Enter The Fadolín is my new solo performance project, an ongoing Patreon-supported development of new repertoire exploring the fadolín, a unique string instrument encompassing the full range of the violin, viola, and most of the cello.
Though I’ve owned and performed on a fadolín since 2008 and used it prominently in the creation of my albums “Melting River” and “SoLò Ópus“, I hadn’t written works that could be performed live, unamplified, without loopers or pre-records, specifically on this instrument — until now.
Since 2019, with gratitude to my Patreon supporters I’ve been steadily writing music — initially as a travelogue, and continuing through the pandemic via social media livestreams, on-street busking and house concerts –– having now premiered over an hour’s worth of recital and training material for myself and a future generation of fadolínists. You can hear some of it in the video playlist below — most of the works are mine, though there are also some works by J.S. Bach, his Celtic contemporary Turlough O’Carolan, plus several African-American spirituals.
A full album of solo fadolín, “Enter The Fadolín” works is now available — “…The performances are alternately polished and rough, but always entertaining, depending on what the piece demands and what best demonstrates the instrument’s versatility and tonal range.” (Strings Magazine, February 2022 issue)
Ljova is available to present this program at performances worldwide – the setup is minimal. Please get in touch.
Support my mission to create more music for the fadolín. Receive exclusive videos and sheet music. Join me at: https://patreon.com/ljova
If you’re interested in performing or licensing any of these works, please contact me directly. Enjoy the music and thank you for listening! –Ljova
Ljova - Miroslav Skoryk: Melodia / Мирослав Скорик: Mелодiя #songsforpeace - performed on fadolín
Miroslav Skoryk: Melodia
Мирослав Скорик: Mелодiя
recorded in concert on February 25 2022
Ljova, fadolín
#songsforpeace
active
Ljova - Miroslav Skoryk: Melodia / Мирослав Скорик: Mелодiя #songsforpeace - performed on fadolín
Miroslav Skoryk: Melodia
Мирослав Скорик: Mелодiя
recorded in concert on February 25 2022
Ljova, fadolín
#songsforpeace
active
The Light A Shadow Finds
Choreographed + danced by
Yin Yue
Directed + Edited by
Tobin Del Cuore
Shot by
Jackson McCoy + Tobin Del Cuore
Produced by
Taryn Kaschock Russell + 92nd Street Y
Music by
Ljova
"Sunrise (Ellipses)" from "Midnight Suite"
written ...and performed by Ljova
Ljova Music (ASCAP)
Licensed by Kapustnik Records http://www.Ljova.com
Filmed in Kaufmann Concert Hall
at the 92nd Street Y[+] Show More
active
Ljova - Midnight Suite #SongsOfComfort (Live) - performed on the fadolín (fadolin)
Ljova - "Midnight Suite"
Improvised Suite for Fadolín in three movements.
1. A Nign
2. Falling (to the stars..)
3. Ellipses
premiered on Facebook Live
May 31 2020
J.S. Bach - Chromatic Fantasy BWV903 performed on the Fadolín (fadolin) by Ljova
(re-uploading video from December 31 2020 due to encoding issues):
J.S. Bach arr. Ljova: Chromatic Fantasy BWV903
performed on the fadolín
Hi friends,
I’ve got one more video for you in 2020 — and ...it’s more Bach — this time a meatier segue to my post from last week.
At the beginning of March, when everything shut down in an instant, among the first things I did was write out an arrangement of Bach’s “Chromatic Fantasy” for fadolín. This tumultuous piece has always been in the back of my mind since I heard it performed by Vivek Kamath, during my first year at Juilliard, as part of Samuel Rhodes’s masterclass. It’s a piece I’ve always wanted to learn but never found the right occasion — or the right instrument. Originally composed for harpsichord, this piece always seemed too difficult in Kodály’s solo viola arrangement, and too many notes had to be displaced to a higher octave.
Enter a brand new fadolín — and the time to practice.
I hope that you’ll enjoy this version, recorded at home. I’m still tweaking some choices here and there but it feels stable and free.
#bach, #ljova, #fadolín, #fadolin, s#arrangements, #transcriptions, #chromaticfantasy, #songsofcomfort[+] Show More
active
Ljova - O'Carolan's Farewell to Music - arr. for fadolín
Turlough O'Carolan: "O'Carolan's Farewell to Music" (1738)
arranged for fadolín and performed by Ljova (2019)
as learned from Martin Hayes
Ljova - "Going Home -- Leaving Home -- Finding Home Again" performed on the fadolín (fadolin)
"Going Home -- Leaving Home -- Finding Home Again"
Ljova, fadolín / improvisation
"Going Home -- Leaving Home -- Finding Home Again" -- that was the idea behind this improvisation, ...taking a familiar tune through new turf -- for about twenty minutes.
