov. From 1971 to 1973, he taught score reading and analysis, instrumentation, and orchestration at the Kharkiv Institute of Arts.

In 1973, he entered the postgraduate program at the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music) under the supervision of Professor O. M. Agarkov and began teaching at the Faculty of Folk Instruments there. He completed his postgraduate studies in 1976 and, in 1977, defended his Candidate of Sciences dissertation, «Music for Russian Folk Instrument Orchestras at the Present Stage», at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography (LGITMiK).

Since 1977, he has been a faculty member of the Department of Folk Instruments at the Gnesin Institute; he became an Associate Professor in 1983 and a Professor in 1990.

In 1989, he defended his doctoral dissertation, «Formation and Development of the Russian Folk Instrumental Culture of the Written Tradition», at the National Music Academy of Ukraine.
In 1999, he became a Full Member of the International Academy of Informatization. Since 1977, M. I. Imkhanitsky has served as the Deputy Head of the Department of Folk Instruments for scientific and methodological work. 

He is the author of numerous musical compositions, including a symphony, a quartet, a sonata for bayan, a concertino for bayan and piano (also arranged for a bayan duo), vocal works, and others. He has authored over 350 scientific and methodological works, articles in periodicals, curricula, and teaching materials.

Among his most significant works are the following monographs:

• History of Bayan and Accordion Art;
• Music by Foreign Composers for Bayan and Accordion;
• History of Performance on Russian Folk Instruments;
• At the Origins of Russian Folk Orchestral Culture;
• New Trends in Music for Russian Folk Orchestra;
• The Works of Yuri Shishakov;
• New Perspectives on Articulation and Bowing/Strokes on the Bayan;
• The Development of Plucked String Folk Instruments in Russia.

Articles:

• «The Creative Work of A. Repnikov for Bayan»;
• «A. Repnikov’s Works in the Pedagogical Repertoire of Bayan Players»;
• «Articulation and Bowing/Strokes in Bayan Intonation».

The series of collections «The Bayan Duo: Theory and Practice», which are included in the curricula of all higher education institutions of arts and culture in Russia, as well as in Ukraine, Belarus, and other states.

M. I. Imkhanitsky is also the author of curricula for music universities, including courses on the history of performance on Russian folk instruments, the bayan class, and others.

Throughout his academic career, he has taught a wide variety of disciplines: specialized bayan/accordion class, ensemble, accompaniment practice, instrumentation, analysis and score reading, as well as supervising student diploma theses, doctoral dissertations of postgraduates and applicants, and assistant-interns.

M. I. Imkhanitsky created the course «Introduction to the Specialty», which was taught for a number of years at the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute. Since 1984, he has developed and continues to teach the course «History of Performance on Russian Folk Instruments».  

M. I. Imkhanitsky’s most significant scientific achievements include: the first discovery in musicology of depictions of ancient Russian domras from the 16th-17th centuries; the provision of a historical and theoretical foundation for the deep-rooted nature of domra-balalaika culture in Russia; the identification of the features of its modern existence and prospects for further development; and the discovery of numerous previously unknown materials on the history of the bayan, accordion, and folk instrument orchestras.

M. I. Imkhanitsky frequently gives lectures, masterclasses, presentations, and open lessons. He serves as an official opponent at dissertation defenses and is a member of several academic dissertation councils, including those at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.

Among M. I. Imkhanitsky’s students are 8 laureates of international music performance competitions (students from his class: G. Guryev, Ya. Meysl, K. Shtybin; assistant-interns: A. Mishchenko, I. Snedkov, Ya. Ramich; interns: E. Omelnitskaya, O. Parfentyeva). Under his scientific supervision, 9 PhD (Candidate of Arts) dissertations have been defended (S. Platonova, A. Motuzas, V. Galaktionov, V. Novozhilov, S. Kulibaba, V. Vasiliev, K. Yunoki-Oie, Z. Rakic, R. Rakhimov — the latter is now a Doctor of Arts). Many of his students are now professors and associate professors at various music universities.

Many of his published works and collections of scientific and methodological articles have become part of standard educational practice. They are consistently used in courses on the history of performance, methods of teaching the bayan, organology, orchestration, and in seminars on contemporary music, among others.

List of major publications:

