Alexander Borisovich Zhurbin (Алекса́ндр Бори́сович Журби́н; born August 7, 1945, in Tashkent, Soviet Union) is a prolific Russian composer. His first success came in 1975 with a rock-opera, Orpheus and Eurydice, which had 2000 consecutive performances in the former Soviet Union. He has composed scores for over 50 feature films and 40 musicals. He also has worked on multiple musical pieces including opera, musicals, symphonies and movie soundtracks. His songs have been performed by famous artists from Eastern Europe, such as Russian pop icon Alla Pugacheva, and Estonian singer Jaak Jola. Zhurbin is a laureate of the Ovation Award in the Living Legend category.
Biography Alexander Borisovich Zhurbin was born in Middle Asian part of USSR. He graduated from Special Music School in 1963. In 1969 he graduated from Tashkent Conservatory as a cellist and Gnessin Music College as a composer. He undertook postgraduate studies as a musicologist in Leningrad, where he in 1973 completed his candidate of science dissertation on the Symphonies of Gustav Mahler.
Zhurbin's first big success came in 1975 with his rock-opera Orpheus and Eurydice. This work represented a pioneering achievement in the Soviet Union and received widespread acclaim. It achieved over two thousand consecutive performances, with more than two million copies of the associated record sold. Zhurbin was honored with numerous international awards for 'Orpheus and Eurydice', notably receiving the 'Star of the Year' accolade in Great Britain. The musical enjoyed widespread popularity across the Soviet Union, with more than 3,000 concurrent performances. It was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running musical featuring the original cast.
He has composed scores for over 50 feature films, including Dead Man's Letters and Perestroika. His extensive oeuvre includes eight operas and three ballets, which have been performed in premier Russian venues, including the Leningrad National Opera and the Moscow Chamber Opera. His prolific contribution to musical theatre has included more than forty musicals, all of which continue to be staged across the former Soviet Union. Some have exceeded 2,000 performances.
Zhurbin and his family have lived in New York City since 1990. He served as a composer-in-residence at the 92nd Street "Y" and a professor at Touro college. In 1992 he founded the Russian-American Theater "Wandering Stars", which became an important cultural force in the Russian-speaking community and produced nine large-scale theatrical productions, six of them with his music. His musical How It Was Done in Odessa was a critical success at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, in 1991 and had an eight-week sold-out run with good reviews.
Among his compositions written in the USA were Cello Concerto, Violin Concerto, Symphony # 3 and 8, an opera "Good Health, Your Majesty", and a cantata "A Part of Speech", with lyrics by Joseph Brodsky, as well as songs, jingles and commercials. In 1996, an evening of Zhurbin's music was presented in Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), performed by Kristjan Järvi and the Absolute Ensemble.
Zhurbin's latest theater works are the musicals "Shalom, America" (after Sholom Asch), "Camera Obscura" (after Vladimir Nabokov), "Wandering Stars" (after Sholom Aleikhem). He has written several major theatrical works, including "Mousetrap" (a musical after Agatha Christie); Humiliated and Insulted (opera after Dostoevsky); and "The Seagull"– operetta after Anton Chekhov. All were produced in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities. He scored the mini-series "Moscow Saga", based on the novel by Vasily Aksyonov.
In June of 2013, he was one of the founders of the Russian independent music companies, Gala Records Group, which was transformed into Warner Music Russia later on.
In 2015, an extended, two-and-a-half month festival of his works was presented, covering opera, musical, symphony, rock, film, and performances of his first four symphonies. It included the premiere of his Fifth Symphony "Speak, Memory!", and the premiere of his opera "Melkiy Bes" (Petty Demon), based on Sologub. A new opera by Zhurbin, "Love's Metamorphosis", was premiered in May 2017 at the Moscow Musical Theater, Nemirovich-Danchenko.
In the 2020-2021 season, a festival "Serious and Light", commemorating Zhurbin's 75th birthday, ran from September 2020 to February 2021. Works performed included the premieres of operas "Anna K." and "Happy Day", the premiere of his Sixth Symphony ("Con Programma Letterale"), and vocal and chamber music works.
In 2023, his musical "Dybbuk: Between Two Worlds" received a world premiere in Moscow at the "Estrada" Theatre to critical acclaim.