It's perhaps an unusual time to be playing "Going Home", since most of us are sitting home with no place to go. Many are restless, constantly worried for the winter that's to come. In our neighborhood, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, homeless men and families fill the malls on Broadway, with no home in sight except the home within...
Nothing is permanent –– this, too, shall pass, and we will all find home again.
Thanks for listening.
stay safe and keep in touch, dear friends!
-Ljova
(this was recorded as a Facebook Live on my Ljova page earlier today, I'm re-uploading here with some EQ & reverb adjustments..)
#fadolín #improvisation #variations #newworld #covid19 #songsofcomfort[+] Show More
active
We Shall Overcome -- This Little Light of Mine (live fadolín version, audio only)
We Shall Overcome -- This Little Light of Mine (live fadolín version)
There may be a curfew -- and there is a protest -- yet we can still play -- and ...I will. Much love to you all. No hashtags.
Ljova - ZòóMeRung - a 5-way live Zoom call with myself
*WARNING: LOUD SOUND* — My wife gave me a great haircut; in honor of that I give you.. ZòóMeRung! -- a 3-minute suite in four movements... — ...'Twas the night of too many Zooms and all through the house, every participant was .. me! The horror! Here you see through my phone, an old iPad with a cracked screen but a working camera, my very old laptop, a newer iPad and my current laptop — giving you a quintuple selfie view! Also — more importantly -- a way to mess around with the latency and sound artifacts inside Zoom to see what they bring when you call yourself…Lots of fun— and the most precious thing happens on the last note. No reverb added. All live. #zoomthyself #zoomerung #fadolín #fadolin #newmusic #covid19 #makethings #quarantinelife #music #peoplewatchingpeople #selfie #zoombombers #zoombummers[+] Show More
"Lost in the Stars" was among the first CDs my dad acquired when we moved to the US and bought our first CD player in 1990.... and the "Youkali" arrangement ...on it was an early favorite. I saw Hal here and there, at Tonic and in the neighborhood (he lived one block away), backstage at SNL.. at one point I met him at his house in Venice, where no less than three iPods were playing entirely different music at all times... .. the world will never be the same! Thank you for leaving so many landmarks to remember you by..
Youkali (Weill / Fernay)
Ljova, fadolín
April 7 2020
#SongsOfComfort[+] Show More
active
Ljova - The Early Voter (live from the polls) #songsofcomfort
Ljova - The Early Voter (live from the polls)
October 27 2020
Frederick Douglass Playground
New York City
Bach: Prelude in C major No. 1 from WTC, performed on a fadolín by Ljova
J.S. Bach: Prelude No. 1 in C major
from the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846
performed by Ljova on a fadolín
Grateful to be here, fadolín in hand.
Thank you, friends. Keep ...on shining.
-Ljova
December 24 2020[+] Show More
active
Let It Snow (fadolín cover by Ljova)
Testing out Fred Gayford’s brand new fadolín (barely two weeks old) in some real-world conditions — 32F/0C and snowing! My dad would like me to tell you that it’s made ...of Martian wood… What do you think? Stay safe and healthy!
Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
version for fadolín by Ljova
February 7 2021
New York City
fadolín by Fred Gayford of Carbon Fiber Violins, Cambridge Ontario[+] Show More
active
J.S. Bach x Ljova - Sarabande (live from Toronto Music Garden) - performed on the fadolín (fadolin)
For those who know the piece, you'll see that it takes a wrong turn quite early on, ...and then -- even more turns -- why? To quote Tevye -- "I'll tell you -- I don't know!"
Here's a "Sarabande" by J.S. Bach, reimagined from the inside out for the fadolín at the Toronto Music Garden. I was standing in the intimate "Sarabande" corner of this garden, and it felt only appropriate to play precisely this --- this was entirely spontaneous and unrehearsed, and I'm not sure if I was choosing the notes or the garden... but I really enjoyed where this music took me, and hope that you will, too.
See you out there, friends!
Thank you for listening. And thank you to Julie Muir-Messervy and Yo-Yo Ma for bringing this garden to life.
#songsforpeace #toronto #torontomusicgarden #fadolín #fadolin #bach #ljova #sarabande #zarabanda #baroquedance #improvisation #gmajorsuite #seeyououtthere[+] Show More
active
Ljova - The Inland Sea - performed on the fadolín (fadolin)
Ljova – The Inland Sea
written in Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada
September 1 2022
Ljova - The Compost Post
July 6 2022
Ljova, fadolín and composition
How many fiddle tunes were inspired by composting? It's a small "hill" to -- "good composers never die, they just decomp ...-- "
So after nearly nine years of taking our compost to the farmers market on a weekly basis, this week our building had its first collection! We've gone back to the future here in a real sense.
To celebrate this minor victory, here's a little tune I improvised and wrote down in short order -- you can sort of play it on a 4-string fiddle, too. (Sheetmusic upon request -- yes, even the title recycles letters, it's true.)
A full album of solo fadolín, “Enter The Fadolín” works is now available — 
