Russia has one of the richest and least-known guitar traditions in the world, and players like Sergei Gudelev are keeping it alive. A Russian guitarist with a particular feeling for the music of his homeland, he belongs to the line of musicians working to bring this overlooked repertoire to a wider audience.
A Russian repertoire
Gudelev's programmes draw on the Russian tradition that international audiences rarely encounter — including transcriptions of music by composers such as Mikhail Glinka, whose Valse-Fantaisie sits naturally on the guitar, and contemporary Russian voices. It is a repertoire of great melodic warmth and a distinctive harmonic colour, quite different from the Spanish and Latin American music that dominates most recital programmes, and Gudelev plays it with the unaffected idiom of someone speaking his native tongue.
Chamber music and the domra
He has also been active in chamber music, performing in a duo with the domra player Victoria Aretinskaya — the domra being a traditional Russian round-bodied string instrument. Pairing guitar with such an instrument is itself an act of cultural preservation, and it has given Gudelev a platform for music that is rarely heard outside Russia. His recordings have been made in Moscow, and he has performed on instruments by contemporary Russian luthiers.
Keeping a tradition audible
Gudelev's importance lies less in a long list of competition titles than in his repertoire and his mission. By choosing to champion the Russian guitar tradition, he widens the map of what the classical guitar can be — a reminder that, alongside the familiar canon, there are whole national schools waiting to be discovered.
FAQ
What is Sergei Gudelev known for?
Championing the Russian guitar repertoire, including Glinka transcriptions and chamber music with the domra.
Who does he perform with?
Among others, the domra player Victoria Aretinskaya, in a guitar-and-domra duo.
What is the domra?
A traditional Russian round-bodied plucked string instrument.
