A. E. Varlamov - biography. Composer, arranger, singer and conductor Varlamov Alexander Vladimirovich: biography, creativity and interesting facts Memories of Varlamov

Varlamov Alexander Egorovich- Varlamov, Alexander Egorovich - famous Russian amateur composer.

As a child, he passionately loved music and singing, especially church singing, and early began to play the violin by ear (Russian songs).

At the age of ten, Varlamov became a singer in the court choir.

Above theory musical composition Varlamov, apparently, did not work at all and was left with the meager knowledge that he could have learned from the chapel, which in those days did not at all care about the general musical development of its students.

At that time there was an excellent French opera in The Hague and Brussels, with whose artists Varlamov became acquainted.

Perhaps this is where he got his acquaintance with the art of singing, which gave him the opportunity to later become a good teacher of vocal art.

Listening" Barber of Seville“Rossini, Varlamov was particularly delighted with the skillful use in the finale of Act 2 of the Russian song “What was the need to fence a garden,” which the Italian maestro, according to Varlamov, “well, masterfully translated into Polish.”

Having many acquaintances, especially among musicians and music lovers, Varlamov probably then already formed the habit of a disorderly and absent-minded life, which subsequently prevented him from properly developing his talent as a composer.

In 1823 Varlamov returned to Russia.

According to some sources, he lived this time in St. Petersburg, according to others, less reliable, in Moscow.

At the end of 1828 or the beginning of 1829, Varlamov began to bother about re-entry into the singing choir, and presented Emperor Nicholas I with two cherubic songs - the first of his compositions known to us.

On January 24, 1829, he was assigned to the chapel as one of the “big singers,” and he was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching young singers and learning solo parts with them.

In December 1831, he was dismissed from service in the chapel, in 1832 he took the place of assistant bandmaster of the imperial Moscow theaters, and in 1834 he received the title of composer of music at the same theaters.

By the beginning of 1833, a collection of nine of his romances (including one duet and one trio) with piano accompaniment, dedicated to Verstovsky, appeared in print: " Music album for 1833." By the way, this collection contains the famous romance "Don't you sew to me, mother", which glorified the name of Varlamov and became famous in the West as a "Russian national song", as well as another very popular romance "What has become foggy, the clear dawn."

In them, as in other numbers of the collection, the advantages and disadvantages of Varlamov’s compositional talent were clearly reflected: sincerity of mood, warmth and sincerity, obvious melodic talent, desire for characterization, expressed in quite diverse and sometimes complex accompaniments for that time with attempts at sound painting, national Russian coloring, more lively and bright than that of Varlamov’s contemporaries and predecessors, and, at the same time, sloppy and illiterate compositional technique, lack of finishing and consistency of style, elementary form. For a correct assessment historical significance the first romances of Varlamov, we must remember that at that time we only had the romances of the Titov brothers, Alyabyev, Verstovsky, and only a little higher were the first romances of M.I. Glinka. Varlamov’s first romances therefore occupied a prominent place in our vocal literature of that time and immediately became popular with all music lovers and fans of nationality in its more accessible form. Varlamov retained the public's favor in his future composer activity, which did not represent any noticeable development, but remained approximately at the same, once achieved, low level technology and creativity.

Varlamov's merit was in popularizing the national genre and in preparing the public to perceive more serious works of our national art music in the future.

Along with his service, he also taught music, mainly singing, often in aristocratic houses. His lessons and compositions were paid well, but, given the absent-minded lifestyle of the composer (who loved card game, for which he sat whole nights), he often needed money.

Usually in such cases he began to compose (always on the piano, which he played mediocrely, especially poorly at sight reading) and immediately sent the barely finished manuscript to the publisher to turn it into hard cash.

With such an attitude to business, he could not rise above the level of a gifted amateur.

In 1845, Varlamov moved again to St. Petersburg, where he had to live solely on his talent as a composer, singing lessons and annual concerts.