In 2024, he had secured a contract with Warner Chappell Music
In 2024, he received the Silver Medal from the Global Music Awards for his Symphony No. 5.
Personal life Zhurbin is married to the poet, translator and writer Irina Ginzburg. His son, Lev Zhurbin, is a composer and performer living in New York.«Музыкальные перекрёстки» на сайте радиостанции «Орфей»
In response to claims that he is a member of the United Russia party, in an interview on Radio Liberty dated 21 November 2023, he categorically stated that he had never been a member of any political party, including United Russia.
List of Works
Symphonic and Chamber Works Op. 1 – Quartet No. 1 Op. 2 – "Cactus" – a folk tale for low voice and piano, text by V. Sosnora Op. 3 – Three Romances for medium voice & piano Op. 4 – "Fall of 1942" for voice and piano, text by A. Faynberg Op. 5 – Romance "Music" for high voice and piano, text by William Shakespeare. Op. 6 – Suite for piano. Op. 7 – Suite for flute, oboe, clarinet & bassoon. Op. 8 – Sonatina for viola and piano Op. 9 – Cantata "Russia, year 1111" for choir, soloists and orchestra, text by V. Sosnora Op. 10 – Song Cycle "Seven Soldier Songs" for baritone and piano. Op. 11 – Concertino for Oboe and String Orchestra Op. 12 -- "Children's Games", suite for string orchestra. Op. 13 – "In Memory of the Heroes", fantasy for large orchestra. Op. 14 – "Chorale and Allegro" for bayan Op. 15 – "Wooden Fair" – Romance for high voice, text by Rudolf Barinsky Op. 16 – Song Cycle "A Poet's Love", based on poems of R. M. Rilke, translated by T. Silman Op. 17 – "Improvisation and Toccata" for violin and piano Op. 18 – Sonata for piano Op. 19 – "Polyphonic Suite" for three flutes Op. 20 – Quartet No. 2 Op. 21 – "Three Picasso Drawings" Op. 22 – "Prelude, Gavotte and Scherzo" for bayan/accordion Op. 23 – "Poeme" for French Horn and piano Op. 24 – "Polyphonic Partita" for string Quartet Op. 25 – "The Ratcatcher" Cantata, poems by M. Tsvetaeva Op. 26 – Symphony No. 1 "Sinfonia Concertante" (four movements) Op. 27 -- "Toccata" for bayan Op. 28 – Sonata for Double Bass and Piano Op. 29 – "Meeting with Lenin" – Symphonic-Choral Poem Op. 30 – Three Sonatas for Bayan Op. 31 – Symphony No. 2 "Sinfonia Giocosa" Op. 32 – Concerto for Viola and Orchestra Op. 33 – Songs for Children, texts by V. Suslov & M.Raykin Op. 34 – Song Cycle "From German Folk Poetry" Op. 35 – "The People's Earth" – oratorio Op. 36 – "Winter Songs" – six duets for mezzo-soprano and baritone, texts by Russian poets Op. 37 – "Fantasy and Fugue" for bayan Op. 38 – "Two Friends" – Poem for Orchestra and Vocalists, texts by A. Tvardovsky and R. Gamzatov Op. 39 – "Velimir" – four songs on poems by V. Khlebnikov Op. 40 – "Five Poems by Konstantin Batyushkov" – for mezzo-soprano, flute, horn and harp. Op. 41 – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (3 Op. 42 – Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 43 – Piano Quintet Op. 44 – "Mashkerad", for choir a capella, texts by A. Sumarokov Op. 45 – "Marina" – seven songs, poems by M. Tsvetaeva Op. 46 – "Dithyrambe" for cello and chamber ensemble Op. 47 – "Three Muses" – suite for viola, double–bass and harpsichord Op. 48 – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Op. 49 – Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Romantica" Op. 50 – "Part of Speech" – Cantata for Choir, poems by J. Brodsky in English & Russian Op. 51 – "Three Madrigals", poems by W. Shakespeare Op. 52 – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Op. 53/1 "Musica Drammatica" for string orchestra. Op. 54/20 – "Musica Piccola" for string orchestra Op. 