Igor Presnyakov
Igor Presnyakov is a guitar virtuoso and arranger of Russian origin who lives in Amsterdam for more than 20 years. Being one of the brightest representatives of fingerstyle, he managed to develop his own special playing technique, which was formed under the influence of various musical styles and innovative performing solutions. Peculiar “beat” on the guitar body is one of the distinctive features of his technique. The wide popularity of the musician was brought by the performance of world hits in his own arrangement giving them a completely unique sounding. But it is not always possible to hear the vocals of the song, the vocal part is often expressed by the melody and in the skillful hands of the virtuoso the instrument begins to sing instead of words. Along with cover versions of famous songs, Igor Presnyakov also performs works of his own composition.
Considering the guitar as a kind of mini-orchestra, the musician with his virtuosic performance creates the illusion of sounding of the full ensemble: with bass, drums, piano and first-second-third vocal parties. He has a mastery over all genres and styles: classics, romances, rock, R&B, country, jazz, metal – nothing causes difficulties in mastering and performing.
Igor Presnyakov as a great experimenter being in constant creative search for new musical forms often plays the completely unexpected things for a guitar, not intended for it at first glance.
He is one of the few professional guitarists who play the seven-string guitar, once considered a native Russian and Gypsy instrument.
The broad popularity came to the musician along with his YouTube debut in 2007. His official channel Iggypres has about 200 million views and more than 400 thousand subscribers to date. Igor Presnyakov pleases his fans with a new video almost every week, and on each of them he tries to be different, thinking over, in addition to the arrangement and manner of performance, also his appearance in accordance with the performed composition.
Igor Vitalyevich Presnyakov was born on May 8, 1960 in Moscow. He studied classical guitar at the academy and graduated as a guitarist and conductor of the ensemble. In the late 1970s, he participated in several hard rock bands as a lead guitarist, vocalist and arranger. And in the troubled time of the USSR collapse, in 1991, he decided to emigrate to the Netherlands to continue a further career as a musician there. Was it the right decision? Igor Presnyakov still asks this question in moments of nostalgia for his homeland, but, alas, as they say, history is a harsh judge, including the history of human life. Even after living abroad for more than 20 years, Igor Presnyakov positioning himself as a Russian musician, having in its repertoire Russian romances and cover versions of Soviet-times compositions in addition to modern foreign music.
And finally, 22 years after leaving abroad, on April 5, 2013, the first solo concert of the musician in the home country took place in the Moscow club “B2”. According to Igor Presnyakov, he prepared for it very responsibly, because he had to perform in front of his native audience, and in his track list he tried to take into account all the wishes of fans expressed on his official Russian-language website. According to the enthusiastic reviews of the audience, everything was at the highest level, and the concert brought only positive emotions. The guitarist promised his Russian fans that this is only the beginning, and he will definitely play concerts not only in Moscow, but also in other cities of Russia.
At the moment, Igor Presnyakov has a busy tour schedule in Europe, at the same time not forgetting to pamper his fans with new original arrangements on official Internet resources, participates in TV and radio shows. He is the official endorser of Takamine guitars and Fender amplifiers. His music was used in the “Six Years” play by Sherr White, which was performed at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood. In 2013his latest album at the moment “IGGYFIED” was released, consisting of a selection of the best covers and some original works. So far, the musician is not engaged in teaching, giving himself completely to the creative process and his audience, because there are so many yet unrealized plans and unplayed works…