Under the influence of a wrong lifestyle, sleepless nights playing cards, various sorrows and hardships, his health deteriorated, and on October 15, 1848, he died suddenly at a card party of his acquaintances.

Varlamov left more than 200 romances (including 42 Russian folk songs, arranged by him for one voice and piano, of which 4 are Little Russian, a small number of works for 3 voices, three church works for choir (cherubim) and three piano pieces (a march and two waltz).

The most famous of these works: the romances “The Red Sarafan”, “I Will Saddle a Horse” (both served as themes for Wieniawski’s violin fantasy “Souvenir de Moscou”), “The Grass”, “The Nightingale”, “What Got Foggy”, “Angel”, “The Song of Ophelia” ", "I feel sorry for you", "No, doctor, no", duets "Swimmers", "You Don't Sing", etc. Many of them even now (especially in the provinces) are willingly sung in amateur circles, and romance music “The drum did not beat before the troubled regiment,” attached to another text (“You fell victim to the fatal struggle”), even received nationwide distribution.

Varlamov also belongs to the first Russian “School of Singing” (Moscow, 1840), the first part of which (theoretical) is a reworking of the Parisian school of Andrade, while the other two (practical) are independent in nature and contain valuable instructions on vocal art that have not lost their meaning and Now.

Varlamov's son, Georgy, was born in 1825, performed in concerts as a singer and wrote a number of romances in the style of his father. About his other son, Konstantin, see Varlamov’s daughter, Elena, also acted as a singer and composed (romances).

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov

Varlamov was born in 1801 in Moscow. The composer's father was in the military, then in civil service, was an official with not too much income.

Alexander's musical abilities and extraordinary vocal abilities manifested themselves as early as early childhood by defining it future fate: when the boy was nine years old, his parents sent him to St. Petersburg, where he was accepted as a “young singer” in the court choir. In that choir group Varlamov, under the guidance of the outstanding Russian composer D. S. Bortnyansky, received a musical education.

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov

After completing the course of study in the chapel, the young man was transferred to serve abroad as a teacher of choristers in the Russian embassy church in The Hague (Holland). Here he performs in concerts for the first time as a singer and guitarist.

In 1823, Varlamov returned to his homeland, St. Petersburg. To earn a living, he gives singing lessons, free time composes music and one day performs in a large public concert as conductor and singer. However, the lack of money forces the musician to look for opportunities to have a permanent income. He entered the singing choir and, from 1829, combined the work of a chorister and a teacher of solo singing for boy choristers.

Varlamov’s work was greatly influenced by his acquaintance with M. I. Glinka. Musical evenings were held in the latter’s house more than once, in which the young musician took an active part.

Service in the chapel required work primarily in the field of sacred music, while Varlamov was drawn to secular music. musical art, to the theater. Dissatisfied with his work, he left the chapel (at the end of 1831) and then moved to Moscow, where he took the position of assistant bandmaster in the imperial Moscow theaters. His duties included conducting the orchestra during the performance of vaudeville plays. At this time, he did not give up his teaching work: he taught singing at a theater school and gave private lessons.

In the capital of Russia, he met outstanding representatives of art (actors of the Maly Theater Mochalov, Shchepkin, composer Verstovsky, writer Zagoskin, etc.), communication with whom in one way or another influenced Varlamov. For example, he finally developed an ardent desire to write music “in Russian,” and his love for folk songs became more and more apparent.

During the period of life in Moscow there was also a heyday creative activity composer. Varlamov’s first romances were published, which immediately glorified the author’s name: “Red Sundress”, “What is clouded, the clear dawn”, “Don’t make noise, the winds are violent”, etc.

In addition, during the late 1830s and early 1840s, Varlamov created music for a number of performances staged on the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater, as well as in St. Petersburg. These were plays by various Russian and Western European authors, for example, “The Bigamist” by Shakhovsky, “Roslavlev” based on the novel by Zagoskin, “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, “Esmeralda” by Hugo, etc.

