Biography. Evgeny Martynov: the strange death of a Soviet singer Evgeny Martynov’s wife got married

20 years ago, on September 3, 1990, at the age of 42, the wonderful singer and composer Evgeny MARTYNOV, the author of the songs “Swan Fidelity”, “Apple Trees in Blossom”, “Alyonushka”, etc., passed away. According to the official version, his heart gave out entrance of your own home, and help came too late. However, Evgeny’s younger brother, Honored Artist of Russia, composer Yuri MARTYNOV, believes that the circumstances of the singer’s death are far from so clear.

- Yuri Grigorievich, before his death, your brother was in a legal battle with people who cheated him out of a large sum...

These were the organizers of his tour in the Ryazan region, who did not pay his brother the fee. Zhenya entered into an agreement with their company, so he was sure that he would win the case. However, it turned out that the company was registered to fake people, and their documents were used to cover up repeat offenders. The next court hearing was supposed to take place on September 4, 1990, but due to the death of the plaintiff, the case was closed.

Last year on a TV program Andrey Malakhov dedicated to memory Martynova, allegedly a representative of that company came. He began to make excuses, saying that an unscrupulous partner had used his seal and signature. He stated that he felt guilty before Martynov and asked for forgiveness from his mother. Baby talk! They owed Zhenya 10 thousand rubles. This was in Soviet times, when a Volga car cost 15 thousand, and a three-room apartment could be bought for nine! Get your money back taking into account the refinancing rate! Otherwise, what kind of forgiveness can we talk about?!

- At first, your brother’s death was associated with the trial...

Speculation arose after erroneous information about a bandit attack on the composer Martynov, published in MK two weeks before his death. In fact, they attacked another Martynov, an actor at the Mayakovsky Theater. My brother wasn’t even in Moscow at that time. Nevertheless, there were rumors for a long time that Zhenya was beaten because of the trial with criminals. In principle, legal rights are inherited.

And I was ready to continue the litigation on behalf of the heirs. But Zhenya's widow Ella ( Evelina Starenchenko. -M.F.) fell into hysterics. “My child is growing, he is more valuable to me than money,” she said. “I forbid you to engage in this matter.”

- But the police conducted an investigation?

If, in the opinion of the police, there are no signs of a crime, an incident report is written and the matter is closed. They interviewed the grandmother who found her brother in the entrance and other residents. They established that Zhenya came to the entrance with two men. Later they said that Martynov gave them money for vodka and they drank with him. There are many questions, but no one bothered to ask them. What exactly did you drink? Is it all from the same bottle? According to the men, when they entered the entrance, the brother became ill and fell in the elevator. Why did they leave him and run away? Why did one man enter the elevator with Zhenya, while the other remained below? Next comes the crime itself. The police arrived and began to bring Zhenya to her senses - slapping her on the cheeks and letting her smell ammonia. A certain doctor from a children's hospital located opposite came and gave his brother an injection. After that he died. As they said at the Sklifosovsky Institute, a large amount of ammonia was found in Evgeniy’s mouth. But they don’t drink ammonia. To bring a person to his senses, a moistened cotton wool is enough. And Zhenya’s clothes all smelled like that alcohol. But this fact was not studied. The cause of death was announced as heart failure.

The archives have disappeared

- What do you think really happened?

Apparently, Zhenya became ill due to poisoning. Either the vodka was “scorched”, or they poured something on him to “knock him out” and rob him. When the police arrived, my brother was breathing; there was no need to touch him. And they began to “help” him. It seems that ammonia was not just given to snort, but was literally poured into him. But this drug, once on the mucous membrane, immediately causes swelling, and the person cannot inhale. Most likely, death was caused by negligence.

- You didn’t try to get an additional check?

We need a resolution from the prosecutor's office. But the case did not reach the prosecutor, since according to the police documents there were no signs of a crime. Naturally, it is to everyone's advantage to present this as an accident. And at that moment I psychologically could not do this. Then we began a confrontation with Zhenya’s widow Ella. I had to share something, including copyrights.

There was another double situation - shortly after Evgeniy’s death, Ella asked me to help her have an abortion. For a long time I was tormented by doubts: who is the child from? As a result, I brought her together with the right people. And a month later she was already with another dude, with whom she now lives in Spain.

I took the circumstances of Zhenya’s death seriously several years later, when I began writing a book about him. But it was no longer possible to resume the case. In the early 90s, all Moscow districts and the corresponding police departments were reorganized. And all the materials on the circumstances of Zhenya’s death disappeared without a trace.

- I know you are currently suing someone?

There was a dispute with my wife Yanukovych. The International Evgeny Martynov Festival has been held in Ukraine nine times. At the first, Yanukovych himself was the chairman of the organizing committee, and I was the chairman of the jury. The most stellar artists and jury members were invited. But no one was paid any money. After that, I refused to cooperate with them and demanded that the further holding of the festival be stopped. But the Ukrainians continued to hold the Yevgeny Martynov festival. Without transferring a penny for his songs and without asking permission to perform them. The General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine took control of the issue, but nothing was achieved. And since last fall, on behalf of Martynov’s mother, I have been waging a legal battle with the creators of the television program “PROPERTY OF THE REPUBLIC.” In one of the episodes, the song “Apple Trees in Blossom” was played in a mutilated form. They called me and were indignant at how I allowed this. And they didn’t even contact me! Under the Copyright Act, any performance of a work with a new orchestration requires permission from the authors or their heirs.

Fake robbery

Maybe the show's creators are not to blame? The song could be reworked by the performer.

- “Apple Trees in Blossom” was performed in the program Sergey Zakharov. Of course, he also participated in the creation of illegal processing. But it was broadcast by Channel One, which should bear responsibility. Its representatives shift responsibility to the producers of the program - the Red Square company. Representatives of Kvadrat say that they paid the Russian Authors' Society and do not owe anyone else. And on February 22 of this year I was attacked near my house. They beat me severely and took away my briefcase. But it didn't look like a robbery. They took not my money or my cell phone, but two floppy disks with documents related to my court cases. A criminal case has been opened. But as the investigator admitted to me: “You see, animals of this color are not for our mouth.”

At first he supported me. He said: “These bastards take all the best and crap.” But on trial Reznik didn't come. Martynov’s other co-author did not support me either - Andrey Dementyev. “You shouldn’t have started this,” he said. “And because of this, they were angry not only with you, but also with me.” This is despite the fact that it is generally impossible to reach an agreement with Dementiev on copyright. He asks for a huge fee. “I’m not against releasing a disc,” he justifies himself. “But my wife Anya deals with such issues.” And Anna’s conversation is short: “Either they pay us the amount we are interested in, or we don’t need it.” Reznik is asking for the same exorbitant money. Personally, when someone wants to release another CD or DVD with Martynov’s songs, I give permission on symbolic terms. But everything is not enough for these two. Because of this, in recent years, CDs with my brother’s songs have not been released at all.

BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHY

This document was written by E. Martynov for the preparation of travel documents abroad on a creative trip.

I, Martynov Evgeniy Grigorievich, Russian, was born on May 22, 1948 in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region, into a family of employees, participants in the Great Patriotic War.

In 1950, our family moved to the city of Artyomovsk, Donetsk region, where I graduated from an eight-year secondary school in 1963.

In 1965 he became a member of the Komsomol.

After graduating from high school, he entered the Artyomovsk State Music College for the conducting and brass department and graduated in 1967.

In the same year he entered the Kyiv State Conservatory (orchestral department), but soon due to family circumstances he was forced to transfer to the Donetsk State Musical Pedagogical Institute, which he graduated ahead of schedule (in 4 years) in 1971.

From 1971 to 1972 he worked as the head of the pop orchestra of the Donetsk All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Explosive Electrical Equipment.

From 1973 to 1976 he worked as a soloist of the Moscow pop orchestra "Soviet Song" at the State Concert and Touring Association "Rosconcert". Over the years, he took part in several all-Union and international pop song competitions (as a performer and composer) and became their laureate.

In 1975 he moved permanently to Moscow.

Since 1976, primarily engaged in creative activities, he worked at the publishing house of the Komsomol Central Committee "Young Guard", where he was on staff until 1988 as a music editor.

In 1980 he was admitted to the CPSU. In the same year he was awarded the title of laureate of the Moscow Komsomol Prize, and the year before that he became a laureate of the Kalinin Komsomol Prize.

In 1984 he joined the Union of Composers of the USSR.

In 1987 he was awarded the title of laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize.

Since 1988, I have been on the editorial staff of the magazine "Peasant Woman" (publishing house of the CPSU Central Committee "Pravda") - as a music editor-consultant.

During the period from 1973 to the present, he has repeatedly traveled abroad through the official lines of the USSR Ministry of Culture, the Komsomol Central Committee, the Rodina society, the Sports Committee, the Union of Composers, and also as part of tourist groups.

Married since 1978. Wife - Martynova Evelina Konstantinovna (nee Starenchenko), Ukrainian, born in 1959, teacher at Moscow evening music school No. 1, has a higher education in music and pedagogy, non-partisan.

Son – Sergey Evgenievich Martynov, born in 1984.

