Biography
Lev Zhurbin immigrated to the United States in the year 1990. He is often credited simply as "Ljova", the diminutive of his formal name. [4] He is the son of the composer Alexander Zhurbin and the poet/lyricist/writer Irena Ginzburg. [5] He is the author of over 70 original compositions for classical, jazz, and folk music ensembles. [6] He has also contributed musical scores to numerous documentaries, features, shorts and animated films. [7] [3]
Zhurbin received commissions from the Louisville Orchestra, [8] the City of London Sinfonia, [9] a string quartet for Brooklyn Rider [10] and a commission for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project; [11] arrangements for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, [12] Brooklyn Philharmonic, [13] tenor Javier Camarena, conductor Alondra de la Parra, songwriters Natalia Lafourcade and Ricky Martin, composer/guitarist Gustavo Santaolalla, [14] The Knights, [15] and collaborations with choreographers Aszure Barton, [16] Damian Woetzel, [17] Christopher Wheeldon, [18] Katarzyna Skarpetowska (with Parsons Dance Company), [19] and Eduardo Vilaro (with Ballet Hispanico). [20] In 2018, he was on the faculty of the Atelier program at Princeton University, teaching a course on collaboration with the puppeteer Basil Twist [21]
Ljova released his debut solo CD, Vjola: World on Four Strings, in July 2006 on his own label, Kapustnik Records. [22] "Mnemosyne", the debut album of his ensemble, Ljova and the Kontraband, featured Frank London, William Schimmel and other special guests. [23] His third album, "Lost in Kino", focuses on his film music, featuring Ljova's cues from collaborations with films by Francis Ford Coppola, James Marsh, Robin Hessman, Josef Astor, Lev Polyakov, Roman Khrushch, Sean Gannet and Basia Winograd. [24]
In 2012, Ljova released his fourth album, "Melting River", featuring music created for a dance piece by choreographer Aszure Barton. [25] It was initially released as a download-exclusive on Bandcamp, but has since been issued on limited edition vinyl with bonus tracks. [26]
2014 saw the release of "No Refund on Flowers", the second album by Ljova and the Kontraband, crowdfunded through a 34-second campaign on Kickstarter. [27]
2015 and 2016 saw the releases of soundtrack albums to Ljova's scores for "Finding Babel" and "Datuna: Portrait of America". 2017 saw the release of "Footwork", dedicated to Ljova's collaborations with Parsons Dance Company and Ballet Hispanico. [28] In 2019, he released his tenth album, "SoLò Ópus", focusing on music for the fadolín and looper effects. [29]
During 2020-2021 pandemic, he has released a number of works for the solo fadolín through his website and social media channels. [30] In 2022, he released two albums -- "Enter The Fadolín" (focusing on solo music for the fadolín, including music by J.S. Bach and Ljova's father, composer Alexander Zhurbin, and a second collection of film scores, "Lost in Kino 2". [31] He is presently performing and developing new repertoire with Trio Fadolín, a new chamber group featuring the violin, fadolín, and cello. [32]
Ljova is married to Inna Barmash, an attorney and musician. [33]
