Troika Variations

The song known as Troika, evokes the old Russian three-horse carriage and the symbolism inherent in images of the vast distances of the Russian landscape, far away and unrequited love, the romantic melancholy of autumn. The Troika Variations are characteristic of Orekhov's improvisatory style, so closely influenced by Russian gypsy music. The arrangement, in another form, first made by Boris Khlopovsky, has been circulating among Russian guitarists for many years, and it was the one played by Alexei Zimakov in the 1991 GFA competition, a performance which won him the first prize.