home-Shoes-Bass guitarist singing hearts biography. For the birthday of the ex-soloist of VIA Singing Hearts, Blue Guitars and Watercolors by Igor Ofitserov

Bass guitarist singing hearts biography. For the birthday of the ex-soloist of VIA Singing Hearts, Blue Guitars and Watercolors by Igor Ofitserov

For the birthday of the ex-soloist of VIA Singing Hearts, Blue Guitars and Watercolors by Igor Ofitserov. Igor Ofitserov was born on February 7, 1949. Soviet pop star of the 70-80s, soloist of the legendary VIA: “Singing Hearts”, “Blue Guitars”, “Watercolors”. Winner of the international prize "Pilar". Performer of everyone’s favorite songs: “The leaves will spin”, “Who told you”, “Clouds in the river”, “We will find the words”, “Deceiver” and many others, Honored Artist of Russia - Igor Ofitserov! In the early 90s, the team was forced to disintegrate. The musicians of the first star cast of “Singing Hearts” are each doing their own thing: studio work, solo careers, producing young performers. It seemed that “Singing Hearts” had ceased to exist forever. However, in 2000, on the initiative of former members of the ensemble Igor Ofitserov and Viktor Dorokhin, the musicians of “Singing Hearts” gathered again. But having disagreed in creative views with band member Viktor Kharaketzyan, Igor left the band and performed solo as a legendary vocalist, gathering like-minded musicians around him.

The legendary Moscow VIA "Singing Hearts" was organized at the "Mosconcert" in 1971 by the young pianist Viktor Vekshtein, whose creative career had previously passed in the accompanying ensembles of Soviet pop artists Joseph Kobzon, Maya Kristalinskaya and Vadim Mulerman.

Over time, Victor Vekshtein assembles his team. The ensemble initially worked successfully under the names “Sovremennik” and “Singing Continents”; later it became the VIA “Singing Hearts”. At VIA Sovremennik, creative fate brought Victor Vekshtein together with singer and trumpeter Anatoly Mogilevsky, who subsequently worked in the first compositions of the legendary ensembles “Gems”, artistic director Yuri Malikov and “Flame”, artistic directors Nikolai Rappoport / Mikhailov /, later Sergei Berezin . After emigrating to the USA, Anatoly fruitfully collaborated with the VIA legend, musician Mikhail Shufutinsky, previously the artistic director of the VIA “Leisya, Pesnya”, songwriter Yakov Golyakov and achieved world fame and appreciation from the public as a pop performer. The first composition of the ensemble “Singing Hearts” was: Alexander Oltsman - lead guitar, vocals, Victor Kharakidzyan - bass guitar, vocals, Igor Kashkin - rhythm guitar, percussion instruments, vocals, Vyacheslav Indrokov - guitar, piano, vocals, Alexander Timofeev – trumpet, Anatoly Vasin – trumpet, Nikolay Krupyshev – saxophone, arranger, Boris Postoenko – saxophone, vocals, Igor Ofitserov – trombone, tambourine, vocals, Vitaly Shemankov – alto saxophone, soprano flute, keyboards and percussion instruments, Vladimir Shnaiderman /Chirkov/ – piano, vocals, Vitaly Baryshnikov – keyboard instruments, Nikolai Zhuchkevich – drums, congas, vocals, Evgeny Perevalov, Natalya Shemankova – solo vocalists, Vladimir Frenkel – percussion instruments. The artistic director of the ensemble, Viktor Vekshtein, played the electric organ, xylophone and piano. Nikolai Agutin worked for a long time as the administrator of the Singing Hearts ensemble. At that time, little Leonid, now one of the popular pop artists, went on tour with his dad. Subsequently, after Nikolai Agutin moved to Stas Namin’s group “Flowers”, other administrators took the place of the ensemble’s administrator. Over time, drummer Vladimir Frenkel was replaced by Viktor Dorokhin - percussion instruments, later one of the popular composers. Trumpeter and arranger Vladimir Izboynikov joins the band from the ensemble “Vesyolye Rebyata” - vocals. VIA "Singing Hearts" focused on complex forms of pop music - brass-rock with the melodic powerful sound of wind instruments. Not every composer of that time decided to collaborate with youth groups of the new genre - VIA, but despite this, thanks to the fruitful tandem of VIA with many innovative composers, our audience heard and fell in love with a huge number of good songs. The first in this matter were young composers: Sergei Dyachkov, Vladimir Semenov, Oleg Ivanov, David Tukhmanov, Yuri Antonov, Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Roman Mayorov and others. My