Mother - Martynova Nina Trofimovna, born in 1924, Russian, pensioner, non-party member, before retiring due to work disability, she worked as a secretary-typist in the Artyomovsky Linear Court of the North Donetsk Railway.

Father - Martynov Grigory Ivanovich, born in 1913, Ukrainian, pensioner, non-party member, before retiring due to WWII disability, he worked as a singing teacher at Artyomovsk secondary school.

E.G. Martynov

"I'll give you the whole world"

Yevgeny Martynov's star on the horizon of the Soviet stage lit up in all its glory and brightness in 1975. When the songs “Swan Fidelity” and “Apple Trees in Blossom” performed by him captivated everyone, young and old, overnight. True, for the first time the name of a young pop singer, a native of Donbass, a soloist of Rosconcert, appeared on posters back in 1972, and his early songs performed by non-authors began to gain wide popularity already in 1973. By the end of 1974, Martynov’s songs “If you are young at heart” (“Today I am where the blizzard is blowing, I am today where the taiga sings…”), “My country, rely on me!” were heard everywhere. (Like a modest bride, Like a tender friend, Great kindness looks at me with blue cornflowers, Boundless beauty, My beloved side - My Motherland..."), "Your fault", "You bring me the dawn", "And I simply cannot live without the Volga! ", "Birch Tree", "I'm Waiting for Spring", "Father's Letter"... The famous "Ballad of Mother" ("Alexey, Aleshenka, son!..") became a laureate of the All-Union television festival "Song-74", making the name of the young composer popular famous. And although E. Martynov’s songs were successfully performed by many singers and ensembles popular in those years, “total” popularity and “unconditional” recognition came to the composer (and at the same time performer) precisely in 1975, when he became the owner of the “Grand”. -pri" of the international pop song festival "Bratislava Lyre", and his debut EP with three songs performed by him broke all circulation records, being repeatedly re-released at the Melodiya record factories for almost two years.

Evgeny Grigorievich Martynov was born on May 22, 1948 in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd region. The composer spent his childhood and youth in the Donbass; he received his higher musical education at the Kyiv Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky and the Donetsk Musical Pedagogical Institute (now the S.S. Prokofiev Conservatory). Since 1973, the composer lived in Moscow and worked first at the State Concert Association "Rosconcert" (as a soloist-vocalist), and then at the publishing houses "Young Guard" and "Pravda" (as a music editor-consultant). Member of the Union of Composers of the USSR since 1984. Over the years of his composing and performing activities, Martynov E.G. was awarded many laureate titles and honorary diplomas, in particular at the All-Union Competition of Soviet Song Performers in Minsk (1973), the World Festival of Youth and Students in Berlin (1973), the All-Union Television Festival of Soviet Song "Young Voices" (1974 ), the international pop song competition "Bratislava Lyre" in Czechoslovakia (1975), the international pop song competition "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria (1976), at the international pop song festival "Melodies of Friends" in Kyiv (1976 .) and "Decin Anchor" in Czechoslovakia (1977). In 1980, the composer was awarded the honorary title of Moscow Komsomol Prize laureate in those years, and in 1987 he became a laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize. From 1974 to 1990, he was a regular winner of the All-Union television festivals "Songs of the Year".

Leading songwriters and even “classics” of Soviet poetry willingly collaborated with Evgeny Martynov: R. Rozhdestvensky, A. Voznesensky, I. Reznik, S. Ostrovoy, M. Plyatskovsky, V. Kharitonov, I. Shaferan, M. Tanich, L Derbenev, N. Dobronravov, A. Poperechny, R. Kazakova, A. Pyanov, N. Doriso... However, the most inspired and fruitful was the creative alliance with Andrei Dementiev, which brought a number of unforgettable song revelations to pop fans.

The composer’s songs were (and are) included in their repertoire by many popular domestic and foreign artists: Michel (Spain), K. Gott (Czech Republic), A. German (Poland), D. Marjanovic, M. Ungar, I. Sherfezi (Yugoslavia) , L. Ivanova (Bulgaria), M. Dauer (Romania), M. Chavez (Cuba), Y. Yoala, A. Veski, M. Kristalinskaya, G. Nenasheva, L. Kesoglu, A. Vedishcheva, T. Miansarova, G. Chokheli, M. Codreanu, I. Kobzon, L. Zykina, O. Voronets, S. Zakharov, S. Rotaru, V. Tolkunova, L. Leshchenko, L. Senchina, Y. Bogatikov, E. Shavrina, G. Belov, K. Georgiadi, A. Serov, I. Ponarovskaya, N. Chepraga, L. Serebrennikov, I. Otieva, N. Gnatyuk, L. Uspenskaya, V. Vuyachich, N. Brodskaya, performers of the new (for the composer) generation - F. Kirkorov, N. Baskov, S. Pavliashvili, A. Malinin, I. Shvedova, I. Demarin, V. Gotovtseva, M. Evdokimov, Anastasia, Yulian, Tanya Ostryagina; as well as such well-known groups as the Red Banner Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet (Russian) Army named after A. Aleksandrov, the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Military Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (RF), the State Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia", vocal and instrumental ensembles - "Orera ", "Gems", "Flame", "Gaya", "Nadezhda", "Chervona Ruta", "Seven Young" (Yugoslavia), "Blue Jeans" (Japan), vocal ensembles - "Russian Song", "Indian Summer" ", "Voronezh Girls", duet "Romen"... The composer's works have also been successfully performed (and are being performed) by the symphonic and pop music orchestras of the All-Union (Russian) Radio and Television, the State Brass Band of Russia, and the Bratislava and Ostrava pop and dance music orchestras radio (Slovakia and Czech Republic), Moscow pop orchestra "Melody", Orchestra conducted by Claude Caravelli (France)...

The artist toured extensively and successfully throughout the country and abroad. With concert performances and as part of creative delegations, he visited many countries of the world: the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Finland, India, Switzerland, and all former socialist countries.

Until 1990, which became his last, E.G. Martynov was one of the most popular and beloved authors and performers among the people. The artist’s life was cut short on September 3, 1990. He was only 42...

“I’ll give you the whole world” is the name of the composer’s wonderful song and this could be the title of his entire work. For Evgeny Martynov really gave his admirers the vast world of Beauty, Flight, Spring and Love, forever remaining in our memory as a symbol of light, fidelity and inspiration.

LIFETIME PUBLICATIONS ABOUT EVGENY MARTYNOV IN PERIODICAL PRESS, BOOKS AND NOTE PUBLICATIONS

Almost all publications are abbreviated in order to avoid repetition, primarily related to the composer’s biography, and also to omit errors and inaccuracies that could be misleading. The material is given in chronological order - according to the time of the events that took place, the writing of articles or recordings of interviews.

NO FLOW, NO FEATHER!

The first round of the festival of creative youth of Ukraine, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol, has ended.

Two days of intense struggle between Donetsk musicians for the right to participate in the republican youth forum ended with the victory of the best.

The path of the performers was difficult. Almost all of them are students of the Donetsk Music Pedagogical Institute or music schools in the region. The preparation of concert programs had to be combined with the regular curriculum...

Concertmaster of the Donetsk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra D.B. Sheinin:

– I’m very happy for DSMPI student E. Martynov (clarinet). I have known him for a long time as a very hardworking musician. Evgeniy is also known as a young composer. He writes a lot for clarinet and trumpet. The competition jury noted the performance and score of “Scherzo” by E. Martynov. I wish him and all the festival participants success in Kyiv.

No fluff, no feather!

E. Shkondina

"Pacific Star" June 14, 1972 (Newspaper of the Khabarovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU and the Regional Council of People's Deputies)

VARIETY SONG HOLIDAY

– He speaks and shows Khabarovsk...

With these words, the announcer of the All-Union Radio and Television Svetlana Morgunova opened the pop song competition. Hundreds of Khabarovsk residents came to the Sports Palace to meet with participants in a theatrical pop song tournament organized by the State Concert and Touring Association of the RSFSR "Rosconcert".

This time, the audience had to become strict members of the jury: on special tickets they had to give a “score” to each performer of pop songs.

The soloists rise to the stage one after another. And after meeting several of them, it becomes clear: it is difficult, very difficult to identify the winners...

Evgeniy Martynov from Donetsk submitted the song “Ballad of Mother” to the competition. He is both a composer and an accompanist. And the artistry of the performer, the pleasant timbre of his voice, Evgeniy’s charming appearance - all this deserved the highest rating: 20 points!..

The theatrical pop song tournament continues. Meet, listen, name the winners.

A. Maltseva

"Soviet Sakhalin". August 1, 1972 (Newspaper of the Sakhalin Regional Committee of the CPSU and the Regional Council of People's Deputies. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.)

(Stripe "CULTURE AND SPORTS". Announcement note.)

A theatrical pop song tournament is being successfully held in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk... In the competition for the best pop performance, Lina Prokhorova from Omsk, Lina Gaile from Vilnius, as well as those familiar to millions of TV viewers from the program “Hello, we are looking for talents!” singers Gennady Nokhrin (Tyumen), Vadim Stankovich (Uzhgorod), Evgeny Martynov (Donetsk) and the vocal and instrumental ensemble "Zodchie" (Minsk).

