Alexander Alyabyev was passionate about music from a young age, learning to play the piano and studying the basics of composition. He created romances to the verses of famous poets, vocal miniatures, and also wrote works for orchestra and operas for the capital's theaters. Even while in Siberian exile, Alyabyev continued to engage in music.

Alyabyev was born on August 15, 1787, in Tobolsk to a civil governor's family. Music often filled the Alyabyev home, with participation from both parents and guests, including exiles whom the composer's father supported. In 1796, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where his father took a position in the Berg Collegium, and Alexander began taking music lessons from Johann Heinrich Miller. Later, he moved to Moscow, enrolled in a boarding school at Moscow University, and began studying composition.

From the age of 14, Alyabyev was nominally employed, and then began actual service in the Moscow Berg office, combining work with music studies. In 1810, his first compositions were published: a romance and waltzes.

With the onset of the Patriotic War, Alyabyev was assigned to a Cossack regiment and sent to Ukraine. There, he met Denis Davydov and joined his partisan detachment, later being transferred to the Irkutsk Hussar Regiment in Kobrin, Belarus. Here, he befriended Alexander Griboedov and Nikolai Tolstoy, the father of Leo Tolstoy.

During his military service, Alyabyev received several awards, including two Orders of Saint Anna of the third degree and the Order of Saint Vladimir of the fourth degree. In his free time, he composed string quartets, piano trios and quintets, as well as numerous romances, including the elegy to Pushkin's verses "The Daylight Has Gone Out."

On February 12, 1822, the premiere of Nikolai Khmelnitsky's vaudeville with music by Alyabyev, Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer, and Alexei Verstovsky, "New Mischief, or The Theatrical Battle," took place at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg. This marked Alyabyev's debut as a theatrical composer.

In January 1823, the opera-vaudeville "The Village Philosopher" was staged at the theater on Mokhovaya, and in June, the premiere of Alyabyev's opera "Moonlit Night, or The Domovoi" took place in St. Petersburg and Moscow, achieving great success. Vladimir Odoevsky wrote that Alyabyev's operas were on par with French comic operas.

Over time, military service became burdensome for the composer, and he submitted a request for retirement. At the end of 1823, he was dismissed, and Alyabyev settled in Moscow, where he participated in musical evenings at the home of Maria Ivanovna Rimskaya-Korsakova. Later, her younger daughter, Ekaterina, became his wife.

In 1825, Alyabyev's music was performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. For the opening of the new theater building, Mikhail Dmitriev wrote a poetic prologue "The Triumph of the Muses," with music created by Friedrich Sholtz, Alexei Verstovsky, and Alexander Alyabyev.

However, the composer's life was not limited to musical evenings and premieres. In February 1825, he was arrested after a card game during which a quarrel occurred, and one participant died three days later. A witness claimed that Alyabyev struck him, and despite the lack of other evidence, the composer ended up in prison, where he continued to write music.

While the investigation was ongoing, Alyabyev composed several opera-vaudevilles, the romance "The Nightingale," and a vocal miniature to the verses of Anton Delvig. On December 1, 1827, the State Council delivered its verdict: Alyabyev was stripped of his noble title, awards, and exiled to Siberia.

In February, he arrived in Tobolsk under the supervision of the governor of Western Siberia, Ivan Velyaminov, who allowed him to engage in music. That same year, the "Cossack Music" orchestra was transferred to Tobolsk, which Alyabyev took under his wing, transforming it into a full-fledged symphony orchestra.

Thanks to the efforts of Velyaminov and his relatives, in 1832, Alyabyev was permitted to travel to the Caucasus for eye treatment. There, he became fascinated with Caucasian folklore and composed romances inspired by local melodies, which were included in the collection "The Caucasian Singer." He also began working on the music for Bestuzhev-Marlinsky's story "Ammalat-Bek," which later became the basis for the opera of the same name.

In 1833, Alyabyev was allowed to settle in Orenburg, where he came under the patronage of Governor-General Vasily Perovsky. Perovsky sought permission for the composer to live in the Moscow province, at his relatives' estate.

Alyabyev continued to compose actively. In 1838, he wrote music for Pushkin's "Rusalka," inspired by the poet's demise. The performance was presented at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, but only the composer's initials were indicated on the poster.

In 1843, after numerous petitions, Alyabyev was allowed to live in Moscow, although his noble title was not restored. In Moscow, he became a regular participant in the "Thursdays" at Alexander Veltman's home, where famous writers and musicians gathered. Alyabyev devoted much time to choral works and prepared for publication a "Collection of Various Russian Songs" for choir, which included miniatures to the verses of famous poets. However, the collection was published only in 1952.

Alexander Alyabyev passed away in 1851 and was buried in the family tomb at Simonov Monastery. During the Soviet era, the monastery was destroyed, and the graves of the composer and his relatives were obliterated.