Balalaikas take over the stage at Strathmore

Audiences might want to leave their notions of the orchestra’s classic components — strings accompanied by woodwinds, brass and percussion — at the lobby door before experiencing the unique and full sounds of the American Balalaika Orchestra on Saturday at the Music Center at Strathmore. The ABS, led by artistic director and conductor Peter Trofimenko, presents a program titled “From the Cities to the Steppes: Music of Old Russia.” The pieces presented are by Russian and Ukrainian composers, whose works are basically unfamiliar to American audiences. Less familiar than the compositions, however, is the orchestral makeup itself, which is a stunning surprise to all who see and hear it.

Maintaining a musical tradition that dates to 19th century Russia, the Balalaika Symphony replaces the usual bowed strings of the violins and violas with plucked balalaikas and domras, which produce an all encompassing, almost glistening sound, augmented by wind and percussion sections.

“You will see 18 balalaikas and 27 domras,” Trofimenko said, counting aloud the pieces of his “string” section. “Where an orchestra has four kinds of strings, we have two different types of strings in three different sizes. The domras play the melody line [and] the balalaikas play harmony.”

Accompanying the plucked strings are two other Russian folk instruments — the bayan, a type of button accordion and the gusli, a large horizontal table harp.

Trofimenko cautions against the conception that his 70-member orchestra will be playing “folksy” music.

“As a symphony, we transcend the boundaries of ethnic music,” he said. “We are playing highly sophisticated scores but on instruments that sound very different from the usual violins.”

However, much of the music on the very full repertoire such as Trotsenko’s “Carpathian Rhapsody” derives from ancient folk traditions evoking the rivers, woods and steppes of old Russia. Other pieces, like Kornev’s “Volga Quadrille” and “Two Guitars” is lively dance music.

“This is really an amazing orchestra of 70 pieces,” Strathmore’s artistic director Shelley Brown said. “The group was very well suited for a presentation on the main stage.”

The concert is the culmination of the Great Strathmore Giveaway contest that was held in celebration of the center’s 25th anniversary. Residents of Washington, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania applied to win the use of Strathmore for a one-day artistic presentation. The American Balalaika Symphony won the contest.

However, it may likely be the audience who come out winners as they experience the sound of something completely different, yet universal in its appeal.

“The music has meaning for humankind at large,” Trofimenko said.