Vladimir Ushenin

Vladimir Ushenin's name is widely known to the musical public: Honored artist of Russia, Candidate of art criticism, Winner of the All-Russia competition, Professor of the Rostov state S.Rakhmaninov Conservatory (Academy), the head of the ensemble "Kalinka" - one the leading collectives of the national instruments performing art.

The breadth of the musician's activities and productivity cause great interests with listeners. First of all numerous audiences know him as an actively performing musician who in the structure of the ensemble "Kalinka" and as a soloist - bayan player acted in the most various corners of Russia, visited with performances 17 countries of the world. In the structure of the ensemble he produced about 30 fund recordings on the All-Union radio, released 5 CDs, and his solo disk "Popular classics and folklore".

Already during several tens years I have been familiar with Vladimir Ushenin as with a fine, sensitive and strict teacher. The education in his class is not limited only with the walls of the Rostov Conservatory: he treats each student literally as his own child: students constantly visit his hospitable house, listen together with the teacher to numerous recordings, and video discs on which performances of great musicians are written down.

In Vladimir Ushenin's class of a special bayan and accordion creative atmosphere always reigns, the scrupulous attitude to the smallest subtleties of intoning, phrasing, articulation and at the same time indefatigable care of art architectonic of the whole always dominates. If to this all we add constant stimulating the students to the perfection of the performing culture and technical skill the reasons for such significant pedagogical success become clear. Really, among prepared and issued for 35 years of work at high school over 60 bayan and accordionists players many have become noted musicians. It is enough to recollect even such winners of the All-Russian and international competitions as the honored artist of Russia, professor of the RSC, composer Vladimir Shishin, the professor of the Tambov state musical-pedagogical institute composer Roman Bazhilin, honored artists of Adygea Andrey and Boris Polun, Lyudmila Shljakonite (Lithuania), the main conductor and the artistic administrator of the Omsk symphonic orchestra Dmitry Vasiljev, composer Alexander Dorensky, whose works today make the important part of the repertoire of the class of bayan at musical schools…

Many people also know Vladimir Ushenin as a fine arranger. About 100 arrangements and transcriptions for various kinds of the ensembles approved in concert practice, transpositions for a bayan and an accordion solo belong to him.

Vladimir Ushenin is also the author of many books, articles on the history and theorys of performing arts. The important help for studying national instrumental art of the south of Russia is his large monographies "From the history of the bayan performing art on the Don", "From the history of national ensembles performing art on the Don", the collection of articles "Actual problems of the national instrumental pedagogics", articles about our famous bayan players in periodic press and scientific collections.

Now Vladimir Ushenin continues the researches in the field of the history of national instrumental arts of Don.