Varlamov's theatrical music consists mainly of songs performed with orchestral accompaniment, as well as small independent orchestral episodes. In addition, the composer also turned to ballet. Two of his ballets - “Fun of the Sultan” and “Toy Thumb” - were performed on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. During the same period, Varlamov paid a lot of attention to work in the field of romance and song. After the first publication of romances in 1833, 85 new ones were published in 10 years. vocal works composer.

Varlamov’s activity as a performer was also of considerable importance. He managed to perform romances with extraordinary subtlety own composition And folk songs. He often performed in concerts and was always a welcome participant in musical and literary evenings.

Varlamov also gained popularity as a talented teacher. In 1840, his work “School of Singing” was published, which was a generalization of a large teaching experience. This composition became the first major work in Russia on the methods of teaching vocal art.

Varlamov again spends the last three years of his life in St. Petersburg. Shortly before his death, he began publishing the music magazine "Russian Singer", which published arrangements for voice and piano of Russian and Ukrainian folk songs. His life was cut short in 1848, when the composer was only 47 years old.

In extensive creative heritage Varlamov's most significant place is occupied by his romances and songs. The composer created more than 150 solo works, row vocal ensembles and a significant number of folk treatments.

The composer's music is distinguished by sincerity, spontaneity and freshness of feelings. Civil, social theme I did not find such a direct reflection in him as in Alyabyev. But lyrical works Varlamov echoed the sentiments that prevailed in Russian society in the 1830s. This partly explains the enormous popularity of Varlamov’s songs and romances among his contemporaries. In addition, the democratic nature of his work helped Varlamov win the love of the general public, since he relied on widespread genres of everyday song art and, as a rule, composed in the same manner. At the same time, he could convey so truthfully folk character music, that some of his works were perceived as real folk songs, for example “Red Sarafan”. The melody of this romance is smooth, wide, melodious. He sang, according to famous composer N.A. Titova, “both in the nobleman’s living room and in the peasant’s smoking hut.”

Another popular romance - “Don't wake her up at dawn” (to the words of Fet) - is an elegiac, slow waltz with a simple “guitar” accompaniment, very modest in its harmonic means. Nevertheless, for all its simplicity, the music of the romance is distinguished by rare sincerity and warmth and is one of Varlamov’s best lyrical pages.

Excerpt from the romance “Don’t wake her up at dawn” by A. E. Varlamov

The composer also wrote unique vocal cycles, consisting of two contrasting songs: a slow lyrical one and a fast dance one. Such two-part cycles were very common in everyday music of the first half of the 19th century century. A cycle of two songs, “Oh, time, little time” and “Why should I live and grieve” is an example of this genre. In the first of these works, the continuity of melodic development attracts attention: the climax is prepared gradually. The features of the piano accompaniment are also interesting: subvocal polyphony, typical of folk song art, is reproduced here.

Varlamov also has works in which the influence of romanticism is clearly felt. Such, for example, is the ballad “I will saddle a horse” to the words of Timofeev. The content is conveyed in the form of a dialogue between a person dreaming of freedom and happiness, and the evil melancholy that takes it away mental strength. Varlamov goes to in this case from strict adherence to couplets and partly approaches the principle of end-to-end development. He builds the ballad form on the juxtaposition of two sharply contrasting sections. The melody of the first of them, impetuous, excited, embodies the image of youthful prowess and courage. In the final part, which tells about the death of the hero, the vocal melody is close to a recitative, and measured accompaniment chords create a feeling of numbness.

From book encyclopedic Dictionary(IN) author Brockhaus F.A.

