Performer, composer and teacher.
In the history of world bayan art the personality of Vyacheslav Semenov, who brilliantly combines the talents of virtuoso performer, original composer and outstanding teacher, is unique. His vivid virtuosity, emotional openness, artistry and his vast and diverse repertoire, embracing works from many genres, periods and styles, together with his subtle insight into the composer’s intention, deep sense of melodic line and rhythm and many other qualities, have captivated audiences in many countries for decades. As a concert artist he has appeared in more than forty countries worldwide.
He was born in 1946. In 1964 he graduated from the Rostov Music College (bayan class of A. N. Krakhotkina), in 1969 from the Gnesin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute (bayan class of A. A. Surkov) and in 1974 completed a postgraduate assistant traineeship under O. M. Agarkov.
From 1968 he taught at the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory (then Rostov State Musical and Pedagogical Institute), where he headed the Folk Instruments Department from 1971. In 1983 he was awarded the title of Professor. Since 1988 he has been Professor at the Gnesin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute – Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. He has toured with recital programmes in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the United States, Italy, Bulgaria and Poland, and has taken part in international bayan and accordion seminars in France, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Since 1982 he has served as Vice‑President of the Music Committee of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA).
V. Semenov has given more than two hundred concerts in Russia and abroad and has presented over thirty composer portrait concerts with orchestras.
His music is performed in major concert halls in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Saratov, Rostov‑on‑Don and many other Russian cities. Numerous musicians worldwide enjoy performing his works, which are among the most frequently played pieces at international bayan competitions.
He is a diploma‑winner of the International Competition in Klingenthal (GDR, 1967, Fifth Prize), laureate of the Ninth World Festival of Youth and Students (Sofia, 1968, Bronze Medal), the All‑Union Competition of Soviet Youth (Voronezh, 1973, Third Prize for solo performance and First Prize in duo with balalaika player A. Danilov) and the Tenth World Festival of Youth and Students (Berlin, 1973, medal for duo performance with A. Danilov).
In 1995 he was awarded the title «People’s Artist of Russia». In 1999 he became a laureate of the International Composers’ Competition dedicated to the two‑thousandth anniversary of Christianity. In 2004 he received the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes award «For Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Accordion Art».
In 2005, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was awarded the Order of Friendship.
In 2008, at the Coupe Mondiale World Cup competition, he received First Prize as composer of the best original accordion work of that year.
In 2010 he was awarded the Gold Medal «Honoured Cultural Worker of Kuzbass».
In 2010 he became a member of the Union of Composers of Russia. In 2011 he received a Roland Company award for the best original composition of the year. In 2013, for his achievements as performer, composer and teacher, he was awarded the Paolo Soprani Prize in Castelfidardo, Italy.
Since 2014 he has served as Vice‑President of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes (CIA), a member organisation of UNESCO. In 2017 he was awarded the International Order of Honour and the honorary title «Living Legend» in Kyiv (Order chaired by Yan Tabachnik).
V. A. Semenov is the author of «The Contemporary School of Bayan Playing» (Muzyka Publishers, Moscow) and numerous other pedagogical and methodological works and articles.
His achievements as a teacher are truly remarkable. He has trained several generations of highly professional musicians who work in Russia and abroad. Among them are People’s Artist of Russia, Professor of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music Yu. Dranga, Honoured Artists of Russia A. Zaikin (Professor of the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory), Yu. Shishkin (soloist of the Rostov Philharmonic), Yu. Medyanik and others. Over recent years his students have won prizes at competitions on around one hundred and seventy occasions, including more than one hundred First Prizes at major national and international events, and eight World Champion titles. His former students now teach not only in Russia but also in China, Vietnam, Japan, the United States, Brazil, Serbia, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
Selected works for bayan:
- «Bulgarian Suite» in three movements (1975);
- «Kalina Krasnaya», fantasy in memory of Vasily Shukshin (1976);
- «Don Rhapsody» (1977);
- «Improvisation on the Theme of the Russian Folk Song “Belolitsa – Kruglolitsa”» (1981);
- «Children’s Suite No. 1» (1982);
- «An Old Estonian Legend» (1983);
- Sonata No. 1 (1984);
- «Lithuanian Chant» (1984);
- «Lithuanian Poetic Picture» (1986);
- «Ukrainian Dumka» (1987);
- «Belarusian Diptych» (1987);
- Caprice No. 1 (1989);
- «Children’s Suite No. 2» (1989);
- «Don Rhapsody No. 2» (1991);
- «Bascariada», Sonata No. 2 (1992);
- «Devotion», dedicated to Astor Piazzolla (1993);
- «Brahmsiana», rhapsody for bayan (1996);
- «Prophetic Dream» (2001);
- Caprice No. 2 «S.O.S.» (2001);
- Suite «Northern Pictures» (2003);
- «Frescoes», Concerto for bayan, chamber orchestra and percussion (2004);
- «Divertissement» in three movements (2005);
- «Northern Lights», Caprice No. 3 (2006);
- «Balkan Rhapsody» for two bayans (2007);
- «Two Romantic Meditations» (2008);
- «In the Realm of Dreams» (2008);
- «Musical Offering» for domra and bayan (2009);
- «Valse‑Caprice» (2011);
- «Reminiscence of the Future», Sonata No. 3 (2013);
- «Toccata Barbara» for three bayans (2014);
- «Unforgettable» (2016);
- «Elegy», version for bayan (2016);
- «Improvisation on a Theme by Edvard Grieg» (2017);
- «Fusion», Sonata No. 4 (2017);
- Sonatina «Francesca» in classical style (2018);
- «Two Lyrical Pieces» (2018).