first acquaintance with the work of the young VIA “Singing Hearts” occurred in the early 70s of the 20th century after acquiring the magazine “Krugozor”, where I became acquainted with a musical essay by composer Oscar Feltsman and new songs: “Learn to listen to silence” / O. Feltsman- A. Bogoslovsky/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, and “You are my unrequited love” / A. Melitonyan-L. Oshanin/, recorded on a loose-leaf record. At the beginning of their creativity, the ensemble worked closely with the Tomsk composer Roman Mayorov / Gutzenok /, who wrote a number of popular songs for him. In parallel with his composing activities, Roman Mayorovich worked in the editorial office of the Yunost radio station, in the satire and humor department of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, and participated in many releases of music programs of the popular radio program “Good Morning!” In 1973, the All-Union Recording Company "Melodiya" released the ensemble's first gramophone record with songs by composer Roman Mayorov: "All over again" with lyrics by M. Ryabinin, soloist Igor Ofitserov, "Blue and White" with lyrics by L. Ovsyannikova. In the same year, an EP was also released, which later sold a million copies, combining songs from two previously released signal records, where they were recorded: “The leaves will spin” / R. Mayorov-V. Kharitonov/, “Sit next to me” / S. Kats-A.Kovalenko, D.Tolkachev/, “All over again” /R.Mayorov-M.Ryabinin/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Blue and White” /R.Mayorov-L.Ovsyannikova/. In fact, the star fame of VIA “Singing Hearts” comes from the song “Leaves Will Spin” with an original arrangement by trumpeter Vladimir Izboynikov and guitarist Viktor Kharakidzyan. This song, one can safely say, sounded from all the windows of houses in our country; many pop groups and performers included it in their repertoire. It was heard in the “Youth” program on All-Union Radio, performed by VIA “Gems”, artistic director Yuri Malikov, at the “Melodiya” company, VIA “Lada”, artistic director Eduard Krolik, recorded it on their LP. In 1973, the VIA “Singing Hearts” took part in the IV All-Russian competition of Soviet pop artists. For the performance of the songs “Peace to your home” / O. Feltsman-I. Kokhanovsky /, soloist Igor Ofitserov, and “How much happiness people have” / B. Savelyev-M. Plyatskovsky /, soloists Igor Ofitserov and Natasha Shemankova, the ensemble is awarded the title of laureate competition. For the first time, VIA “Singing Hearts” was shown on All-Union Television. The ensemble received universal recognition from the audience and many years of love throughout the creative career of the popular group. Honored Artist of the RSFSR, composer Oscar Feltsman, on the page of the Krugozor magazine in the “Acquaintance” section, spoke about the work of the ensemble: “My attention was attracted by the work of the young group “Singing Hearts.” I attracted her with her tactful and creative attitude to the song and her professionalism. The ensemble consists of ten young musicians. They are led by Viktor Vekshtein. “Singing Hearts” enthusiastically work on the modern repertoire, trying to find their own creative solution in the performance of songs. The musicians attach special importance to the vocal and instrumental arrangement of songs.” Over time, musicians leave the band: Boris Postoenko and Evgeniy Perevalov. At this time, the ensemble fruitfully collaborated with composers: Evgeny Krylatov, Alexey Rybnikov, Anatoly Dneprov, Boris Savelyev and songwriters: Igor Shaferan, Igor Kokhanovsky, Mikhail Plyatskovsky and others. At the Melodiya company, the ensemble records their next minions with their songs. Songs performed by VIA “Singing Hearts” are becoming popular: “I don’t understand” /A. Dneprov-O. Pavlova/, “That’s the trouble” / B. Savelyev-I. Kokhanovsky/, soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov, “Remember me”, / A.Dneprov-V.Kharitonov/, “Winter of Love” /R.Mayorov-I.Kokhanovsky/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “I promise not to be late” /Scottish folk song/ and others. In 1974, the ensemble again successfully took part in the next V All-Union Competition of Soviet Variety Artists, which was held at the Moscow Variety Theater. For the performance of the literary and dramatic suite “4444” /O. Feltsman-A. Bogoslovsky/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, VIA “Singing