Varlamov (Alexander Egorovich) Varlamov (Alexander Egorovich) is a very talented author of numerous Russian romances and songs, many of which have gained extreme popularity, thanks to their sincerity, melody, accessibility and often Russian folk

From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(AL) author TSB

Varlamov (Konstantin Alexandrovich) Varlamov (Konstantin Alexandrovich) - comedian, born in 1851, son of a famous composer. V. first appeared on stage in Kronstadt, in the troupe of A. M. Chitau. V. made his debut on the St. Petersburg stage in 1875. With the death of Vinogradov (1877) roles

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BA) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (VA) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GO) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (EG) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (ZA) by the author TSB

From the book Russian Literature Today. New guide author Chuprinin Sergey Ivanovich

From the book Popular History of Music author Gorbacheva Ekaterina Gennadievna

VARLAMOV The name Varlam translated from Chaldean means ‘son of the Chaldean people’. Surnames formed from this name: Varlamov, Varlashin, Varlashkin,

From the author's book

ALEXEY VARLAMOV Aleksey Nikolaevich Varlamov was born on June 23, 1963 in Moscow in the family of a Glavlit employee and a teacher of Russian language and literature. Graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University (1985). Defended his dissertation for the degree of doctor philological sciences By

From the author's book

Alexander Egorovich Varlamov Varlamov was born in 1801 in Moscow. The composer’s father was in the military, then in the civil service, and was an official with not too much income. Alexander’s musical abilities and extraordinary vocal abilities were evident as early as

The famous film “We are from Jazz” directed by Karen Shakhnazarov entered the top twenty highest-grossing films in the USSR in 1983. The film is based on stories about the creation of a Soviet jazz band in the 20s. The composer, singer, arranger and conductor Alexander Varlamov told their authors about the picture. It was with his creativity, according to Leonid Utesov, that it all began...

A short biography of Alexander Varlamov will be presented to your attention in the article.

To the modern generation, who do not understand jazz, it seems that this black music has always been not held in high esteem in the USSR. However, this is not quite true. There were persecutions against jazz, but later. In the 30s this Musical direction was considered the ideologically progressive art of the proletariat. Jazz orchestras played in the Kremlin, took part in filming at Mosfilm, for example, in the films “Circus”, “ Funny boys", "The girl is in a hurry to go on a date." There were more than a hundred jazz orchestras in the country. This style of music is loved by many. It could be heard in a restaurant, on the dance floor, in the cinema lobby before the start of the show, in a concert, circus, on the radio and gramophone record.

In Moscow in 1936, the State Jazz Orchestra was established, directed by Viktor Knushevitsky. Their jazz bands the railway workers and the Radio Committee had them. Genres such as vocal ensemble and jazz tap dance were popular among music connoisseurs. Foreign jazz orchestras from Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden also performed actively in the country.

The creative principles of jazz of the 30s determined the development path of this trend in Russia. Orchestras led by Valentin Parnakh showed in practice that jazz can become an independent act in a concert and a philharmonic genre, so the 30s can be called the “golden” time of Soviet jazz. At the same time, the jazz band of Alexander Varlamov appeared. In 1930, he created “Pervokse”, otherwise “The First Vocal Quartet of Modern Pop”.

Biography: Alexander Varlamov and his love for music in his childhood

June 19, 1904 at creative family Alexander Vladimirovich Varlamov was born. Although he himself said that his birthday does not fall a month later - July 19. They say they mixed up something in the documents and wrote it down in June. Friends and relatives congratulated the composer on his birthday twice - in June and July. He was always very happy about it.

Alexander Varlamov was born in the city of Simbirsk in quite musical environment. His great-grandfather was a composer and author of popular romances and songs. Konstantin Aleksandrovich Varlamov, great-uncle, was a famous dramatic actor. It is worth noting that many family members were also interested in music. Mother little Sasha shone in the role opera singer, sang in the church choir.

Choosing between music and theater

A logical continuation of the family dynasty was Alexander Vladimirovich Varlamov’s passion for music, which became his profession. Living in Simbirsk until September 1918, Alexander studied first in the first and then in the second men's gymnasium. In the same city he graduated music school under the leadership of E.V. Tsetnerskaya. His first musical creations, the waltz “Evening” and the play “Sadness,” were published in Simbirsk.