In the second part, singers Valentina Tolkunova and laureate of the International and All-Union competitions Lev Leshchenko, ballet dancers Olga Matkovskaya and Igor Makhaev, soloists of the All-Union Radio and Central Television orchestra under the direction of Vadim Lyudvikovsky Vladimir Chizhik and Alexey Zubov performed for the audience. The concert was hosted by Gennady Khazanov.

SYNTHESIS OF MUSIC AND TEXT

Maya Kristalinskaya

Once I read a poem by the Moscow poet M. Lisyansky “A song has a name and patronymic.” I wanted to sing a song with these words. Composer from Donetsk Martynov wrote music at my request. Not long ago she was recorded on the radio for the program “Good Morning!”

I try to perform works that contain a harmonic synthesis of beautiful music and text, rich in civil sound. More and more, both me and listeners are attracted to songs that contain thoughts about life, about eternal problems for humanity...

"Evening Minsk". June 8, 1973 (Newspaper of the Minsk City Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus and the City Council of Workers' Deputies)

WHO IS IN THE FINAL?

Competition diary

The first stage of the All-Union Song Competition has been completed. Of the 35 participants in the first round, 22 people advanced to the second... and eight vocal and instrumental ensembles...

Today we continue to introduce you to the participants of the second round of the competition. A few months ago, Minsk residents got acquainted with the “Pop Song Tournament” program and with one of the participants in this program, the young singer Evgeny Martynov. Obviously, I remember his ballad song about his mother, performed passionately, emotionally and touchingly.

Since childhood, Evgeniy dreamed of becoming a musician, learned to play the clarinet, graduated from the conservatory in this instrument, but became a singer, performer of his own ballad songs. Today E. Martynov works as a soloist in the Moscow pop orchestra "Soviet Song", and the competition in Minsk is his first big test.

E. Ezerskaya

SONGS WILL MEET IN BERLIN

Yesterday, under the arches of the Minsk Sports Palace, the call signs of the All-Union Competition of Professional Performers of Soviet Songs and Vocal-Instrumental Ensembles were heard for the last time...

For 10 days there was a stubborn struggle for the title of laureate of the All-Union Festival of Soviet Youth, for the right to represent Soviet song at the X World Festival in Berlin. More than 200 competition participants, who gathered in the capital of Belarus from all over the country, challenged this right. Determining the winners was not easy...

First place and the title of laureate were won by Leonid Smetannikov from Saratov and Valery Kuchinsky from Minsk. Second place was awarded to the soloist of the Latvian Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Vladimir Okun and the soloist of the Kabardino-Balkarian State Philharmonic Society Zaur Tutov. Third place went to Kazan Conservatory student Renat Ibragimov, Evgeniy Martynov from Moscow, Viktor Mamonov from Chelyabinsk, Makhmirat Khamrakulova from Dushanbe and Taisiya Kalinchenko from Leningrad.

Among the vocal and instrumental ensembles, the first place and the title of laureate were won by "Pesnyary"...

The competition press center established a spectator prize. Its owner was to be the performer who won the greatest success among the Minsk audience. About 3 thousand questionnaires were collected. The fate of the prize was determined by Evgeny Martynov’s song “The Ballad of a Mother,” which he wrote to the words of the poet Andrei Dementyev. The prize went to the author of the song, Rosconcert soloist Evgeny Martynov.

Last night there was an awards presentation and a big final concert.

Minsk says goodbye to the competition participants. The winners have a new route: to the World Youth Festival in Berlin.

E. Lukanskaya

"Forward". June 28, 1973 (Newspaper of the Artyomovsk city and district committees of the Communist Party of Ukraine, city and district Councils of People's Deputies of the Donetsk region)

PRIZE – CRYSTAL VASE

It was in Minsk...

Song competitions are an introduction to new talents... This time, among other performers, Rosconcert soloist Evgeny Martynov distinguished himself. He became the third prize-winner of this competition...

It will be interesting for readers to know that Evgeny Martynov is our fellow countryman. He... grew up in Artyomovsk. He graduated from the music school here... Evgeniy’s parents are participants in the Great Patriotic War and live on Tchaikovsky Street. They keep the Crystal Vase - the prize with which their son was awarded.

V.Osenniy

"THE SONG HAS A NAME AND A PATERNIC"

If we talk about vocation, about the chosen profession, then for Zhenya Martynov this path resembles a high road - straight, wide, without doubts and hesitations. For as long as he can remember, music has always been his hobby and passion.

In 1968 [actually in 1970] a Komsomol song competition was held in Donetsk, and Evgeniy wrote “The Ballad of Donbass Komsomol Members” and “Song of the Motherland” based on the words of his fellow students Lilia Zhidel and Tatyana Kireeva.

The songs of Evgeny Martynov immediately won Komsomol hearts. In 1972, Maya Kristalinskaya included in her repertoire his “Birch Tree” based on the verses of Sergei Yesenin and commissioned music for M. Lisyansky’s poems “The Song Has a Name and Patronymic”...

And then there was the World Festival of Youth and Students in Berlin. A holiday that will remain in the memory of the youth of the planet for a long time. And maybe, somewhere in a distant country, talking about their festival impressions, young men and women will remember the chairman of the music salon of the Soviet delegation, the young composer Yevgeny Martynov, who sang to them his “Pipe of Peace”, “Song of the Volga”, “Ballad of mother"...

Introducing the young composer to our readers, we are publishing today on our cover a song by E. Martynov to the verses of A. Dementyev and D. Usmanov “Pipe of Peace”.

[Ch. editor of the magazine – I. Ilyinsky.]

LEADING TOPIC – FRIENDSHIP

The new international program “Golden Autumn-73”, which premiered at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, featured representatives from Argentina, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

“The Ballad of a Mother” sounded wonderful, performed by the author, soloist of the “Soviet Song” orchestra, Evgeny Martynov, laureate of the All-Union Competition of Professional Performers of Soviet Song...

After Moscow, as well as Riga, where “Golden Autumn-73” is currently on, this program will be shown in Minsk, Kharkov, Kyiv, Tbilisi and Baku.

G. Grigoriev

"Pacific Komsomolets" March 7, 1974 (Newspaper of the Primorsky Regional Committee of the Komsomol. Vladivostok.)

THE SONG STAYS WITH THE PERSON

They say that the surest sign of spring is songs. And indeed, spring is the time to sing to drops, birds and people. Therefore, it is especially remarkable that the spring of concerts in Vladivostok also began with a song - with a tour of the Moscow Orchestra "Soviet Song" conducted by Vladimir Vasilevsky...

Two of the orchestra members, Alexey Mazhukov and Evgeny Martynov, are composers who write specifically for their orchestra. At the same time, it is necessary to say something special about Evgeny Martynov.

In our opinion, he is a very gifted musician - he not only writes, but also performs his songs perfectly. Listeners are captivated by the sincerity, spontaneity, youthful fervor, and sometimes great drama of the performance, not to mention the good voice and stage presence of the young singer (he is only 25 years old). It would seem that not so long ago I studied at a music school and conservatory... And then a victory at the All-Union competition of performers in 1973 in Minsk, a trip to the youth festival in Berlin... And, of course, songs, many of which have already have become popular... It is especially valuable that the talented composer addresses in his songs a high civil-patriotic theme, solving it in his own way - lightly and lyrically (in addition to “The Ballad of the Mother”, this is “Pipe of Peace” and “Letter from the Father”) ...

The tour of the "Soviet Song" orchestra in our city will be short-lived, and soon we will have to say goodbye to the artists. We are looking forward to their visit again. And we don’t say goodbye to the song, because it always stays with us.

A. Drugova

"Student Meridian". 1974, No. 11, November. Submitted on September 20, 1974 (Journal of the Central Committee of the Komsomol and the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education of the USSR)

SONG, ABOUT SONG, WITH SONG

We present to readers Evgeny Martynov, a composer who cannot be said to be a beginner - he has written so many songs; but also not very popular yet - he is young and extremely picky about his own work: he is in no hurry to present his new works to the attention of listeners...

Now the songs of Evgeny Martynov are performed by the ensemble "Gems", popular singers Lev Leshchenko, Aida Vedishcheva, Sofia Rotaru and others...

A special page in the work of Evgeny Martynov is his songs based on poems by the poet Andrei Dementyev. First of all, this is “The Ballad of a Mother”, full of deep drama; these are songs about love, friendship, the romance of long roads...

[This short, abbreviated story about E.M. accompanied the publication of the score of the song “If You Are Young at Heart,” poems by A. Dementyev and D. Usmanov, on the penultimate page of the cover.]

[Ch. magazine editor – V. Tokman.]

"Forward". October 21, 1974 (Newspaper of the Artyomovsky Civil Code and the Republic of Kazakhstan Communist Party of Ukraine, city and district Councils of People's Deputies of the Donetsk region)

MEETING WITH THE SONG

And now, together with the Moscow pop orchestra “Soviet Song”, a young composer, singer, laureate of the All-Union Competition of Soviet Song Performers in our city...

Alexey Maksimovich Gorky said: “Song is the soul of the people.” This is how the songs written by Evgeny Martynov to the words of Andrei Dementyev and David Usmanov deeply touched the hearts of listeners. These are songs about peace, about work, about love, about fidelity, about happiness - a topic that always finds a warm response from listeners.