Hearts” is again a laureate of the competition! Composer Oscar Feltsman continued on the pages of Krugozor magazine: ““Singing Hearts” strives for the songs in the repertoire to be diverse. Therefore, they are also attracted to more complex musical forms, which make it possible to go beyond the usual boundaries of song presentation.” The ensemble's tour this year took place in Eastern Europe. The musicians performed in Bulgaria, Poland and the GDR. The concert version features many songs performed by the ensemble “Singing Hearts”, including: “The Nightingale” /V.Barilov-P.Barkarova/, “Yesterday” /Yu.Antonov-O.Gadzhikasimov/, “How a Soldier Served” / M.Blanter-K.Simonov/, “Where are you, mother” /A.Zhereau-V.Dyunin/, soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov, “Poplar fluff” /Yu.Saulsky-P.Leonidov/, “Call me to the wedding” /V.Rubashevsky-I. Kashezheva/, “The heart must love” /D.Tukhmanov-I.Shaferan/, soloist Natasha Shemankova, “Song, my song” /O.Ivanov-P.Leonidov/, “If you love” /Yu.Antonov-L. Derbenev/, “How Beautiful You Are” from the repertoire of Joe Dollan, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Epiphany” / O. Feltsman-M. Gettuev/, “Yesterday” from the repertoire of the English group “The Beatles”, soloist Nikolai Zhuchkevich, “Do you want me to come out with a guitar "from the repertoire of the Polish VIA "Chervoni Guitars", soloist Alexander Oltsman, "At the Crossroads" from the repertoire of the American group "Credence Clearwater Revival", soloist Igor Kashkin and others. The ensemble boldly includes in its repertoire songs by foreign authors based on the words of domestic poets and records them on its next minions. In 1975, the All-Union Recording Company "Melodiya" released the group's first giant disc, which was a great success with the public. “Winter of Love” / R. Mayorov-I. Kokhanovsky /, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Where to find love” / V. Wekshtein-I. Kokhanovsky /, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Everything that happened” / Y. Kukulsky, Y. Slavinsky-I.Kokhanovsky/, soloist Natasha Shemankova, “Knock on any door” /N.Bogoslovsky-I.Kokhanovsky/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Bring back love” /A.Dneprov-O.Pavlova/, soloist Nikolai Zhuchkevich, “ Who told you?" /V.Dobrynin-L.Derbenev/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Goodbye, Mom” /K.Zagel-I.Kokhanovsky/, soloist Vladimir Shnaiderman, “But you pass by” /V.Vekshtein-I.Kokhanovsky/, “ Look around in anger” / author of music and lyrics A. Bogoslovsky /, soloist Nikolai Zhuchkevich, “Give me a smile” / J. Pankov /, soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov, “Love is trouble / O. Feltsman-M. Gettuev, translation by Y. Serpin /, soloist Igor Ofitserov. The following people took part in the recording of the songs on this album: Alexander Oltsman - lead guitar, vocals, Victor Kharakidzyan - bass guitar, vocals, Vitaly Shemankov - saxophone, flute, Vladimir Izboynikov - trumpet, vocals, Victor Vekshtein - keyboards, Victor Dorokhin - drums tools. VIA “Singing Hearts” at this time collaborated with the young Moscow composer Vyacheslav Dobrynin and recorded his songs: “Help me, rain” to the words of the poet Naum Olev, soloist Natasha Shemankova, and “Who told you?” to the words of the poet Leonid Derbenev, soloist Igor Ofitserov. The ensemble also took part in domestic cinema, starred in a cameo role in the next 17th episode “He’s somewhere here” of the detective-adventure television series “The investigation is being conducted by ZnaToKi”, directed by Vyacheslav Brovkin, where they performed the song “Invisible Battle” / M. Minkov-A .Gorokhov/. The song “Winter of Love” /R. Mayorov-I. Kokhanovsky/, soloist Igor Ofitserov, was performed in the movie “Yellow Leaves”. At the same time, members of the VIA “Singing Hearts” took part in the recording of music and songs by Mark Minkov to the words of Igor Shaferan in the feature film “Ar-hi-medy” of the Odessa Film Studio, directed by Alexander Pavlovsky. The Melodiya company released a gramophone record with songs from this film: “Just Hold On,” soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Sami with a Mustache,” “We Will Find the Words” / M. Minkov-I. Shaferan /, soloist Igor Ofitserov, later musicians were recorded music by composer Evgeny Krylatov and the song “Where and When” to the words of the poet Igor Shaferan, soloists Vyacheslav Indrokov and Natasha