However, music did not immediately completely take over the dreams. young Alexander. He wanted to realize himself in the career of a dramatic actor. For this purpose, Varlamov entered the university in 1922. acting department at GITIS. However, his love for music was stronger, Alexander went into music. There he studied composition with such masters as Reinhold Gliere and Dmitry Rogal-Levitsky.

Passion for Jazz

During his years of study in Moscow, Alexander Varlamov heard jazz for the first time. He attended a jazz concert by Valentin Parnakh. The listeners were delighted and stunned by the unusual spectacle and new music. In 1926, Alexander Varlamov attended a performance by the touring jazz band Frank Wilters. The music shocked and captivated Alexander Varlamov. He began to understand the basics of jazz orchestration, playing methods, and instrumentation.

Alexander Varlamov’s passion for jazz was also given by his passion for radio engineering. He listened to this extraordinary music through a homemade radio. Jazz made the greatest impression on him after watching the film “The King of Jazz”, in which famous composer and pianist George Gershwin performed his own Rhapsody. Alexander Varlamov begins to write music himself in the jazz style.

First steps in jazz

First musical group Alexandra Varlamova became “Pervokse”. He finishes his studies, with a diploma as a conductor, in 1931-1933 he gets a job as head of the musical department of the Moscow Miniature Theater. However, he had different plans. Varlamov Alexander assembles a jazz orchestra at Central house The Red Army is holding its first concert on a grand scale.

He attracts the attention of the public through his collaboration with African-American singer Celestina Kool. By the way, the story with this performer ended up in the film “We are from Jazz.” She was invited to the USSR by a relative, a worker at the Moscow Bearing Plant, and a deputy of the Moscow City Council, Robert Robinson. In Moscow, she received citizenship and studied singing. She liked the skill of Varlamov’s orchestra and, collaborating, they even released a gramophone record.

Although during the first meeting, Celestina flatly refused to perform with a jazz ensemble consisting of whites. The administrator of the group, Felix Danilevich, had difficulty persuading the singer. Especially for her, Alexander Varlamov wrote the romances “Yellow Rose”, “Lallabai”, Williams’ “Rhapsody of Love” and “Time in My Hands”.

Later, Alexander Varlamov assembled the union’s first group of improvising musicians, “Seven”. In 1938, he worked with the jazz orchestra of the All-Union Radio Committee and performed with it on Soviet television. In the early 40s he was the leader of the jazz orchestra of the Moscow Higher Technical School. N. Bauman, later conducted the USSR State Jazz Orchestra.

With the beginning of the war, the State Jazz of the USSR was transformed into the Exemplary Jazz Orchestra of the People's Commissariat of Defense. The team went to the front, where almost all the orchestra members died. Alexander Varlamov remained in Moscow and directed symphonic jazz at the All-Union Studio pop art. He prepared musical numbers for performances in front of US sailors in the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

Years in exile

Far-reaching plans talented musician were unexpectedly interrupted in the winter of 1943. Alexander Varlamov was taken into custody by a military convoy. He was deported from Moscow to the Urals, and then to Kazakhstan. Until 1948, he was the leader of the camp orchestra and worked as a teacher in Karaganda. There are several versions of the reasons for the detention and arrest of the composer, but the exact reason is unknown. Alexander Varlamov was accused of preparing concerts for the Germans, preparing to escape abroad and betraying the Motherland. He spent 13 years in camps and exile.

After the war

The composer was rehabilitated in 1956 and reinstated in the Composers' Union. After returning to Moscow, Alexander Vladimirovich Varlamov composed music for pop orchestras, television programs, films. With him light hand Such compositions for orchestra as “Early Hour”, “Merry Hour”, “Life is Full of Happiness”, “Dixie Lee” and others gained popularity.

He wrote plays: “Romantic Rhapsody”, “My Favorite Land”, “Believe me, you understand” and others. Varlamov was talented translator, translated foreign songs and performed them. He was the arranger of the Italian barcarolle performed by Adelina Patti.