I will not be mistaken if I say that the words spoken by the compere [D.A. Usmanov] in the middle of the program: “Don’t worry. The concert is just beginning,” were the beginning of Yevgeny Martynov’s creative report to his fellow countrymen in honor of the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Ukraine from German fascist invaders. None of the listeners were left indifferent by “Pipe of Peace”, “Tell Me, Mom”, “If You Are Young at Heart”, “I’m Waiting for Spring”. The well-known “Ballad of Mother” was greeted with a storm of applause...

Evgeny Martynov, as a performer of his songs, demonstrated a high vocal and professional level. In addition to the freedom of sound production, he has stage expressiveness and artistry. His voice, beautiful in timbre, which the artist wields with extraordinary flexibility and ease, captivated the audience.

G. Pleshakov, director of the Lenin Palace of Culture.

"Soviet music". 1975, No. 4, April. (Journal of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Ministry of Culture of the USSR)

SOVIET SONG AND MODERN TIME

(Report by the Secretary of the Board of the Union of Composers of the USSR A. Pakhmutova at the II Plenum of the Board of the USSR IC, dedicated to the state and tasks of Soviet song. Kyiv, February 1975)

The most important area of ​​civil song itself is compositions that resurrect the images and themes of the Great Patriotic War...

A few words about the specific dangers when implementing such an important topic. One is connected with the penetration of sharp modern, sometimes dance rhythms into our song...

Another danger is associated with a certain touch of melodrama, perhaps to some extent understandable when it comes to those who did not return from the war. Understandable, but not at all inevitable! I would like to recall the strict songs on this topic by A. Eshpay, K. Molchanov, A. Petrov. This is the kind of rigor that, in my opinion, is lacking in works like “The Ballad of a Mother” by E. Martynov (words by A. Dementiev) with the well-found key intonation “Alexey, Alyoshenka, son!”

We will always remember military exploits. And therefore there will always be songs about them. Caring for the merits of such songs is a special concern, a sacred concern...

[Melodrama – from the word “melodrama”. In modern musical dictionaries there is no negative meaning of the concept. In the “Concise Musical Dictionary” by Y. Engel, compiled from the dictionary of G. Riemann and published by P. Jurgenson in 1907, the following definition of melodrama is given:

"Drama performed to music (melodrama on stage). Historically, the idea of ​​melodrama has developed as a play based on exaggerated, crudely stilted tragic effects."

In the Soviet “Brief Musical Dictionary” by A. Dolzhansky, published in 1964 by the Leningrad branch of the Muzyka publishing house, melodrama in the 3rd meaning of the word is “a dramatic work characterized by exaggerated sensitivity and grandiloquence.”]

I liked the song

I'M LOOKING FOR SPRING

[Hereinafter there is an error: the correct name of the song in question and which was published in the newspaper is “I’m Waiting for Spring.” It is interesting that the copy of the newspaper stored in the Russian State Library does not contain this error, but the material is somewhat abbreviated. The text below corresponds to the originals from the newspaper files of the editorial office of "S.R." and archives of the publishing house "Pravda".]

This song appeared like this: suddenly a melody was born, into which the composer breathed the spring mood of nature, his hope, dream, love... The poet listened to the melody and wrote lines in tune with it...

Most of E. Martynov’s lyrical works were created together with the poet Andrei Dementiev, whose poetry, according to the composer, attracts with its melodious rhythm, simplicity and clarity. Recently, the All-Union Recording Company "Melodiya" prepared a record that included two new songs by Martynov and Dementyev - "Swan Fidelity" and "Our Day", as well as a song based on the words of the poet I. Reznik "Apple Trees in Bloom". All these songs were submitted by "Melody" to the international competition "Bratislava Lyre". [Inaccuracy: "Firma Melodiya" actually proposed three songs, but, as expected, only one was selected - "Apple Trees in Blossom".]

“I’m looking for spring” was first performed by Sofia Rotaru. Last year, during a tour in Moscow, Polish singer Anna German heard the song and included it in her repertoire. Performed with the warmth inherent in A. German, coming from her voice and heart, “I am looking for spring” could not help but be remembered by those who heard it in the concert hall and in the radio recording...

Galina Mishchevskaya

Music competition

BRATISLAVA LIRA

The tenth music festival "Bratislava Lyra", which recently ended in the capital of Slovakia, this time was especially representative, bright, solemn - after all, the first anniversary in its history. And for the first time at this festival, the Golden Lyre - the highest award for winning a pop song competition of socialist countries - was awarded to the Soviet song "Apple Trees in Bloom", written by the young composer E. Martynov to the words of I. Reznik...

Czechoslovakia

The brightness of the unforgettable song festivals held on the banks of the Danube, the content and variety of their musical programs attract the attention of many fans of pop music around the world, placing the Bratislava Lyra among the most popular international song festivals...

This year, the song “Apple Trees in Bloom” by young Soviet authors E. Martynov and I. Reznik took part in the international competition. Its success was facilitated by the charming author's performance of E. Martynov, who had already won recognition among Soviet pop song lovers both with his compositions and his unique performing style.

The song “Apple Trees in Blossom”, subtly and soulfully performed accompanied by the festival orchestra, was awarded the highest award by the international jury - the title of laureate and the Golden Bratislava Lyre...

I. Dmitriev, member of the international jury

festival "Bratislava Lyra", main

repertoire and artistic editor

All-Union record company "Melody".

"Musical Life". 1975, No. 21, November. Submitted as a set on September 23, 1975 (Journal of the Union of Composers and the Ministry of Culture of the USSR)

ANNIVERSARY "BRATISLAVA LYRA" – 1975

This year the Bratislava Lyre festival celebrated its first anniversary. For the tenth time, Bratislava - one of the most beautiful cities in Europe - hospitably hosted composers, poets, performers who gave their inspiration to modern pop songs...

Musicians from 25 countries participated in the Bratislava Lyres as competitors and guest concert performers. A complete list of them includes about 150 names of composers, soloists, singers and names of groups. Both names and titles are mostly creatively significant and widely popular. In order not to go far for examples, let me at least remind you that such Soviet pop stars as Muslim Magomayev, Edita Piekha, Victor Vuyachich, Gyuli Chokheli, Maria Codreanu, Valentin Baglaenko, Lyudmila Senchina, Sergei Yakovenko participated in the Bratislava festival programs... The creative representation of other socialist countries was equally broad and voluminous. As for the world singing stage as a whole, dozens and dozens of the most popular singers performed as guests at festivals in Bratislava...

The Golden Lyre of Bratislava was awarded to the song “Apple Trees in Blossom” by the young Soviet composer Evgeniy Martynov... E. Martynov also appeared as a performer of his composition... This is his first international award. The Silver Lyre was awarded to the song “Forest Apple Tree” by Bohuslav Ondrack [performed by Czechoslovakian singer Valdemar Matuska]. The Bronze Lyre was awarded to "Sad Song" by the Bulgarian composer A. Iosifov (it was sung by Donika Venkova)...

I. Evgeniev

Bratislava - Moscow [July 1975]

"Horizon". 1975, No. 9, September. Delivered for recruitment on 07/31/75. (Journal of the USSR Council of Ministers State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting)

COMING MELODY

At the request of readers

I remember how a few years ago Evgeniy Martynov, then unknown to anyone, came into the editorial office of the Yunost magazine and sang his song “The Ballad of a Mother.” This was only his second job. However, everyone who listened felt the author’s ability to penetrate the soul of the song and noted his good, “too good” voice for the composer.

Not much time passed and “The Ballad of the Mother” became the laureate of “Song-74”, and for the song “Apple Trees in Blossom” Evgeny Martynov received the “Golden Lyre” in Bratislava this year - the highest award of the international competition. Now both our and foreign singers are turning to Martynov’s work.

What is the secret of his success? I do not undertake to answer this question exhaustively, but I am sure of one thing: nature endowed the composer not only with musicality, but also with extraordinary diligence. Martynov works a lot, always at the mercy of music. Sometimes suddenly in the middle of the night after a busy day a melody comes, just as a long-awaited line comes to a poet or an important guess comes to a scientist. He can play various variations for hours, he can listen to music for days, forgetting about time, about everything in the world.

I observed him at work, at rest, in conversations. I like this frenzy because that’s the only way you can succeed, you can create something. Because art does not tolerate half-heartedness and takes the whole person. Forever. This is how everyone works, passionate about their work, happy people. Evgeny Martynov is a happy man. His songs are melodic. They are memorable and you want to sing them. And for those for whom music is a profession. And for those who simply find pleasure in it. Martynov’s new songs have already spread widely throughout the country - “If you are young at heart”, “I’m waiting for spring”, “Swan fidelity”, “Apple trees in blossom”, “Our day”... And how many of them are still in the works!

Recently, Evgeny Martynov wrote a song about miners and sang it for the first time in his homeland - Donetsk. This is a song about his fellow countrymen, about his native land, where his creative biography began not so long ago. And everything he writes about is his life and ours, common concerns, joys and hopes.