Shemankova, for the film “Mother-in-Law”, directed by Sergei Sploshnov. The musicians also recorded songs by composer Nikita Bogoslovsky for the film “SOS over the Taiga.” Collaborating with composer David Tukhmanov, VIA "Singing Hearts" recorded the song "A Heart Must Love" to the words of the poet Igor Shaferan, soloist Natasha Shemankova, for the musical film "This Merry Planet", but for some reason in the credits of the film and on the author's disc - the giant composer of the film of the same name, other performers are indicated. In 1976, one of the most popular Soviet pop singers, guitarist Igor Ivanov, who had work in the ensembles “Leisya, Pesnya”, artistic director Valery Seleznev, who previously worked at VIA “Gems”, and “Nadezhda”, artistic director, came to the ensemble Mikhail Plotkin. The singer’s name is associated with the popularity of these groups and the recording of one of the most popular songs on the giant author’s disc “In the Wave of My Memory” by composer David Tukhmanov - the song “From Vagants”. In the ensemble, Igor performed equally popular hit songs by composer Anatoly Dneprov “Clouds in the River” to the words of the poet Igor Kokhanovsky and “17 years”, “Let’s make peace” to the words of the poet Vladimir Kharitonov. Having worked as part of the ensemble for about 3 years, Igor took part in the recording of 15 songs. Over time, the singer will return to VIA “Nadezhda” again, artistic director Mikhail Plotkin, and later will perform his solo program on the stage, record new songs, new albums. At the end of the 90s of the last 20th century, in one of his interviews with Krasnodar radio, Igor recalled with gratitude and warmth his work at the VIA “Singing Hearts”. She gave him fruitful lessons in stage and vocal skills, in which soloist Igor Ofitserov played a special role. At the same time, a new soloist, Antonina Zhmakova, joined the ensemble, having previously worked as a theater artist at the Leningrad Musical Comedy Theater, the Moscow Academic Theater named after V. Mayakovsky, after which there was work and success on the stage as one of the popular Soviet singers. Antonina was at that time the winner of the Grand Prix and gold medal of the pop song competition in Tokyo /1972/, the Golden Microphone prize from the Dynacord company, took part in a gala concert at the Olympic Games in Munich, and the singer also recorded a solo gramophone record at the Melodiya company. At this time, Natalya Shemankova left the team to work as a music editor on TV and Antonina became the leading and only soloist of the VIA “Singing Hearts”. The ensemble visits Cuba with a concert program. In 1977, the poet Igor Kokhanovsky included in his author’s album “Indian Summer” songs performed by the ensemble: “Indian Summer” to the music of composer Yuri Antonov, soloist Igor Ofitserov, “Don’t Call Me Anymore” to the music of composer Viktor Vekshtein, soloist Antonina Zhmakova , “Oh, how I love” by foreign authors D. Arel and S. Meyer, soloist Antonina Zhmakova, “Face in the Palms” to the music of composer Anatoly Dneprov, soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov. This year, the VIA “Singing Hearts” has been touring Latin America for 3 months. During these and subsequent years of creativity on the Soviet stage, some of the musicians, bringing with them something new, joined the ranks of the members of the “Singing Hearts” ensemble, while others, having gained stage skills in the group, left. In 1977, one of the leading soloists of the ensemble, Igor Ofitserov, went to work at the Moscow VIA "Blue Guitars", artistic director Igor Granov, where he took part in the musical "Little Red Riding Hood, the Gray Wolf and the Blue Guitars." In 1978, at the Melodiya company, the Singing Hearts ensemble recorded an EP with songs by Viktor Vekshtein and foreign authors to the words of the poet Igor Kokhanovsky, performed by Antonina Zhmakova. As a fruitful collaboration with composer Oscar Feltsman, the ensemble recorded the following songs on their next EP: “Why”, with lyrics by the poet Ilya Reznik, soloist Igor Ivanov, “Others have Spring,” soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov, “White Paper,” soloist Igor Ivanov, with lyrics poet Naum Olev. Songwriter Vladimir Kharitonov includes in his giant author's disc "White Wings" the songs "Childhood is Long Gone", soloist Vyacheslav Indrokov, and "Let's Make Peace", soloist Igor Ivanov, to the music of composer