Alexander Gradsky
Encyclopedia
Alexander Borisovich Gradsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("21644")' href="/topics/Kopeysk">Kopeysk
) is a Russia
n rock
singer, bard
, multi-instrumentalist
and composer
. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His diverse repertoire includes rock 'n' roll, traditional folk songs performed with a rock twist, and opera
tic aria
s. He has composed two rock operas and numerous songs including soundtrack music for several films.
, Louis Armstrong
and Little Richard
. Such music was not ordinarily available in Soviet Russia at that time.
By the age of 12, Gradsky was singing Elvis Presley songs and accompanying himself on guitar. In 1963, at the age of 13, he sang with a Polish student band called Tarakany (Тараканы - The Cockroaches) in a concert at the International Club of Moscow State University. This is believed to have been the first public performance of rock 'n' roll by any Russian musician.
, whereas the other band members did not think that such endeavours could be successful and wanted to continue performing imported songs.
Gradsky consequently decided to form his own band, Skomorokhi (Скоморохи - The Jesters or The Buffoons) in 1967. His band became popular playing original Russian songs, as Gradsky blended elements of Western rock music with the lyric-centred, folk-influenced Russian bard music which was popular around that time. He enrolled in Gnesin Music Academy in 1969, but continued to perform with Skomorokhi while a student. A successful performance at the Soviet pop-rock festival Silver Strings was followed with airplay and record deals.
In 1973, film director Andrei Konchalovsky
asked Alexander Gradsky to compose and perform music for the film Romance for Lovers (Романс о влюблённых - Romance o vlyublënnyh), which was released in 1974, the same year in which Gradsky graduated with a Master's degree in vocal performance. Gradsky performed all the male vocal parts in the film soundtrack, which brought him fame as a solo artist. His many records released during his long career encompass a variety of genres. His first rock opera, Stadium (Стадион - Stadion), was released as a double LP
in 1985. He also composed a rock ballet The Man (Человек - Chelovek), released in 1988.
Gradksy is a tenor
who is reported to have a three-and-a-half octave
vocal range
, and also plays 12 instruments. He performed the demanding role of the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel
(Золотой Петушок - Zolotoy Petushok) in Moscow
's Bolshoi Theatre
in 1988.
His collaboration with John Denver
, with whom he performed the 1986 song Let us Begin..., brought him to wider international attention. In 1999, he performed a recital
at New York City
's Carnegie Hall
.
Since the late '80s, Gradsky has been teaching vocals at the Gnesin Music Academy as well as performing.
In late 2009, Alexander Gradsky released a 4-CD opera adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov
's novel The Master and Margarita
(Ма́стер и Маргари́та), starring Gradsky himself as Master, Woland, Yeshua and Behemoth.
The opera also stars Nikolai Fomenko as Koroviev, Mikhail Seryshev (formerly of Master) as Ivan, and Elena Minina as Margarita, in addition to many renowned Russian singers and actors in episodic roles, including (but not limited to) Iosif Kobzon, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, Andrei Makarevich, Alexander Rosenbaum, Arkady Arkanov, Gennady Khazanov and the late Georgi Millyar (voice footage from one of his movies was used).
in the 1970s, after her divorce from Nikita Mikhalkov
.
Kopeysk
Kopeysk is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Chelyabinsk. Population: The population growth of the city between 2002 and 2010 was caused by the annexation of surrounding settlements....
) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer, bard
Bard (Soviet Union)
The term bard came to be used in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, and continues to be used in Russia today, to refer to singer-songwriters who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment, similarly to beatnik folk singers of the United States...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His diverse repertoire includes rock 'n' roll, traditional folk songs performed with a rock twist, and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s. He has composed two rock operas and numerous songs including soundtrack music for several films.
Early life and musical beginnings
Alexander Gradsky was born on November 3, 1949 in the Russian city of Kopeysk. His father was an engineer working in a factory, and his mother was an actress. His mother encouraged him to learn to play the violin as a child, and her brother, Alexander Gradsky's uncle, was a dancer who toured abroad and brought home records of Western music artists including Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
. Such music was not ordinarily available in Soviet Russia at that time.
By the age of 12, Gradsky was singing Elvis Presley songs and accompanying himself on guitar. In 1963, at the age of 13, he sang with a Polish student band called Tarakany (Тараканы - The Cockroaches) in a concert at the International Club of Moscow State University. This is believed to have been the first public performance of rock 'n' roll by any Russian musician.
Other bands
In the mid-1960s, Gradsky joined the band Slaviane (Славяне - The Slavs) as lead singer. The band's repertoire consisted almost entirely of Beatles and Rolling Stones covers. In 1966-'67, he was working with three bands: Slaviane, Los Panchos and Skify (Скифы - The Scythians). However, he found himself disagreeing with his Slaviane bandmates over the direction the band should take. Gradsky wanted to perform original rock songs in his native Russian languageRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, whereas the other band members did not think that such endeavours could be successful and wanted to continue performing imported songs.
Gradsky consequently decided to form his own band, Skomorokhi (Скоморохи - The Jesters or The Buffoons) in 1967. His band became popular playing original Russian songs, as Gradsky blended elements of Western rock music with the lyric-centred, folk-influenced Russian bard music which was popular around that time. He enrolled in Gnesin Music Academy in 1969, but continued to perform with Skomorokhi while a student. A successful performance at the Soviet pop-rock festival Silver Strings was followed with airplay and record deals.
