Valentina Tolkunova
Encyclopedia
Valentina Tolkunova was a Soviet
and Russian
singer and was bestowed the title of Honored Artist of RSFSR (1979) and People's Artist of RSFSR (1987). Her performances exhibited a kindhearted mood and sincerity, and her voice was noted for its clarity.
. In 1966 she became a member of Yury Saulsky
's jazz band VIO-66 as a soloist and jazz singer. In 1971 she graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College
and recorded songs for the TV series Den' za Dnem (Day After Day). 1972 was Tolkunova's breakthrough year, due to a noted performance of songs by Vladimir Shainsky
, and marked the beginning of a successful career in radio and TV. In 1973 she began a busy collaboration with the Moscow Philharmonic Concert Association (Moskonzert), and in 1989 she founded and became the director of her own theatre. Over a thirty-year recording career, Valentina Tolkunova released at least thirteen albums. She also won many awards in Soviet republics and was a 23-time winner of the "Song of the Year" competition on television.
On 16 February 2010, Tolkunova became ill during a concert in Mogilev
, Belarus
, and went to a local hospital where she was diagnosed with brain tumor
before being transferred to the Botkin Clinic in Moscow. On 22 March, she went into a coma
and died two hours later of a brain tumor.
Soviet people
Soviet people or Soviet nation was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Initially used as a nonspecific reference to the Soviet population, it was eventually declared to be a "new historical, social and international unity of people".-Nationality politics in early Soviet...
and Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
singer and was bestowed the title of Honored Artist of RSFSR (1979) and People's Artist of RSFSR (1987). Her performances exhibited a kindhearted mood and sincerity, and her voice was noted for its clarity.
Biography
At age 18 Valentina Tolkunova entered Moscow State UniversityMoscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. In 1966 she became a member of Yury Saulsky
Yury Saulsky
-External links:*...
's jazz band VIO-66 as a soloist and jazz singer. In 1971 she graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College
Gnessin State Musical College
The Gnessin State Musical College and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music is a prominent music school in Moscow, Russia...
and recorded songs for the TV series Den' za Dnem (Day After Day). 1972 was Tolkunova's breakthrough year, due to a noted performance of songs by Vladimir Shainsky
Vladimir Shainsky
Vladimir Yakovlevich Shainsky is a Soviet and Russian composer.Vladimir Shainsky was born in 1925 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. In 1936, he became a student at the musical school in Kiev, where he learned to play the violin. However, his studies were interrupted by the German-Soviet War , when...
, and marked the beginning of a successful career in radio and TV. In 1973 she began a busy collaboration with the Moscow Philharmonic Concert Association (Moskonzert), and in 1989 she founded and became the director of her own theatre. Over a thirty-year recording career, Valentina Tolkunova released at least thirteen albums. She also won many awards in Soviet republics and was a 23-time winner of the "Song of the Year" competition on television.
On 16 February 2010, Tolkunova became ill during a concert in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and went to a local hospital where she was diagnosed with brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
before being transferred to the Botkin Clinic in Moscow. On 22 March, she went into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
and died two hours later of a brain tumor.