Aydar Gaynullin

Aydar Gaynullin is more than a master on the bayan, he is a musical genius and gifted entertainer. On the Eastern European chromatic button accordion Gaynullin is able to perform the most demanding Toccatas by Bach, tangos by Piazzolla, popular Csárdás tunes or even "We will rock you" by Queen – apparently there is no musical style too difficult for this energetic musician. Gaynullin seems to get pleasure in conquering new genres, surprising his audiences with his technical skills, creating magical landscapes of sound as well as exploring rhythmic extravagances and effective outbursts.  

Experiencing Aydar Gaynullin in live concerts is a true sensation. His fingers run over the buttons of his instrument with athletic power at breathtaking speed. Besides his own compositions, Gaynullin electrifies classical music, tango, jazz, ethno-folk, rock and experimental music and performs in crossover projects. The diversity of his music could not be more distant from superficiality. His renditions of pieces from the most diverse epochs and origins is always marked by profound musicality and creative seriousness.

Gaynullin has become a star far beyond his Russian homeland. He performed on TV, played along with Anna Netrebko and Mstislaw Rostropowitsch and performed for personalities like  Mikhail Gorbachev, Vladimir Putin, Jacques Chirac or Queen Sophia of Spain, accompanied by renowned orchestras. In 2016 Gaynullin was appointed soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2020 he made his debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, he performed together with the mandolin virtuoso Avi  Avital and master violinist Daniel Hope in the concert series Hope@Home in Berlin's "Bar  Tausend" for ARTE. Together with Avital. Besides he gave a highly acclaimed streaming concert as part of the series Elbphilharmonie at Home | Blind Date.  

Gaynullin also plays on the Accordina, a wind instrument that disposes of a reduced button bar like an accordion. Besides that, he is a vocalist and was awarded for the music he writes for plays and films at festivals in Venice, Moscow and New York. He is often accompanied by his Euphoria Orchestra, an ensemble that also performs without him.  

The Tatar artist received a scholarship from the International Charitable Foundation "New  Names" in 1992, followed by an award by the Russian Cultural Fund and an inscription into the "Golden Book" of the Russian President in 1994. From 1996 to 2000 Gaynullin studied with Andrei Ledenjow and then with Prof. Fridrich Lips. In 2003 Gaynullin was elected honorary member of the conservatory in Kaunas (Lithuania). In 2005 he graduated with distinction from the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music (Prof. F. Lips). In 2008 he graduated  from the "Hanns Eisler" Academy of Music (Prof. Gudrun Wall) in Berlin where he lives  together with his family.