Alexander Varlamov is a composer who wrote works for big band in the 70s. Hometown In 1986 he dedicated the composition “Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra” to Simbirsk, later called Ulyanovsk. He worked hard on his performing technique and ensemble playing musicians, which caused a noticeable increase in professionalism in Soviet jazz and influenced the development of the jazz movement in the USSR. At the end of his life, Alexander Varlamov lived in Moscow in the Bibirevo area. In 1979 he was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the RSFSR”. The composer died on August 20, 1990, he was buried at

Alexander Varlamov

Pianist, jazz composer, conductor, leader of a jazz orchestra.
Honored Artist of the RSFSR (11/1/1979).

Born into the family of a collegiate, then a state councilor, a member of the Simbirsk District Court. Until September 1918 he lived in Simbirsk, studied at the second men's gymnasium. In 1912, his first works were published in Simbirsk. musical works- the play “Sadness” and the waltz “Evening”.

In 1922 he entered GITIS (in the same workshop with Erast Pavlovich Garin and Nikolai Pavlovich Okhlopkov). However, he soon leaves there and enters the Gnessin School in the class of Reinhold Moritsevich Gliere and Dmitry Romanovich Rogal-Levitsky (fellow student in the composition class - Aram Khachaturian).

He assembled the first group of improvising musicians in the USSR (“Seven”). In 1937 he created the jazz orchestra of the All-Union Radio Committee, which he led until 1939, in 1940-1941 - chief conductor State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR. At the beginning of the war he headed symphonic jazz in Moscow.
In 1943-1956 he lived in the Urals and Kazakhstan, where he was deported. Until 1948 he led the camp orchestra, and later worked as a teacher in Karaganda. After rehabilitation, he returned to Moscow and wrote music for pop orchestras, films and television productions. IN last years life lived on Leskova Street, house 10-b in the Bibirevo district of Moscow.

The future composer came from the “Volosh”, that is, Moldavian nobles. He was born in Moscow on November 15 (27), 1801 in the poor family of a modest, titular adviser Yegor Ivanovich Varlamov.

As a child, Sasha passionately loved music and singing, especially church singing, and early began to play the violin by ear (Russian songs).

At the age of ten, the boy was assigned by his father, on the advice of friends who appreciated his early manifested musical talent, to the St. Petersburg Court Singing Chapel under the direction of the famous Bortnyansky. At first, Varlamov was preparing for a career as a singer, but due to his weakening voice, he abandoned this idea.

In the singing chapel, Varlamov studied music, was a choir singer, and later the author of a number of spiritual compositions.

During the years of study there, along with his vocal talent, he discovered extraordinary teaching abilities (primarily as a choirmaster).

In 1819, Varlamov was appointed regent of the Russian court church in The Hague, where the sister of Emperor Alexander I, Anna Pavlovna, who was married to the Crown Prince of the Netherlands, then lived. Varlamov, apparently, did not work at all on the theory of musical composition and was left with the meager knowledge that he could have learned from the chapel (in those days, the leadership of the chapel cared little about the general musical development of their students).

At that time there was an excellent French opera in The Hague and Brussels, with whose artists Varlamov became acquainted. Listening to Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” Varlamov was especially delighted by the skillful use in the finale of Act 2 of the Russian song “What was the need to fence a garden,” which the Italian maestro, according to Varlamov, “well, masterfully translated into Polish.” Perhaps this is where he learned his knowledge of vocal art, which gave him the opportunity to later become a good singing teacher.

In 1823 Varlamov returned to Russia.

From 1823 he lived in St. Petersburg, where he taught at theater school and for some time served in the Chapel as a chorister and teacher. During this period, Varlamov became close to

M.I. Glinka, took part in the performance of his works, and performed in public concerts as a conductor and singer.