Solo career
Andrei Konchalovsky
Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky is a Soviet-American and Russian film director, film producer and screenwriter....
asked Alexander Gradsky to compose and perform music for the film Romance for Lovers (Романс о влюблённых - Romance o vlyublënnyh), which was released in 1974, the same year in which Gradsky graduated with a Master's degree in vocal performance. Gradsky performed all the male vocal parts in the film soundtrack, which brought him fame as a solo artist. His many records released during his long career encompass a variety of genres. His first rock opera, Stadium (Стадион - Stadion), was released as a double LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1985. He also composed a rock ballet The Man (Человек - Chelovek), released in 1988.
Gradksy is a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who is reported to have a three-and-a-half octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
, and also plays 12 instruments. He performed the demanding role of the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
(Золотой Петушок - Zolotoy Petushok) in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in 1988.
His collaboration with John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, with whom he performed the 1986 song Let us Begin..., brought him to wider international attention. In 1999, he performed a recital
Recital
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer.The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt....
at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
Since the late '80s, Gradsky has been teaching vocals at the Gnesin Music Academy as well as performing.
In late 2009, Alexander Gradsky released a 4-CD opera adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhaíl Afanásyevich Bulgákov was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.-Biography:Mikhail Bulgakov was born on...
's novel The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
(Ма́стер и Маргари́та), starring Gradsky himself as Master, Woland, Yeshua and Behemoth.
The opera also stars Nikolai Fomenko as Koroviev, Mikhail Seryshev (formerly of Master) as Ivan, and Elena Minina as Margarita, in addition to many renowned Russian singers and actors in episodic roles, including (but not limited to) Iosif Kobzon, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, Andrei Makarevich, Alexander Rosenbaum, Arkady Arkanov, Gennady Khazanov and the late Georgi Millyar (voice footage from one of his movies was used).
Personal life
Alexander Gradsky has been married four times, perhaps most notably to actress Anastasiya VertinskayaAnastasiya Vertinskaya
Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya , a Soviet and Russian actress whose mass popularity and high critical acclaim made her one of the most distinguished figures in the history of the 20th century Soviet cinema...
in the 1970s, after her divorce from Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
.
Rock operas
| Russian title | English translation | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Стадион | Stadium | 1985 |
| Мастер и Маргарита | The Master and Margarita | 2009 |
Other albums and EPs
| Russian title | English translation | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Давид Тухманов "Как прекрасен этот мир" | David Tukhmanov "What a wonderful world" (includes 2 songs by Alexander Gradsky) |
1972 |
| Поёт Александр Градский | Alexander Gradsky Sings | 1973 (EP) |
| Романс о влюбленных" | Romance about Lovers | 1974 |
| Песни из к/ф "Солнце, снова солнце" | Songs from the movie "Sun, sun again" | 1976 |
| Александр Градский и ансамбль "Скоморохи" | Alexander Gradsky and "Skomorokhi" | 1978 (EP) |
| Александр Градский & Элтон Джон (Только ты верь мне) |
Alexander Gradsky & Elton John (Only you trust me) |
1979 (EP) |
| Русские песни | Russian Songs | 1980 |
| Нам не жить друг без друга | We Can't Live Without Each Other | 1980 (EP) |
| "Сама жизнь" Вокальная сюита на стихи Поля Элюара |
"Life Itself" Vocal Suite on verses of Paul Eluard |
1984 |
| "Звезда полей" Вокальная сюита на стихи Н.Рубцова |
"Fields Star" Vocal Suite on verses by N. Rubtsov |
1986 |
| "Сатиры" Вокальная сюита на стихи Саши Черного |
"Satire" Vocal Suite on verses of Sasha Cherny |
1987 |
| Давайте начнём | Let's Get Started | 1987 (EP) |
| Утопия АГ | Utopia AG | 1987 |
| "Размышления шута" Вокальная сюита |
"Reflections of a Jester" Vocal Suite |
1987 |
| "Флейта и рояль" Вокальная сюита на стихи Б.Пастернака и В.Маяковского |
"Flute and Grand Piano" Vocal Suite on verses by Boris Pasternak & Vladimir Mayakovsky |
1988 |
| "Ностальгия" Вокальная сюита на стихи В.Набокова |
"Nostalgia" Vocal Suite on verses by Vladimir Nabokov |
1988 |
| "Человек" Балет |
"The Man" Ballet |
1988 |
| "Монте-Кристо" Музыка и песни из х\ф "Узник замка Иф" |
"Monte Cristo" Music and Songs from the Movie "Prisoner of Château d'If" |
1989 |
| Концерт -сюита | Concert Suite | 1989 |
| Экспедиция | Expedition | 1990 |
| (n/a) | Metamorphoses | 1991 |
| Несвоевременные песни | Untimely Songs | 1994 |
| Фрукты с кладбища | Fruit from the Cemetery | 1995 |
| ЖИВьЕМ в "России" | (A)live in "Russia" | 1996 |
| Золотое Старье | Gold Junk | 1996 |
| Коллекция АГ (13CD) | Collection of AG (13 CD set) | 1996 |
| "Легенды русского рока" А.Градский и группа Cкоморохи |
"Legends of Russian Rock" A. Gradsky and "Skomorokhi" |
1997 |
| ЖИВьЕМ в "России" 2 | (A)live in "Russia" 2 | 2000 |
| Хрестоматия | Reader | 2003 |
| Песни для Иры | Songs for Ira | 2003 |
DVDs
| Russian title | English translation | Year |
|---|---|---|
| ЖИВьЕМ в "России" 2 Юбилейный видеоконцерт |
(A)live in "Russia" 2 Jubilee video concerts |
2004 |
| ЖИВьЕМ в "России" Юбилейный видеоконцерт |
(A)live in "Russia" Jubilee video concerts |
2010 |
| "Антиперестроечный Блюз" (фильм -концерт 1990 г.) |
"Anti-Perestroika Blues" (Film-concert 1990) |
2010 |