Reviews

... one of New York's fastest-rising composers and instrumentalists...
---Anastasia Tsioulcas, Billboard

Rustic dances and evocative soundscapes, all crafted from ... the gorgeously grainy purr of his fiddle.
---Steve Smith, Time Out New York

Eclectic with an ear for texture...Throaty melodies supported by pizzicato rhythms, lush chordal figures and counterpoint.
---Allan Kozinn, New York Times

Though he was born in the string quarry of Russia and refined in the purifying precincts of Juilliard, Zhurbin turned out to be a lover of gritty hybrids. The music he writes and plays is full of Brahmsian tone, BartÃ³k lines, hiccupping Hungarian rhythms, Klezmer soul and the sexy plaintiveness of tango and the blues.
---Justin Davidson, Newsday

Like many younger musicians, this leader has absorbed a panoply of music and gleefully undermines rigid notions of genre.
---Sean Patrick Fitzell, ALL ABOUT JAZZ

No barriers...Fluid stylistic grace...
---Ken Smith, GRAMOPHONE Magazine

The off-kilter rhythms he favors ... tug and pull at you in strange and mysterious ways, as do Ljova's melodies, which have the tuneful, emotive quality of good pop.
---Alexander Gelfand, JAZZIZ Magazine

Proves that an integration between seemingly different cultures is possible, inevitable, and fruitful
---Osvaldo Golijov, composer

Ljova's debut Solo CD -- VJOLA: WORLD ON FOUR STRINGS

[Please see online order options on the left. New Yorkers can also pick up a copy at Other Music and Downtown Music Gallery.]

THIS IS IT! FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING! The long-awaited debut release of maverick composer, arranger, and violist Ljova (Lev Zhurbin) draws on a multitude of cross-cultural influences, and is performed almost exclusively on multi-tracked viola. In addition to a busy career as a performer and film composer, Ljova is a frequent collaborator with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, the Kronos Quartet, Osvaldo Golijov, as well as many independent artists. From blues to Bjork, to Latin and Gypsy dances, to a nostalgic Russian street-waltz (featuring Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion), Ljova transcends the boundaries of his instrument. Using inventive improvisation and arranging techniques, his compositions dazzle with intricate textures, odd rhythms and lilting melodies, creating music that is both fresh and timeless.

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This self-released debut recording from 27-year-old Russian-born Lev Zhurbin (aka Ljova), one of New York's fastest-rising composers and instrumentalists, is something special... Ljova continually delights

---Anastasia Tsioulcas, Billboard (July 22, '06)

[Ljova] is an ecclectic with an ear for texture...Throaty melodies supported by pizzicato rhythms, lush choral figures and counterpoint.

---Allan Kozinn, NEW YORK TIMES Arts & Leisure, August 13, 2006 (Review of VJOLA)

Best of June 2006 New Releases

---John Schaefer, host of WNYC's New Sounds and Soundcheck

Rustic dances and evocative soundscapes, all crafted from ... the gorgeously grainy purr of his fiddle.

---Steve Smith, Time Out New York (July 6-12, '06)