Andrey Dementyev

"Cultural and educational work." 1975, No. 11, November. Put into production on September 22, 1975 (Journal of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR)

"SHOULD VIA BE PROTECTED? AND FROM WHOM?"*

The editors of the magazine turned to me [E. Martynov] with a request to speak on its pages about VIA. They showed me a letter from Victor K. The guy from Kuibyshev believes that “younger composers” are “true fans of VIA.” From them he apparently expects support in defending this genre.

Well then. Let me tell you, firstly, that I am 27 years old, that is, I am really at that age that Victor’s peers have not yet classified as old. Secondly, yes, I love VIA and write for them...

To be honest, I don’t know from whom VIA needs to be protected today? Thousands of boys and girls like Victor, whether you like it or not, dictate an increased demand for this genre. It’s no secret that sometimes a record of wonderful music is in the store, but as soon as a new VIA recording appears, it’s instantly sold out. And, for example, the Melodiya company asks us, composers: “Give us songs for VIA! As many songs as possible for VIA! Transpose songs for VIA!”...

Judging by the letter, I liked Victor K.: he is an intelligent guy, with humor, in love with his “rock” and is actively trying to introduce the older generation to it. And that's why I want to talk to him and his friends frankly...

Well, judge for yourself: you like “Pesnyary”. Right! Great team. But how did it happen then that you attack the Orera ensemble like that? Don't you guys understand what a high class and skill this is? Are you not captivated by their wonderful arrangements or the fact that all the members of “Orer” are wonderful singers and musicians, some of them even play several instruments!

Yes, this is your problem. The ability to hear music is cultivated from childhood, and, apparently, there were no such educators near you. Here Victor introduces his father to music, but he, apparently, did not do this for his son in his time... As for me, I was very lucky: everyone in our family sang, and my father, having no special musical education, played almost all the instruments. I always show him my new compositions and hear: “You write in such a way that my mother and I can sing this song beautifully in two voices, so that after listening to the first verse, we can sing along from the second.” And he's right! Our fathers, Victor, were brought up on songs with bright, memorable melodies of Dunaevsky, Zakharov, the Pokrass brothers, Novikov, Blanter. That’s why your father began his recognition of VIA with “Drozdov” - a beautiful melodic song. But you like her too! That's it. Fashion is fashion, and the melody in a song is the main path to the heart, and no roar, no noise effects can replace the melody.

Not so long ago, while studying at the Donetsk Musical Pedagogical Institute, I led an amateur vocal and instrumental ensemble and performed with it myself. All of us, its participants, were the same age. How similar these guys were to you, Victor! How I suffered in search of a repertoire for them! I bring them a new good song. No, give them the Beatles' repertoire, and make sure you can tap on a drum like their drummer. Give them simpler parts, but make sure to include elements borrowed from fashionable foreign ensembles. In general, they reasoned just like you: “Why in music are there all sorts of non-chords and seventh chords that clutter and confuse?” Due to my youth, I admit, I followed these guys’ lead. And here is our first concert. We performed a fashionable repertoire with foreign “effects” and... failed. The guys’ first reaction, as usual in such cases: “They didn’t understand us here.” And I was glad. Then the guys cooled down, and I suggested: let’s still try to sing a good Soviet song! I started showing new chords that were more complicated. The guys felt: it sounds beautiful. Then I tried to make modern arrangements of popular and favorite songs. I liked it. As they say, the ice has broken. And once I even heard from one of our soloists: “I won’t sing this song, because it’s sung by a famous singer, but I’ll still do worse, I’d rather do my own.” Where can I get it? Is it yours? So I wrote my first song for us based on the words of Yesenin - in a “beat plan”, polyphonic. Some time passed, and Maya Kristalinskaya included this song in her program. So, thanks to amateur performances, I became a composer.

I didn’t immediately understand that it’s always better to be “your own” on stage—your own repertoire, your own style, your own voice. While performing at amateur concerts, I tried my best to imitate my idol Tom Jones, and tried to imitate Karel Gott. But when I wrote “The Ballad of Mother” and wanted to perform it, I realized that Tom Jones had nothing to do with it. I had to find out how to sing it myself. And it is no coincidence that it was for this ballad and for its performance that I received a prize and an audience prize at the All-Union Competition of Soviet Song Performers.

When I perform “The Ballad of Mother,” I see tears in the eyes of any audience – both young and old – and the room is very quiet. There is no higher reward for an author and artist.

I have songs of a different nature. Of course, I’m pleased when listeners start clapping in time with their rhythm, stamping their feet, and singing along. But this is a slightly different kind of joy. In general, music is inexhaustible. There is music that makes your feet want to dance to. And there is music that touches the heart, makes a person kinder, more beautiful, purer. In different situations, sometimes one thing is necessary, sometimes another. The main thing is not to look at music narrowly, to limit its richness either for yourself or for others.

Unfortunately, today there are many amateur and professional ensembles, which, like my amateur group, are trying their best to be like the fashionable foreign ensembles that Victor and his friends like so much. But the members of these VIAs themselves do not have basic professional training, they know three or four chords, they are able to somehow reproduce several fashionable effects - and that’s all... These groups ask us, composers: write for us something like this, what the Beatles or the Rolling Stones perform. As a result, they are all very similar to each other and all are bad...

Victor K. calls for the protection of VIA. Well, perhaps this genre really needs to be defended. The only question is – from whom? I would defend it from bad ensembles that rely on the primitive and thereby discredit the genre. People who love and understand music listen to monotonous chords, amplified by a speaker, and can really form a very unflattering impression of modern light music.

We must protect modern pop music from fans like Victor K. and his friends (don’t be offended, guys). With your admiration for the “fashionability” of bad VIAs, your admiration for their “availability,” and simply, primitiveness, for their roar, you support them, which means you cultivate bad taste.

It's not too late - try listening to other music. Of course, I do not advise you to immediately start with Bach or Beethoven, but listen carefully to the Orera ensemble, listen to the Ray Conniff choir. And if it’s so difficult for you to perceive good music after a “hard day at work,” then there are two days off...

With friendly greetings.

Evgeny MARTYNOV

"Forward". October 10, 1975 (Newspaper of the Artyomovsk Civil Code and the Republic of Kazakhstan Communist Party of Ukraine, city and district Councils of People's Deputies of the Donetsk region)

Our interviews

DEAR SONGS

Evgeny Martynov is a young popular singer and composer, laureate... Not so long ago he studied at the Artyomovsk State Music College. After numerous concerts and creative trips, he came to visit his parents and relax in his hometown of Artyomovsk.

Our correspondent I. Adamov met with Evgeny Martynov and interviewed him...

– What did you experience then in the Green Theater of Bratislava, walking along the numerous steps towards the audience, towards the Danube?

“I was thinking about how to justify the trust placed in me.” Frankly speaking, I didn’t count on the highest award – the Golden Lyre prize...

– What was notable after your trip to Bratislava?

– I, as a guest, was invited to a festival in the Polish city of Sopot... Ahead is the festival of Soviet songs in the city of Zielona Gora (Poland). I must also visit the Decin Anchor festival in Czechoslovakia. Now I’m preparing the repertoire for a big record...

– Who among the older generation composers helps you?

– Composers Mikael Tariverdiev and Alexandra Pakhmutova provide me with great help in creative matters. Soulful, sensitive people. Real mentors.

Parting, Zhenya conveys greetings to the teachers and students of the music school, to all Artyomovsk residents...

FINEST HOUR

Time for that and time to leave. Day gives way to day, month to month, year to year... But there is an hour in life that does not leave us... Remains in the memory, in the heart. We call him "star".

On New Year's Eve, MK correspondents traveled around Moscow and the Moscow region in search of the owners of "Finest Hour 75" and asked questions:

1. What are your plans for 1976?

2. What do you remember about the past year, the Year of the Woman?

3. What do you expect from the coming year, the Year of the Family?

4. What would you ask the Goldfish on New Year's Eve?

..."GOLDEN LYRE" – "APPLE TREES IN BLOSSOMS"

He stood behind the scenes, and, one might say, he was trembling. Even at the rehearsal, the orchestra conductor Karel Vlah told him: “The arrangement is prima. The vocals are prima.” But it was a rehearsal. Now thousands of people listened to him, including the strict jury of the 10th anniversary Bratislava International Song Contest.

And now this jury has retired to the deliberation room, taking with them the recordings of all the songs that had just been played. There, in silence, they will listen to everything carefully again and give their verdict. In his heart he assumed that there must be something. The public liked his song, he felt it. But for something like that!..

– ...The highest award of the International Anniversary Competition – the “Golden Lyre” – was won for the first time by the Soviet song “Apple Trees in Bloom” by the young composer Evgeny Martynov.

He didn't believe what he heard. The crowd chanted. Someone was pushing me onto the stage. They smiled at him. Hands shook. For the first time in 27 years, his legs seemed to not obey him.

Well, everything is quite natural. This is truly a success - the finest hour of the year.

More recently, in 1973, Sofia Rotaru performed the first song by Evgeniy Martynov, “The Ballad of a Mother.” And already in 1974 it became the song of the year. It was with her that the path to the big stage of the young, now famous composer began.

1. [Answers to questions] – Take a physical break from the 75th year. There was so much work that it was simply terrifying! I was a guest of the Sopot Festival as the author of three songs performed by our singers there. Then, Bratislava... There were a lot of tours... No, it’s better to stop, otherwise you’ll just be scared that you’re still alive.

