Trutovsky, Vasili (Fyodorovich)

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Trutovsky, Vasili (Fyodorovich)

Trutovsky, Vasili (Fyodorovich), Russian composer and folk-song collector; b. Ivanovskaya Slo-boda, c. 1740; d. St. Petersburg, 1810. He was the son of an Orthodox priest. He was a court singer and player on the gusli during the reigns of Elizabeth, Peter III, and Catherine II. His historic achievement was the compilation of the first comprehensive collection of Russian folk songs, in 4 fascicles (1776,1778,1779,1795). He also was the first in Russia to publ. piano pieces; the earlier publications of Russian piano music were anonymous. His Chanson russe variée for Harpsichord or Piano (St. Petersburg, 1780) was ed. by A. Drozdov and T. Trofi-mov (Moscow, 1946).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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