Sikhra, Andrei Osipovich

Born 1773 in Vilnius; died Dec. 3(15), 1850, in St. Petersburg. Russian guitarist, composer, and teacher.

The son of a music teacher, Sikhra pursued a concert career in the late 1780’s as a virtuoso harpist. In 1802 (according to some sources, in 1805) he took up residence in Moscow; circa 1820 he moved to St. Petersburg. Sikhra was a virtuoso on the seven-string guitar. He also appeared in ensemble performances with his students. He was the author of Russian Songs and Variations, transcriptions, and a study course for the seven-string guitar. He also published journals of scores for the theater: Journal pour guitarre à sept cordes (Journal for the Seven-string Guitar, 1826–27) and Peterburgskii zhurnal (St. Petersburg Journal, 1828–29). Sikhra’s students included S. N. Aksenov, M. T. Vysotskii, and V. I. Morkov. The singer O. A. Petrov also took lessons from him.