2. Apparently, I owe all my success to women, since it was their year.

3. Establish your own life. Why are you smiling? Sometimes there are no crumbs in your mouth for days. And in general, everyday life is a great thing. I think that the year of family will help arrange my family life. At least I hope so...

4. ...More inspiration.

"Radyanska Donechina". January 31, 1976 (Newspaper of the Donetsk Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Regional Council of People's Deputies)

(Original in Ukrainian. A fragment of the article is translated by Yu. Martynov.)

LET SWANS FLY ACROSS THE SKY...

Sofia Rotaru, hearing Evgeny Martynov’s song “Swan Fidelity” for the first time, said:

- This is my song. Give it to me...

Probably everyone knows the lyrics and melody of this song today. And yet I wonder how exactly the authors - Andrei Dementyev and Evgeny Martynov - explain such popularity, such universal love for it?

“Perhaps if it were only about love killed by someone’s cruel hand,” says Evgeniy, “the song would not sound like that.” We wanted to highlight the philosophical significance of the topic: everyone should feel responsible for the life entrusted to them, for preserving goodness and beauty, so that by carelessness or inattention you do not hurt the one who is next to you, who needs your protection! We want everyone who likes this song to think about what he personally did to promote happiness, the beauty of life, what did he do for people in general? It’s not enough not to kill yourself. We need to fight those who suppress a feeling of irreconcilable hatred for a thoughtless, predatory attitude towards nature, towards its beauty... Absolutely!

I listened to Evgeniy and understood why his songs excite people so much: each one went through his own heart, full of pure, fiery love for people, for his native nature...

E. Udovichenko.

Specialist. cor. newspaper "Radyanska Donechchyna".

Moscow – Donetsk

Young masters of the arts

IT ALL STARTS WITH A SONG

Composer Evgeny Martynov is known today to many fans of pop music. And its popularity is growing every day. Although Evgeniy is only 27 years old, he has already written many songs that are loved by young people...

From a young age, Zhenya was distinguished by her determination. Everything related to music was sacred to him. He could not miss classes, not listen to the end of the symphony, not learn the part assigned for Sunday. On the contrary, I always did more than was required by the program. However, we also had to think about our daily bread. In Donetsk, he was offered to become the leader of an ensemble that played in a restaurant. Zhenya talks about these days with light humor and some sadness. There was less time left for study, but every evening he could perform his favorite songs, improvise on the clarinet or piano...

Now, when I ask him about his student years, he remembers, first of all, the people from whom he studied, who gave him their knowledge and experience, to whom he owes his first successes. How did his passion for composition begin? Evgeny Martynov answers this question like this:

“One morning, some kind of unclear melody suddenly woke up in me, but I really liked it. I started humming it and then wrote it down on a piece of paper. I did not part with this melody all day, and when I came to class at the school, I sang it to my teacher Boris Petrovich Landar. He sat me down at the piano and asked me to play the melody several times. For a whole hour, Boris Petrovich analyzed this essay, explaining the mistakes and blunders. Then I was very upset, of course. But I quickly realized that composing music is not just about the rapture of a melody that suddenly comes, but a long, sometimes painful search for a musical image in all its harmonic complexity. Success can only be achieved through intense, systematic work. Melodies began to visit me more and more often. I was still afraid to believe in their constancy, but I already clearly felt that music began to sound in my heart. Its own. Even if sometimes unclear and imperfect...

I will never forget my first meeting with Zhenya Martynov, when he brought me the song “The Ballad of a Mother,” written to my poems. The song excited me, and I asked Zhenya why he decided to write it specifically based on my words.

“My former teacher Vyacheslav Valentinovich Parzhitsky helped me,” said Zhenya. “He saw poems about his mother in one of the magazines and felt a melody in them. “I wish,” he says, “you could write a song on them...” Together with my mother, we looked through many magazine files before we found these poems [my mother found]...

But Martynov’s main successes were ahead. One day he played me a very beautiful melody. I felt someone's tragedy in her. I wanted to penetrate into the innermost meaning of the melody. We started working. Then, when “Swan Fidelity” became a laureate of the “Song-75” competition, Evgeniy was invited to an international festival in Sopot, where Soviet singers Raisa Mkrtchan, Jaak Joala and Lyudmila Senchina performed three of his songs. An unprecedented event at such a representative and popular competition! Raisa Mkrtchan performed "Swan Fidelity" and won third prize...

I often think about how to explain such a rapid success of the young composer among both experienced musicians and amateurs. Of course, talent comes first. But the themes of his songs, their youthful tone and amazing sincerity also played a role.

There is one more point that should be mentioned. During the period of dominance of vocal-instrumental ensembles, when ultra-modern melodies amplified by equipment, often very similar to each other, were heard from the stage, on the radio, from records, simple, melodic songs suddenly began to sound. The sound in them is not forced, but naturally and simply reaches the very heart. These songs were heard. They are missed. They were expected. This does not mean at all that before Martynov there were no beautiful songs, sincere, sincere, bright. There were and are. A. Pakhmutova, M. Tariverdiev, M. Fradkin, O. Feltsman, N. Bogoslovsky and many others, from whom Martynov studied and is studying, wrote many magnificent pages in the history of song art. But good songs, no matter how many there are, are always not enough, because the demand for them among young people is too great...

I have seen Evgeniy work many times. No one and nothing can tear him away from the instrument if the melody comes. Or rather, not yet a melody, but a premonition of it. Then he can play various options for hours, listen to the sound of music that no one else can hear except him. Martynov's performance is amazing. Probably, this also determines a person’s talent. Truly talented people are very hardworking. They enjoy the very process of searching for the exact phrase, the expressive note, so they cannot help but be obsessed. Such is Evgeny Martynov. And one more thing. Evgeny is very demanding of himself. He only shows a new song when he is absolutely sure of it. If one of the experienced composers makes a remark to Martynov, he reacts to this with all seriousness and certainly returns to the notes to search, think, correct...

Evgeny Martynov is often invited as a guest of honor to various competitions. This winter we were with him in my hometown of Kalinin [Tver], where a youth song festival was taking place. Evgeniy was asked to be the chairman of the jury. A recent participant in such competitions, he well understands their importance for amateur singers and musicians. At the request of the youth, Martynov sang his own songs. You should have seen how successful his performance was!.. Evgeniy was able to express in his songs the moods and feelings of the young people, their attitude to life and the future.

Martynov’s work is known today not only here, but also abroad. Famous singers from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia include his songs in their repertoire...

Evgeny Martynov is not one of those who stands still, satisfied with what has been achieved. Popularity is a capricious and transitory thing. There are many examples of this. Lasting, well-deserved success can only be brought by constant, painstaking work. Evgeny Martynov understands this.

Andrey Dementyev

"Teacher's newspaper". April 27, 1976 (Newspaper of the Ministry of Education of the USSR and the Central Committee of the Trade Union of Education Workers, Higher Schools and Scientific Institutions.)

You asked us to tell

HOW A SONG IS BORN

– ...Back at the school, Boris Petrovich Landar, my first teacher, advised me to take composition seriously and literally forced me to write several instrumental pieces. It was he who instilled in me a taste for writing.

Soon I wrote my first song “Birch” to the words of S. Yesenin... The next attempt was the song “Ballad of the Mother”...

A month later the song was ready. And when I played it to the musicians in Donetsk, they unanimously advised me to show the song to the music editors of Central Television. Soon it was performed by Lyudmila Artemenko in the television program “Hello, we are looking for talents!” However, Sofia Rotaru put the song on its feet...

– After a visit to Central Television, I decided to show the song “Ballad of Mother” to the author of the poems. I arrived at the editorial office of the magazine "Yunost", where Andrei Dmitrievich works as deputy editor-in-chief. I went into his office and said: “I want to show a song based on your poems”... I must say that Andrei Dmitrievich did not show much enthusiasm. It turned out that he had already been shown music for these verses twice, and everything was unsuccessful. And then I showed up at a busy time: the room was being rented out...

In the evening at Dementyev’s house I played him “Ballad” and sang it. He liked it. This is how our acquaintance took place, which resulted in a great creative friendship...

– ...Can you tell me how the song is born?

– I have written only two ready-made poems: “The Ballad of the Mother” and “Birch Tree”. [Meaning: from popular songs. In fact, by June 1976, “Lullaby to Ashes”, “The Song Has a Name and Patronymic”, “And I Simply Can’t Live Without the Volga” were also written based on poetry! and several Leonidov songs, subsequently “retexted”.] In other cases, the melody precedes the poetic text. But how does the melody come? In general, for me everything is a melody: bright colors, the sound of waves, the whistle of the wind - absolutely everything.

For example, the song "I'm Waiting for Spring." I was on vacation in Alushta. Imagine, early in the morning, a calm sea, plus a great mood - and suddenly a melody began to sound in me. When, already in Moscow, I played it to Dementyev [this melody was played first to P. Leonidov, who composed the text of “My Love,” and only then to A. Dementyev], I told him about what I felt: this song should be about pure, bright love... In a word, I gave the theme. He made the words really merge with the melody.

