[1] The father of pianist and composer Aleksander Gurilyov, Lev was a violin player and kapellmeister in the orchestra of Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov, the younger brother of Catherine the Great, to which was owned according to the principles of serfdom.
[2][3] The majority of his life was spent on the Semenovskoye-Otrada estate[rus], owned by the Orlov family, although several moves occurred.
[2] He was most notably the contemporary of other late-baroque and early-classical, serf composers in Russia like Dmitry Bortniansky, Stepan Degtyarev, and Daniil Kashin.
[6] So competent and proficient was Gurilyov at his duties that performances had become well-attended, with popularity of work reaching other royal families and being notable for its praised combination of serf musicians from other regions.
[2] Emancipated after the death of his owner in 1831, Lev Gurilyov composed many piano pieces and variations on Russian folk themes.