Biography
Vasily Andreyev was born in Bezhetsk, Tver Governorate, Russia to the family of an honorary citizen of Bezhetsk and merchant of the first guild, Vasily Andeyevich Andreyev and his wife, the noblewoman Sophia Mikhaylovna Andreyeva. When the boy was 1 year old, his father died. The family moved to Saint Petersburg where the boy was brought up by his stepfather, Nil Seslavin. At the age of ten, Vasily became involved in playing the balalaika and other folk instruments.
Initially, Andreyev was studying to play the violin and worked as a musician in the various salons catering to European tourists to the Russian Capital. On numerous occasions, he was asked about performing traditional Russian music, and started collecting examples. He came upon a peasant playing a balalaika and had the instrument copied. His solo performances were very popular before the various tourists and a group of players developed around him. He also developed an ensemble playing on different sized balalaikas which proved to be very successful. Ultimately the group grew into a full orchestra.
The popularity of the group in Russia grew significantly after their performance in Paris, France at the world Exhibition, where they became celebrities.
Read more about this topic: Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev
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