Usually a song is connected with life events much more directly and closely than works of any other genre. Especially meeting new places leaves an irreplaceable impression. Maybe that’s why I love the road and travel so much... The melody “If you are young at heart” was suggested to me by builders in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. I was captivated by the very atmosphere that reigns in the Far East. And then came the music and even the line: “Today I am where the snowstorm is blowing”... [The very first option was: “You look for me where the taiga is noisy, you look for me where the snow is blowing.”] The rest was thought up by the co-authors: A .Dementiev and D.Usmanov. Three months later, I took this song to the Far East, and its premiere took place there. She was received very warmly; many came to the meeting with the song in work clothes, straight from their shift. Now it has become a Komsomol song, it is sung by those who build roads and new cities...

– Have you ever written a song with a specific artist in mind?

– I think this is a good tradition. After all, every singer has his own creative image. For example, singer Sofia Rotaru... I wrote the song "Swan Fidelity" especially for her...

-...My most cherished dream is to write a civil song, write it in such a way that it touches everyone: both the very young and the elderly...

I also dream of writing music for a film...

The conversation was conducted by G. Sadovskaya.

"Musical Life". 1976, No. 14, July. (Journal of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Ministry of Culture of the USSR)

MUSIC AND MODERNITY

(Report of the first secretary of the board of the Union of Composers of the USSR T. Khrennikov at the Joint Plenum of the Boards of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Union of Composers of the RSFSR, held in May 1976)

I could name many more names... But here’s what I want to draw your attention to. The secretariat’s report at our Kiev song plenum already said that, for all the attractiveness of an uninhibited lyrical intonation, songs of this kind [we are talking about song lyrics] are often characterized by melodrama, especially undesirable where a high civic theme is revealed. An example was then given of “The Ballad of a Mother” by the young Evgeniy Martynov, who was not devoid of abilities. Unfortunately, both this and some other authors, including young ones, continue to stubbornly cultivate heartbreaking melodic turns...

Coming from a simple family, he managed to graduate with honors from the Music Pedagogical Institute, where teachers gave him the nickname “Gift” for his unique talent. A few years after graduation, he came to Moscow, becoming a real gift for millions of Soviet people. His pure and bright lyrical songs sounded almost daily from all repeaters, giving listeners joy and faith in a bright tomorrow.

Talented student Evgeny Martynov

On that fateful day Martynov I had to take my father to the clinic, meet with a lawyer, and sort out the issue of a business trip abroad. The artist did not feel well, but he had to repair the Volga, which suddenly broke down so inopportunely. Martynov went to a taxi driver who had once helped him repair a car. Together with another car enthusiast, he entered the elevator of one of the neighboring houses, where he became ill, and his companion, frightened, ran away without even calling an ambulance.

FACTS

There is a street in Artemovsk Evgenia Martynova, on a house in Kamyshin, where he was born - memorial plaque; a song festival named after Martynova.

If you criticize any song Evgeniy He answered that the people liked her; it happened that they told him: “The people need to be educated.” And they often found fault with the lyrics. Back in 1975 Evgeniy Martynov and Dementyev had to convince the editor-in-chief of Central Television for a long time that the words “the swan could not fly to distant lands” had nothing to do with the emigration of Jews.

Updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena

The composer spent his childhood and youth in the Donbass; he received his higher musical education at the Kyiv Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky and the Donetsk Musical Pedagogical Institute (now the S.S. Prokofiev Conservatory). Since 1973, the composer lived in Moscow and worked first at the State Concert Association "Rosconcert" (as a soloist-vocalist), and then at the publishing houses "Young Guard" and "Pravda" (as a music editor-consultant). Member of the Union of Composers of the USSR since 1984. Over the years of his composing and performing activities, Martynov E.G. was awarded many laureate titles and honorary diplomas, in particular at the All-Union Competition of Soviet Song Performers in Minsk (1973), the World Festival of Youth and Students in Berlin (1973), the All-Union Television Festival of Soviet Song "Young Voices" (1974 g.), international pop song competition "Bratislava Lyre" in Czechoslovakia (1975), international pop song competition "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria

(1976), at the international pop song festivals “Melodies of Friends” in Kyiv (1976) and “Dechinsky Anchor” in Czechoslovakia (1977). In 1980, the composer was awarded the honorary title of Moscow Komsomol Prize laureate in those years, and in 1987 he became a laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize. From 1974 to 1990, he was a regular winner of the All-Union television festivals "Songs of the Year".

The artist toured extensively and successfully throughout the country and abroad. With concert performances and as part of creative delegations, he visited many countries of the world: the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Finland, India, Switzerland, and all former socialist countries. E.G. Martynov’s songs were (and are) included in their repertoire by many popular domestic and foreign artists: Michel (Spain), K. Gott (Czech Republic), A. German (Poland), D. Marjanovich, M. Ungar, I. Sherfezi (Yugoslavia), L. Ivanova (Bulgaria), M. Dauer (Romania), M. Chavez (Cuba), J. Yoala, A. Veski, M. Kristalinskaya, G. Nenasheva, L. Kesoglu, A. Vedishcheva, T. Miansarova, G. Chokheli, M. Codreanu, I. Kobzon, L. Zykina, O. Voronets, S. Zakharov, S. Rotaru, V. Tolkunova, L. Leshchenko, L. Senchina, Y. Bogatikov, E. Shavrina, G. Belov, K. Georgiadi, A. Serov, I. Ponarovskaya, N. Chepraga, L. Serebrennikov, I. Otieva, N. Gnatyuk, L. Uspenskaya, V. Vuyachich, N. Brodskaya, new performers (for composer) generation - F. Kirkorov, N. Baskov, M. Nasyrov, V. Baykov, S. Pavliashvili, A. Malinin, I. Shvedova, I. Demarin, V. Gotovtseva, M. Evdokimov, Anastasia, Yulian, Natalie, Tanya Ostryagina; as well as such well-known groups as the Red Banner Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet (Russian) Army named after A. Aleksandrov, the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Military Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (RF), the State Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia", vocal and instrumental ensembles - "Orera ", "Gems", "Flame", "Gaya", "Nadezhda", "Chervona Ruta", "Seven Young" (Yugoslavia), "Blue Jeans" (Japan), vocal ensembles - "Russian Song", "Indian Summer" ", "Voronezh Girls", duet "Romen"... The composer's works have also been successfully performed (and are being performed) by the symphonic and pop music orchestras of the All-Union (Russian) Radio and Television, the State Brass Band of Russia, and the Bratislava and Ostrava pop and dance music orchestras radio (Slovakia and Czech Republic), Moscow pop orchestra "Melody", Orchestra conducted by Claude Caravelli (France)...

The most popular songs by E.G. Martynov: “The Ballad of the Mother”, “Swan Fidelity”, “Father’s House”, “Apple Trees in Blossom”, “Alyonushka”, “I’m Waiting for Spring”, “Seagulls over the Water”, “Father’s Letter” ", "Start over", "I'll give you the whole world", "On the swing", "Spell", "Natalie", "Mom's eyes", "Meeting of friends" ("Let's have a good time"), "March-memory ", "The nightingales sing, they sing...", "If you are young at heart" ("Today I am where the blizzard is blowing"), "White lilac", "Tell me, cherry...". The composer collaborated with the most famous Moscow poets: A. Dementiev, R. Rozhdestvensky, A. Voznesensky, I. Reznik, S. Ostrov, M. Plyatskovsky, V. Kharitonov, I. Shaferan, M. Tanich, L. Derbenev, N. Dobronravov , A. Poperechny, R. Kazakova, A. Pyanov, N. Dorizo... Music collections, records and compact cassettes with songs by E.G. Martynov were published in huge quantities and enjoyed constant success among fans of pop songs, as in ours country and abroad.

His songs have been heard by millions, but few know who wrote them. Evgeny Martynov has a soft, velvety voice, which is usually called a baritone tenor, but he is known more as a composer rather than a performer. His melodies have been heard from the stage more than once and can still be heard, but Evgeny Grigorievich Martynov himself has not been seen among the living for 28 years, since on September 3, 1990, he died under very mysterious circumstances.

Biography and cause of death

Evgeny Martynov came into this world on May 22, 1948. This happened in the city of Kamyshin, Volgograd region. Zhenya was born in the post-war period, both of his parents went through difficult times, and not somewhere in the rear, but right on the front line.

Dad, Grigory Martynov, bore the honorary title of commander of a rifle platoon, but the war made him disabled, so he had to forget about further service. He had a good ear for music and could play several instruments.

The mother of the future celebrity was a military nurse, so she also made an invaluable contribution to the overall victory over world fascism. In addition, Evgeny Martynov has a younger brother, Yuri (1957), who, like him, is distinguished by several talents at once. He became famous as a successful composer, producer, and arranger, and even received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

Several versions can be found about the causes of death in the biography of Yevgeny Martynov, since, according to his brother, there were many factors pointing to a deliberate murder and not an accident.

Early years

The future composer Evgeny Martynov, at the age of five, moved with his entire family to the city of Bakhmut (until 2016 Artemovsk), located in the Donetsk region. This was his father’s small homeland, so we can say that they returned to their native land. Grigory Martynov invested a lot of patience and work into his son, developing in him a God-given talent for music. While still a schoolboy, Evgeniy began to create his own works, because he was gifted not only with a beautiful voice, but also with a keen ear.