The heyday of his work occurred during the Moscow period of his life (1832–1844). Successful debut as a composer in a play

A.A. Shakhovsky Roslavlev (1832) and work in theatrical genres contributed to Varlamov’s obtaining the position of assistant bandmaster (1832), and then “composer of music” with the orchestra of the Imperial Moscow Theaters. Varlamov wrote music for Shakespeare's Hamlet commissioned by the famous actor

P.S. Mochalov (1837), staged his ballets “Fun of the Sultan” (1834), “The Cunning Boy and the Ogre” (1837), etc. in Moscow.

In the early 1830s. Varlamov’s first romances and songs appear (in total he created more than 100 works of this genre, and among them “Red Sundress”, “What has become foggy, the clear dawn”, “Don’t make noise, violent winds” (published in 1835–1837)).

Varlamov successfully performed as a singer, was a popular vocal teacher (taught at Theater School, Orphanage, gave private lessons).

In 1834–1835 he published the magazine “Aeolian Harp”, where he published both his own romances and piano works, as well as works by other authors.

In 1840, Varlamov published “The Complete School of Singing.”

The composer also tried his hand at sacred music. He owns “Cherubimskaya” for eight and four voices (Gresser edition, 1844). But Varlamov soon realized that the majestic church style, requiring strict endurance, did not suit the nature of his talent and his musical technique, which was not particularly developed; he again switched to his favorite forms of song and romance.

After 1845, the musician lived in St. Petersburg, where he moved in the hope of getting a job as a teacher in the Court Chapel, but various reasons this plan did not materialize. He was a member of St. Petersburg literary and artistic circles; became close friends with

A.S. Dargomyzhsky and A.A. Grigoriev (two poems by this poet and critic are dedicated to Varlamov).

In St. Petersburg, Varlamov began giving private lessons, performed in concerts, and arranged Russian folk songs (in 1846, a collection of these songs, “Russian Singer,” was published).

Varlamov's romances were performed in salons, and the famous Pauline Viardot (1821–1910) sang them in her concerts.

The composer died in St. Petersburg on October 15 (27), 1848. Gurilev’s romance “Memory of Varlamov”, collective piano variations on the theme of his romance “The Flying Nightingale” are dedicated to his memory (among the authors are A. G. Rubinstein, A. Genselt), as well as “Musical collection in memory of A.E. Varlamov”, published in 1851, included, along with the works of the late composer, romances by the most prominent Russian musicians.

Musical heritage:

A.E. Varlamov left more than 200 romances (including 42 Russian folk songs, arranged by him for one voice and piano, of which 4 are Little Russian, a small number of works for 3 voices, three church works for choir (cherubim) and three piano pieces (a march and two waltz).

Most of his romances and songs are based on texts by Russian poets (M. Yu. Lermontov, A. V. Koltsova, N. G. Tsyganov, A. N. Pleshcheev, A. A. Fet).

Songs and Romances:

"Red Sundress"

"I'll saddle the horse"(both served as themes for Wieniawski’s violin fantasy “Souvenir de Moscou”),

"Grass"

"Nightingale"

“Why have I become foggy?”

"Angel",

"Ophelia's Song"

"I feel sorry for you",

"No, doctor, no"

"Don't wake her up at dawn"

“There’s a snowstorm blowing along the street,”

"Mountain peaks", etc.

Varlamov is the author of the music for dramatic performances, including "Roslavlev"(together with A. N. Verstovsky), “The Bigamist”, “Ermak”, “Murom Forests”, “Hamlet” and etc.; ballets "Fun of the Sultan"(1834), "The Cunning Boy and the Ogre"(based on the fairy tale “The Little Thumb” by C. Perrault, together with A. S. Guryanov, 1837); choirs, vocal ensembles, etc.

Varlamov also owns the first Russian "School of Singing"(Moscow, 1840), the first part of which (theoretical) is a reworking of the Parisian school of Andrade, while the other two (practical) are independent in nature and contain valuable instructions on vocal art, which have not lost their significance even now.

He is one of the greatest masters of vocal lyrics of the 1st half XIX century His romances and “Russian songs” enjoyed great success among mass audiences.