Anatoly Dneprov, performed by the VIA "Singing Hearts". At this time, in many joint concerts, the ensemble accompanies the vocal quartet “Smile” and performs in group concerts of Soviet pop artists. In 1979, the VIA “Singing Hearts” successfully toured African countries. In 1980, the Melodiya company released a solo album of the singer “Antonina Zhmakova and the ensemble “Singing Hearts”” with Olympic symbols, which actually included songs from the ensemble’s previously released minions: “Beautiful Day” /M. Goldsboro-V. Kharitonov/, “Not today - tomorrow” /V.Vekshtein-V.Kharitonov/, “Your steps” /E.Marney, Pallavicini, Massari-I.Kokhanovsky/, “Sir Duke” /S.Wander/, “Finest Hour” /N .Bogoslovsky-M.Plyatskovsky/, “I ask you” /B.Rychkov-I.Shaferan/, “Letter” /S.Muravyov-E.Nadezhdin/, “That’s all” /V.Vekshtein-V.Kharitonov/, “Farewell toast” / M. Mallery, J. Rener-I. Kokhanovsky /, “Don’t call me again” / V. Wekshtein-I. Kokhanovsky /. In parallel, in concert programs with Antonina, soloists of the ensemble sing songs: Vyacheslav Indrokov, Viktor Kamashev, Andrei Stepanov / Rublev / and others. VIA "Singing Hearts" take part in the cultural program "Olympics-80". Especially for her, the musicians recorded a song by composer Georgy Movsesyan “Welcome to Moscow, Olympics.” In 1981, composer Vyacheslav Dobrynin included in his first giant disc “Day by Day” songs performed by VIA “Singing Hearts” - “The Deceiver” to the words of the poet Mikhail Plyatskovsky and “Only I don’t believe” to the words of the poet Mikhail Shabrov. At the end of the year, Viktor Dorokhin (percussion instruments) left the ensemble. Previously, due to Victor’s studies at the institute, drummer Alexei Tokatly temporarily worked in the ensemble. Subsequently, Viktor Dorokhin worked as a drummer in the orchestra of Alexander Pulver, and later wrote music based on the words of his wife, poetess Lyubov Voropaeva, for many pop performers. From 1988 to 1990, they worked closely with the popular pop singer Zhenya Belousov, who previously worked in the Integral group. Anatoly Tartakovsky takes the place of the drummer from the Araks group in the ensemble. In the early 80s, trumpeter Vladimir Izboynikov joined the Melodiya ensemble. Subsequently, the Melodiya company released songs performed by the VIA “Singing Hearts” on subsequent minions, as well as in many collections of Soviet pop songs and on giant copyright discs of Soviet authors. The ensemble took part in the programs of Central Television - “Zucchini 13 Chairs”, “Not as a joke, but seriously”, “Morning Mail”, “Song of the Year” and others. Songs performed by the ensemble “Singing Hearts” were often heard on the radio. The team toured a lot around our country - the Soviet Union, and visited many countries around the world. And success awaited the musicians everywhere! !! In Victor Vekshtein's team, the following musicians went through the school of stagecraft over the years: Viktor Barilov - guitar, vocals, Viktor But - guitar, vocals, Anatoly Galaktionov - guitar, Alexander Levin - guitar, vocals, Igor Kapitannikov - guitar, vocals, Vadim Akhmetgareev - trombone , Vyacheslav Smagliy - trombone, Gennady Zharkov - trumpet, vocals, Vladimir Tartakovsky - trumpet, Yuri Prokopov - saxophone, vocals, Alexander Kalyanov - violin, vocals, Grigory Slavin - keyboards, vocals Sergei Muravyov - keyboards, vocals, Valery Fedorov - keyboard instruments, Sergey Shalaev - keyboard instruments, vocals, Igor Ivannikov - percussion instruments, vocals, Mikhail Filippov - percussion instruments, vocals, Pavel Babakov, Alexander Evdokimov, Felix Krasilovsky, Alexander Nevolin, Mikhail Raikin, Boris Sandulenko, Boris Solovyov, Sergey Suvorov , Konstantin Shmakov – soloists, vocalists and others. The ensemble's concerts included entertainers: Lyubov Voropaeva, Oleg Marusev, Yan Galperin and others. VIA "Singing Hearts" collaborated with composers: Mark Fradkin, Nikita Bogoslovsky, Boris Rychkov, Zinovy ​​Binkin, Boris Terentyev, Joseph Tamarin and many other authors of Soviet songs. In 1983, the artistic director of the Singing Hearts ensemble, Viktor Vekshtein, decided on his new project, in which the opinion of drummer Viktor Dorokhin played an important role many years ago. He is updating the entire composition of the band, recruiting new young musicians who play hard rock. The popular singer from the group “Moscow” Nikolai Noskov was invited to join the ensemble; later Valery Kipelov, who previously