55/24 – "Musica polyphonica" for string orchestra Op. 56 – "The Poet" – song cycle, poems by M. Tsvetaeva Op. 57 – Symphony No. 4, "Sinfonia Tragica" / "City of The Plague" for soloists, mixed choir and large orchestra, in nine movements. Op. 58 – Symphony No. 5 "Sinfonia bizzarra" ("Speak, Memory!") – for large orchestra and four soloists (violin, viola, cello and piano), in fifteen movements. Op. 59 – "Love" – song cycle, poems by M. Tsvetaeva and O. Mandelshtam Fine Fantasy For Fadolín Solo (2020) Symphony No. 6 "Sinfonia con programma letterale" (2020) Symphony No. 7 "Sinfonia semplice" Three Muses for Fadolín Trio Symphony No. 8 "Patchwork Symphony" Three Muses for Woodwind Quartet (unperformed) Symphony No. 9 "Sinfonia Ludena" (unperformed) Symphony No. 10 "Divine Tragedy" (unperformed) Clarinet Quintet (2024) (unperformed)
Compositions for Musical Theater Thea-opus 1 – “Let’s play Prince and The Pauper!” – musical for children and adults based on the novel by Mark Twain (Libretto by L. Losev with Y. Mikhailov)
Thea-opus 2 – “The Twins from Thebes” (“Someone named Heracles”) – Libretto by L. Losev with Y. Mikhailov)
Thea-opus 3 – “Orpheus & Eurydice” – rock opera based on a play by Y. Dimitrin
Thea-opus 4 – “Broken Mirror, or a New Pauper’s Opera” – opera based on themes of “Threepenny Opera” by B. Brecht. Libretto by V. Verbin
Thea-opus 5 – “Three Brothers” – a Russian comedy based on folk tales. Libretto by V. Sinakevich, V. Skvirskiy, lyrics by V. Uflyand
Thea-opus 6 – “A Cunning Girl in Love” – musical based on a play by Lope de Vega. Libretto by A. Zhurbin and M. Levshin
Thea-opus 7 –– “The Moon and the Detective” – opera based on stories by V. Lipatov. Libretto by Y. Dimitrin
Thea-opus 8 – “Zsuzsa from Budapest” – comedy based on a play by L. Zhukhovitsky, libretto by L. Zhukhovitsky and R. Rozhdestvensky, lyrics by R. Rozhdestvensky
Thea-opus 9 – “Penelope” – musical based on a play by B. Ratser and V. Konstatnitov. Libretto by B. Ratser and V. Konstatnitov.
Thea-opus 10 – “The Red Bird” – ballet for children. Libretto by M. Azov and V. Tixvinsky.
Thea-opus 11 – “Captain Fracas” (Le Captaine Fracasse)– musical based on a novel by T. Gautier, libretto by Y. Golyakov
Thea-opus 12 – “The Trap” – ballet based on “Threepenny Opera” by B. Brecht. Libretto by I. Gaft
Thea-opus 13 – “Agent 00” – musical based on a play by G. Borovik, libretto by G. Borovik
Thea-opus 14 – “Wedding in Old Age” – musical based on the play “Retro” by A. Galin, libretto by G. Fere
Thea-opus 15 – “The Frump” – musical based on a play by E. Braginsky and E. Ryazanov. Libretto by Y. Ryashentsev
Thea-opus 16 – “Impatience” – opera based on a novel by Y. Trifonov. Libretto by Y. Trifonov and O. Trifonov-Miroshnichenko
Thea-opus 17 – “Spell out the sum in words” – musical based on stories by O’Henry – Libretto by G. Sapgir and L. Khait
Thea-opus 18 – “The Marriage” – ballet based on the play by N. Gogol. Libretto by M. Bergtolz.
Thea-opus 19 – “The Drayman and the King / Sunset”) – musical on the play by Isaac Babel. Libretto by A. Eppel.
Thea-opus 20 – “Naples Story” – musical based on Lope De Vega’s “The Dog in the Manger”. Libretto by P. Gradov
Thea-opus 21 – “Fiorenza” – musical tragedy based on a novel by Thomas Mann. Libretto by P. Grushko
Thea-opus 22 – “An Unknown Love of Napoleon” – musical based on the play “The Man of Destiny” by Bernard Shaw. Libretto by G. Fere
Thea-opus 23 – “The Glass of Water”—musical based on a play by Eugène Scribe. Libretto by B. Ratser and V. Konstantinov
Thea-opus 24 – “Animal Farm” – musical based on a story by George Orwell, libretto by S. Task