THREE WAYS TO ORDER:
 $14.99 |
 $9.99 (instant download) |
 $16.49 CD / $6.99 mp3 download |
New Yorkers can also pick up a copy at Other Music and Downtown Music Gallery.
...or call 1-800-BUY-MY-CD to order by phone!
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.
==>Listen to a podcast about VJOLA: WORLD ON FOUR STRINGS from NPR's "Weekend America" and host Anastasia Tsioulcas!
PREVIEW and TRACK LISTING:
1. Central Park in the Dark
2. Bagel on the Malecon
3. O'er
4. Plume
5. Ori's Fearful Symmetry
6. Coffee + Rum
7. Middle Village
8. Army of Me
9. Garmoshka (featuring Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion)
10. Crosstown
11. Seltzer, Do I Drink Too Much?
12. Four
13. Collage
14. Breadbasket Blues
15. Spring Valley Sunset
REVIEWS:
====>See complete reviews here
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 cclectic 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)
Extraordinarily talented and versatile musician
---Yo-Yo Ma, cellist
Proves that an integration between seemingly different cultures is possible, inevitable, and fruitable
---Osvaldo Golijov, composer