worked in the ensemble “Leisya, Pesnya”, will work instead of him. The musicians initially performed as the VIA “Singing Hearts”: Antonina Zhmakova sang in the first part, and in the second part the “copper” group performed their compositions for the younger generation of listeners. During their work on stage, the musicians changed their sections. A rock band performed in the 1st part of the concert, and singer Antonina Zhmakova performed in the 2nd part. The following musicians played in the group at different times: Vladimir Kholstinin - lead guitar, Alik Granovsky - bass guitar, Andrey Bolshakov - guitar, Andrey Potemkin - guitar, Alexander Myasnikov - keyboard instruments, Kirill Pokrovsky - keyboard instruments, Igor Molchanov - percussion instruments , Alexander Lvov - percussion instruments. In the same year, at the Melodiya company, the popular pop singer Tatyana Antsiferova recorded the song “Forest of Loneliness” / R. Mayorov-S.Gershanova/ to the accompaniment of VIA “Singing Hearts”. Subsequently, after a new wave of musicians joined the group, at the suggestion of guitarist Vladimir Kholstinin, the group took a new name - “Aria” /1985/ and worked in the “hard and heavy” style, moving away from what was popular in the 70s VIA genre. Veterans of the legendary ensemble “Singing Hearts” at Mosconcert create the “Hermitage” group under the direction of Vitaly Baryshnikov and successfully perform a new concert program in front of their audience. The group consists of: Alexander Oltsman - lead guitar, vocals, Victor Kharakidzyan - bass guitar, vocals. Vitaly Shemankov collaborated with the Hermitage group at this time. They invite drummer Alexander Konoshenko to the group, later Alexander Pochetaev - percussion instruments, singer Alexei Kondakov, who previously worked in the ensembles "Nadezhda", "Gems", "Flame". Over time, former member of VIA “Vesyolye Rebyata”, singer, saxophonist Robert Mushkambaryan and soloist-vocalist Paunica Ionescu were invited to join the team. The first successful concert of the young group took place in the same concert program with Stas Namin’s group “Flowers”. Later, People's Artist of the USSR, pop singer Kola Beldy worked as a soloist in the Hermitage group. The group toured extensively and successfully throughout our country and abroad. Over time, Robert Mushkambaryan left his homeland and went to permanent residence in the United States. In January 1990, the magnificent musician and producer Viktor Yakovlevich Vekshtein passed away. He died tragically at the age of 50. Time has passed. In 2000, the legendary musicians of the Singing Hearts VIA had the idea to revive the group at Mosconcert and continue its chronicle on the modern stage. The ensemble included: Vyacheslav Indrokov - guitar, bongos, vocals, Victor Kharakidzyan - bass guitar, vocals, Andrey Greger - keyboards, arrangement, vocals, Igor Ofitserov - vocals, Victor Dorokhin - percussion instruments, Vadim Nesterov, Mikhail Ponomarenko - sound engineer. The musicians' first performance took place at a celebration dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the radio station "Europe-plus" and the 5th anniversary of the radio station "Radio-Retro". The musicians successfully performed solo programs and in group concerts of popular Soviet and modern pop artists. Later, their team was supplemented by Vladimir Kuklin - guitar, saxophone, vocals. Over time, Igor Ofitserov and Alexander Oltsman create their project “Singing Hearts. Fathers and Sons”, in which their children participate: guitarist and singer Alexander Oltsman Jr., singer Nastya Ofitserova, and later Viktor Vekshtein’s granddaughter, Christina. In 2001, the VIA “Singing Hearts” took part in the international festival in Khanty-Mansiysk. In 2002, VIA “Singing Hearts”, under the leadership of Viktor Kharakidzyan, recorded and released the albums “Leaves Will Spin” and “Favorites”, which included the best hits from the repertoire of the legendary group. At the presentation of the album “Leaves Will Spin” in the concert hall of the Cosmos Hotel, I was presented with autographs from the legendary musician Viktor Kharakidzyan and composer Roman Mayorov. In the same year, in the series “Stars that do not go out”, the CD “Leaves Will Spin” was released with early songs of the legendary VIA “Singing Hearts”. Soloist of the VIA “Singing Hearts” Antonina Zhmakova currently teaches at a Moscow higher music institution and occasionally