In Artemovsk, the future composer received an initial musical education in the clarinet class. The young man dreamed of being an artist, therefore, having all the necessary talents, in 1967 he entered the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conservatory, located in the city of Kyiv. But for some reason the young man transferred to the Musical Pedagogical Institute of Donetsk, which now bears the high title of the S.S. Prokofiev Conservatory. He graduated ahead of schedule, in 1971.

Start of a career

Singer Evgeny Martynov, after graduating, began working in Moscow, initially only as a composer. There, in 1972, he met the once popular Maya Kristelitskaya, who for the first time on the big stage performed the song “Birch,” which he wrote based on Yesenin’s poem. And it was she who introduced Evgeny Martynov to the audience as a young and outstanding creator of music.

That year was also significant because Evgeny Martynov’s song “My Love” was broadcast for the first time on the central television channel, which was wonderfully performed by Gyulli Chokheli. And since 1973, he already worked at the State Concert Association “Rosconcert” as a soloist-vocalist. The young man also got a job in the editorial offices of such famous newspapers as Pravda and Molodaya Gvardiya as a consultant-editor.

After the airing of Evgeny Martynov’s song, he finally woke up famous! And this is not surprising, because his melodies radiate light, love and warmth hidden in the soul of their creator. Then the composer began to receive orders from the most famous pop performers, such as Lyudmila Zykina (“Don’t Stop Loving Me,” “Tell Me, Mom”).

Realization of Martynov as a singer

Evgeny Grigorievich’s creations were performed by such stars of the 70s and 80s as Anna German, Sofia Rotaru, Eduard Khil, Joseph Kobzon, Mikhail Chuev and others. But still, Martynov’s dream was to independently perform his own songs, especially since God endowed him with a beautiful velvety and sonorous voice.

His soft tenor could cover up to several octaves and had a unique timbre, thanks to which Evgeniy was called a soloist to the opera house. But the thorny path of the pop singer attracted him much more, especially since he had all the data for this. Martynov's appearance was quite artistic, and his charisma and inspired manner of performance did their job, causing a storm of positive emotions in the listener. Even such dramatic compositions as “Swan Fidelity” end in a very optimistic and sublime way. However, the biography of Evgeny Martynov and the cause of the artist’s death are not nearly as clear and understandable as his songs, because there are quite a lot of dark spots there.

Honorary titles of the composer

Throughout his life, Evgeny Martynov has repeatedly received state awards and valuable prizes, here is a list of them:

• Laureate of the USSR competition among performers of Soviet songs in Minsk in 1973.
• Laureate of the World Youth Festival in 1973, held in Berlin.
• Received membership in the Union of Composers of the USSR in 1984.
• He won the International Bratislava Lyre Competition in 1975, becoming the first winner from the Soviet country.
• He took second place and won a silver medal in the International Golden Orpheus Competition in 1976 in Bulgaria.
• He received the Lenin Komsomol Prize in 1987 for his work on the aesthetic education of the young population and children's works.

In addition to all of the above, Evgeny Martynov was one of the most famous and revered authors and performers in the Soviet Union. But, alas, after the 80s, his popularity sharply waned due to the emergence of such pop stars as “Na-Na” and “Tender May”.

Martynov found himself outside the “format”, since young people liked to dance more than listen thoughtfully. Invitations to television and concerts stopped coming, and this could not but affect the psychological state of the singer and composer. By nature, Evgeniy Grigorievich was a very sensitive person and took everything to heart. That is why the long-term lack of demand led to the artist’s banal drinking. And on August 27, 1990, Evgeny Martynov performed for the last time in the qualifying round of the Song of the Year festival with a composition based on the poems of Ilya Reznik “Maryina Roshcha”.

Cause of death of Evgeny Martynov

The singer's biography ended tragically on September 3, 1990. According to the official version, the cause was acute heart failure, but some facts indicate that this is not entirely true. The singer was riding home in the elevator, but suddenly he felt unwell. They say that he could still have been saved if he had received timely medical assistance, but, alas, this did not happen. The funeral of Evgeny Martynov took place on the fourth day from the date of death at the Moscow Novo-Kuntsevskoye cemetery in plot No. 2.

The composer’s younger brother, Yuri Grigorievich, believes that the artist was “helped” to go to the next world, because he was in the process of suing the people who deceived him. And this seems to be true, because we were talking about a rather “tidy” amount.

The essence of the matter was that Evgeny Martynov was organized on a tour of the Ryazan region, but for some reason they forgot to pay the fee. The contract with the company was officially concluded (on paper), but it was issued to completely strangers. Repeat offenders protected themselves in this way, since it was not easy to prove their involvement in this situation.

And so the composer “very fortunately” died right on the eve of the next meeting, scheduled for September 4. The case was closed, and people whispered for a long time that the death was rigged by those same criminals. According to one version, he was poisoned, and according to another, he was severely beaten, hitting vital organs.

Opinion of Yuri Grigorievich Martynov

The composer's brother told about those events that the old woman who found Zhenya in the entrance, as well as other residents, said that he entered there in the company of two men. The companions later said that Martynov bought them vodka and they “figured it out for three,” but it is unknown what brand they drank and whether it was from the same bottle. No one thought to ask his drinking buddies about this.

According to those men, Evgeny felt bad as soon as they entered the entrance, and in the elevator he already lost consciousness. But why did they abandon him without providing first aid? And why one of them entered the elevator with the singer, while the other remained at the exit from the entrance, is still a mystery. After this, the police arrived and began to bring Yevgeny Martynov to his senses through slaps and ammonia. A doctor from a nearby children's hospital appeared and gave the musician some kind of injection, and then the composer died.

Facts pointing to premeditated murder

Pathologists from the Sklifosovsky Research Institute concluded that a considerable amount of ammonia was found in Yevgeny Martynov’s mouth. But they don’t drink it! To bring a person to his senses, a drop of ammonia on a piece of cotton wool is enough, but the singer’s clothes actually exuded the pungent smell of ammonia! However, the report on the cause of death indicated heart failure.

The brother of the deceased concluded that Evgeny Martynov died from poisoning:

“The reason for Zhenya’s poor health was that he was deliberately poisoned. Maybe the vodka he got was “scorched”, or they added something to his glass so that he would pass out and could be cleaned up. Before the police arrived, my brother was still breathing and they just needed to call an ambulance, and not carry out inept resuscitation. Was it possible to pour ammonia into a living person instead of just letting him smell it?! Didn’t they know that ammonia causes severe swelling of the mucous membrane, blocking the airways?!”

Family

The following can be said about the personal life of Evgeny Martynov: he had a wife and son. The wife was 11 years younger than the composer, because he got married quite late. At the time we met, she was only 17 years old. The artist was by nature a very shy person, and, despite the crowds of enthusiastic fans, he never took anyone to hotel rooms after performances. Apparently, modesty influenced the fact that Evgeniy Martynov created a family only at the age of 30, after waiting for his only one.

Details about the spouse

Wife Evelina Konstantinovna Starchenko was born in Kyiv in 1959 and after the wedding took her husband’s surname. The wedding celebration took place in the Moscow restaurant “Prague” and was distinguished by splendor. People who were part of the singer’s circle of close friends whispered that Evelina got married for selfish reasons, but Evgeny was very happy with her. God blessed their marriage with a son, who was born on July 23, 1984. His name was given in honor of the great Russian poet Sergei Yesenin, whose work Martynov loved infinitely. The son looks very much like his father, but he was only 6 years old when his dad passed away.

Despite the fact that Evelina herself says that the death of her husband was a severe blow of fate for her, Yuri Martynov does not particularly believe in this. And he explains it this way: “Soon after Zhenya’s death, Ella asked me to use my connections to give her an abortion. I wondered whose child this was. However, he brought her together with the right people. And a month later she began dating another man, with whom she currently lives in Spain.”

After her second marriage, Evelina moved to the Spanish resort city of Alicante with her son Sergei and now lives in a villa on the seashore.

Best Albums

Since in the Soviet edition most of the vinyls with the singer’s recordings were called simply “Evgeniy Martynov Sings,” for convenience the recordings were released on CD under different names. The re-release was made after the artist's death, and the first album was released in 1991. Here is the compiled discography of Evgeny Martynov:

1. “I’ll give you the whole world” - 1991 (“Melody”);
2. "Swan Fidelity" - 1991 ("Melody");
3. "Maryina Roshcha" - 1991 ("Melody");
4. "Song of My Love" - ​​1994 ("ROM Ltd.");
5. “Apple trees in bloom” (“Evgeny Martynov sings his songs”) - 1995 (“Melody”);
6. "Swan Fidelity - Songs of Evgeny Martynov" - 1997 ("Melody");
7. “I’m flying to you - Pop stars sing songs by Evgeny Martynov” - 2000 (“Melody”);
8. “I’ll give you the whole world” - 2001 (“Park of Stars”);
9. Grand Collection - 2003 ("Quad-Disk");
10. "Great Performers of Russia of the XX Century" - 2004 (Moroz Records);

After listening to these recordings, you can get acquainted with the songs of the talented composer and listen to his unusually soft, wonderful voice.