• History of Performance on Russian Folk Instruments. Textbook for Russian music universities and colleges. — Moscow, 2002. — 22 p. sh.;
• History of Bayan and Accordion Art. Textbook for higher and secondary educational institutions of arts and culture. — Moscow, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. — 32.5 p. sh.;
• Music by Foreign Composers for Bayan and Accordion. Textbook for Russian music universities and colleges. — Moscow: Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2004. — 29 p. sh.;
• The Formation of Plucked String Folk Instruments in Russia. Publishing Department of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. — 23 p. sh. (368 pages);
• «Contemporary Music for the Russian Folk Orchestra and the Tasks of Training Performers» // Issues of Musical Performance and Pedagogy. Proceedings of the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, Vol. 24. — Moscow, 1976. — 3.1 p. sh.;
• The Work of Yuri Shishakov. Monograph. — Moscow, Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1976. — 6 p. sh.;
• New Trends in Contemporary Music for the Russian Folk Orchestra. — Moscow, Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, 1981. — 5 p. sh.;
• «Arrangements of Musical Classics in the Contemporary Repertoire of the Russian Folk Orchestra» // Musical Classics in Contemporary Performance and Pedagogy. Proceedings of the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, Vol. 53. Ed. A. V. Malinkovskaya. — Moscow, 1981. — 1.3 p. sh.;
• «Working on A. Repnikov’s Concertos in the Bayan Class» // Musical Pedagogy and Performance on Russian Folk Instruments. Proceedings of the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, Vol. 74. — Moscow, 1984. — 1.7 p. sh.;
• At the Origins of Russian Folk Orchestral Culture. Monograph. — Moscow: Muzyka, 1987. — 12 p. sh.;
• «The Works of Albin Repnikov for Bayan» // Bayan and Bayanists, Vol. 7. — Moscow: Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1987. — 2.5 p. sh.;
• Improving the Ensemble Skills of a Bayanist. — Moscow: Republican Methodological Cabinet of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, 1989. (Co-authored with A. V. Mishchenko). — 2.5 p. sh.;
• Developing Intonation Skills on the Bayan. — Moscow: Republican Methodological Cabinet of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, 1989. (Co-authored with A. V. Mishchenko). — 2.5 p. sh.;
• «Yuri Kazakov» // Narodnik, 1994, No. 4; 1995, No. 1. — 1.5 p. sh.;
• «The Pedagogical Activity of V. A. Semenov’s Pedagogical Activity // Narodnik, 1995, No. 4; 1996, No. 1. — 2 printer’s sheets;
• How «Folk» Are Folk Instruments? // Narodnik, 1998, No. 1. (1.1 printer’s sheets);
• Friedrich Lips (on his 50th birthday). // Narodnik, 1998, No. 2, No. 3. — 2 printer’s sheets;
• The Twentieth Anniversary of the Alexander Mishchenko — Igor Snedkov Duo // Narodnik, 1999, No. 1.  — 0.4 printer’s sheets;
• Boris Petrovich Kravchenko // Narodnik, 1999, No. 4. — 1 printer’s sheet;
• The Role of the Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra in the Development of Folk-Instrumental Culture in the States of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia // Orchestras of Folk Instruments in Interethnic Communication — Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 1999. — 1 printer’s sheet, co-authored with B. M. Voron;
• New Perspectives on Articulation and Bowing/Strokes on the Bayan. Moscow: Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 1997. — 2.8 printer’s sheets;
• Yuri Kazakov // Portraits of Soviet Bayan Players. — Moscow, «Sovetsky Kompozitor», 2001. — 1.7 printer’s sheets;
• Friedrich Lips // Portraits of Soviet Bayan Players. — Moscow, «Sovetsky Kompozitor», 2001. — 2 printer’s sheets;
• Vyacheslav Semenov (co-authored with V. V. Ushenin) // Portraits of Soviet Bayan Players. — Moscow, «Sovetsky Kompozitor», 2001. — 1.9 printer’s sheets;
• So, Are Folk Instruments Really «Folk»? // Narodnik, 2001, No. 3, No. 4. — 1.5 printer’s sheets;
• Curriculum for Music Universities: «History of Performance on Russian Folk Instruments». Moscow, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2005. — 2 printer’s sheets;
• The Gusli in the Contemporary Musical Space // Gusli. Multi-stringed Fretless Instruments, 2007, No. 1. — 0.5 printer’s sheets;
• Articulation and Strokes in Bayan Intonation (Reflections on I. A. Braudo’s book «Articulation») // Issues of Contemporary Bayan and Accordion Art and Pedagogy — Proceedings of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Vol. 178. Moscow, 2010. — 7.1 printer’s sheets.

Most significant edited collections:

• V. V. Khvatov. Memoirs, Articles, Letters. — Moscow, «Sovetsky Kompozitor», 1985. (14 printer’s sheets);
• Musical Pedagogy and Performance on Russian Folk Instruments. — Proceedings of the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, Vol. 74. — Moscow, 1985. (9.5 printer’s sheets, co-edited with V. Kuzovlev);
• The Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra and Problems of Conductor Training. — Proceedings of the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute, Vol. 85. — Moscow, 1986. (9.75 printer’s sheets, co-edited with V. Chistyakov);
• Folk Instruments in the Musical Culture of Russia. Conference Abstracts, Astrakhan, April 1998. — Astrakhan, 1998. (1.5 printer’s sheets);
• Issues of Theory and History of Performance on Russian Folk Instruments. Conference Abstracts, Astrakhan, May 1998. — Astrakhan, 1998. (2.8 printer’s sheets);
• Collection «Questions of theory and history of performance on Russian folk instruments.» Conference abstracts in Astrakhan, May 1998 — Astrakhan, 1998. — 2.8 sheets;
• Collection «Problems of pedagogy and performance on Russian folk instruments». Works of the Gnesin State Musical-Pedagogical Institute; issue 95 — Moscow, 1987. 8.5 sheets;
• Collection «Portraits of Soviet Bayan Players» — Moscow, «Sov. Composer», 1991. — 19 sheets;
• V. Galaktionov «The Enchanting Song of His Bayan» (about I. Panitsky) — Saratov, 1985. 3 sheets;
• «Orchestras of folk instruments in international communication» — Gnesin RAM, 1999. — 9.5 sheets;
• Collection by V. Bryzgalin. Polyphonic Dictionary of a Young Musician — Kurgan, 2000 — 20 sheets;
• Collection by V. Bryzgalin. The First Polyphonic School. Notebooks 1, 2, 3 — Kurgan, 2001 — 36 sheets; Collection by V. Bryzgalin. Joyful Music Making. Anthology of Ensemble Music. Vol. 1 — 32.5 sheets;
• Collection «Issues of Modern Bayan and Accordion Art» // Works of Gnesin RAM, issue 178. Moscow, 2010.

Among significant musical compositions published:

• M. I. Imkhanitsky. Sonata for Bayan in Three Parts. Moscow, 2008.