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 Alexander
Shrirunov is known as : "Primo assoluto": virtuoso,
gallant, musical, a genius.
"An entertainer par excellence and simultaneously a deeply
moving virtuoso master of classical music." - "A Russian
who is even more."
In this way, Alexander Shirunov is described full of fascination
and admiration by competition rivals performing musicians, audiences,
and jurors, who attempt to express that he is in every respect
far more than somebody who can be characterized with conventional
attributes or who can be measured with common knowledge regarding
countries, people, musicians, and art.
Alexander Shirunov speaks impeccable English with Oxford accent.
He is reminiscent in his overall appearance of the legendary Moscow
virtuoso Yuri Kazakov, who for decades was the most exquisite
and gallant virtuoso of Soviet show and entertainment business.
As epitome of Soviet entertainment music artistry, Kazakov always
appeared as a noble high-caliber musician. Kazakov, like Shirunov
without their ever having met-are professed and passionate musicians
in all areas of the beautiful art.
The 22-year-old accordionist was born in the city of Nikol'sk
in the Vologda region in the northease part of European Russia.
At the tender age of four, he began to play music when his father
presented him with an accordion. When he was six years old and
entered school-still quite small for his age-he began to play
violin after his teacher recognized his exceptional musical talent,
but deemed him too small for accordion. Therefore, during the
next three years Alexander played violin in school adn accordion
at home. Later, he had to study piano, singing, and saxophone
before he finally could devote himself to the accordion, declaring
it was the instrument he had loved from the beginning and the
most important to him. At that time, he already had been awarded
a number of first prizes and honors from regional and national
music competitions in singing and accordion categories.
In 1997, the well-known bayan-accordion virtuoso and educator
Alexander Dmitriyev from St. Petersburg discovered him during
a visit to the city Elaburg in Tatarstan, where Shirunov was participating
in a master course, which Profesor Dmitriyev was conducting there.
Dmitriyev immediately invited Shirunov to come to St. Petersburg
to study with him, which for the 14 year old Alexander was like
a revelation from God. He proclaims: "To go to the world
culture city St. Petersburg and study with the famous Professor
Dmitriyev, the idol of many young musicians, was something special."
One year later, in 1998, Alexander accepted the invitation and
enrolled at the Special Music Vocational High School in the Rimsky
Korsakov Conservatory for talented musicians. In 2002, he was
automatically accepted into the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory without
further examination after proving to be one of the best students
in the special school. He still studies in Professor Dmitriyev's
classes today.
"Shirunov on Stage Is Like a Fish in Water"
Whe Shirunov is on stage, he says he feels like a fish in water.
His performances of everything he presents are exceptionally lively.
He experiences the music from the depths of his entire soul and
knows how to project this maserfully to his audience. He sings,
dances, plays, and moves like an artist with truly universal nature.
Shirunov gives virtuoso entertainment music the quality and noble
appearance necessary for it to transform into another genre of
musical art. He interprets this "light music" in a manner
that has value. A value that high-caliber artists in the classical
music area recognize and appreciate. Furthermore, Shirunov plays
Baroque, classical, and avant-garde compositions as originals
and arrangements so convicingly that professionals conclude he
cannot be classified into one category. He is just a class for
himself.
"The Musician Who Is Like an Entire Universe"
In his interpretations, borders between virtuovo entertainment
and demanding classical music disappear. Tones are crystal clear
and as elegant as pearls in the best champagne: tingling, nobly
fresh, from deepest aesthetic soul. His music is comprehensive
and all-embracing. It portrays a new genre. What's more, it lives
up to the motto: "Music is life."
Alexander Shirunov's achievements in the second half of 2005 alone
notable, especially when one considers that even his second place
rankings in competitions could have been first prizes if diplomatic
calculations had not played a role.
First prize at Premio Internazionale di Castelfidardo (Italy)
in the category for solo virtuoso entertainment music.
Second prize at Premio Internazionale di Castelfidardo (Italy)
in teh category for classical chamber music in duet with Nadezhda
Guseva.
First prize at Premio Internazionale in Paaggianello (Italy),
where he won the recognition "primo assoluto".
First prize at International Music Prize Citta di Lanciano (Italy)
First prize at Coupe Mondiale in Castelo Branco (Portugal) in
the category for classical accordion.
Second prize at Coupe Mondiale in Castelo Branco (Portugal) in
the category for virtuoso entertainment music.
In addition, there are his special performances at the large international
entertainment festivals in Ikaalinen (Finland) and Pontarlier
(France) in early 2005, where his musical presentations also reached
peak levels. Of course, results at competitions for Shirunov are
no evidence of musical quality. All too often he experiences,
to his disappointment, that jury decisions are often determined
by coincidence and luck. He has often delivered performances with
which internationally experiences jurors are unable to cope.
Shirunov is in a class unto himself. He depicts, plays, demonstrates-maybe
even without knowing it himself-a quite new dimension of demanding
entertainment music, whereby for his musical expression actually
a new suitable term should be coined.
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