performs in front of her listeners. She took part in the presentation of the album of the current VIA “Singing Hearts”, later, in June 2007, the singer took part in a concert at the presentation of the book “Legends of VIA” by Valery Shchelkin and Sergei Frolov, performed a number of her songs, including a hit of all time and peoples “Don’t call me anymore” /V.Vekshtein-I.Kokhanovsky/. Her performance was actually the culmination of the entire meeting of the legendary VIA participants. In communication, Antonina is a sympathetic and charming person; as a souvenir of this evening meeting, she gave me her autograph with best wishes as a souvenir. The presentation of the book “Legends of VIA” at the Baguette club brought together, over the past many years, many legendary musicians who worked in many ensembles of our country, including the VIA “Singing Hearts”. Legendary members of the VIA “Singing Hearts” performed before the audience: singer Igor Ofitserov; Igor’s daughter Nastya, singer Igor Ivanov, was also present at the meeting. Under stormy and prolonged applause from the audience, drummer Viktor Dorokhin showed his unfading skills on the drum kit. The evening was attended by the legendary administrator of the VIA “Singing Hearts” Nikolai Agutin with his son Leonid and the ensemble’s permanent songwriter, songwriter Igor Kokhanovsky. In an interview with the East Siberian Pravda newspaper, Viktor Kharakidzyan said about the current everyday life of the team: “In our team, everyone writes songs. But the demand is still for “old stuff”. As they say, an old friend is better than two new ones. We passed the old hits, as they say, through the prism of today / the public now has different needs /: clearer rhythms, modern sound of keyboards, bass guitars, and we tried to leave the structure of the song so that it was recognizable, close to the heart of the listener who came listen to this particular song." On June 23, 2006, in the concert hall of the President Hotel in Moscow, the Singing Hearts VIA received a medal from the Patrons of the Century charity foundation. The team was also awarded the medal “In the name of life on Earth” for their creativity on the stage. Currently, musicians of the legendary VIA “Singing Hearts” take part in many television and radio programs, sharing their memories and plans for the future. They tour a lot throughout our country and abroad. The creative journey of VIA “Singing Hearts” continues!!! The words of the composer of the master of the Soviet stage Oscar Feltsman, said many years ago about the work of the young VIA “Singing Hearts”, are still relevant today: “The ensemble has hard work ahead, the search for new creative solutions, and this is the key to its future.” We wish I wish the participants of the legendary Moscow VIA “Singing Hearts” success in everything, new songs, numerous meetings with their viewers. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

“Golden 70s...” or “Hits of the 80s...” They sing again “Gems”, “Orera”, “Leisya, song”, “Blue Bird”, “Pesnyary”, “Earthlings”, “Yalla” "... So this wave has reached Irkutsk.

In ancient times, “Syabry”, “Singing Hearts”, and “Orizont” performed in various concert halls and stadiums in the Irkutsk region. But many years have passed since then. And what? Nostalgia for bygone times, when “how young we were, how sincerely we loved, how we believed in ourselves!” brings together viewers again. At the current concerts, they sang songs of Soviet composers, whose names are included in the golden fund of our stage: Tukhmanov, Shainsky, Dobrynin, Feltsman, Oleg Ivanov... Musicians played and sang “live”, which is rare today (usually the singer goes on tour with phonogram "minus one", where the music has already been recorded). There were guitars, keyboards, violin, saxophone, and the drummer was doing his best. The audience happily sang their favorite songs along with the artists.

The current leader of the Singing Hearts ensemble, Viktor Kharakidzyan, is a bass guitarist who has been in the group from the very first day. “Singing Hearts” considers 1970 to be the starting point of its history. Then they met and began to take their first steps. And two years later fame came. This is what V. Kharakidzyan said:

Viktor Vekshtein, the creator and director of the Singing Hearts ensemble (may he rest in heaven, he died tragically in 1989), collected talents everywhere. Working at that time with the ensemble of the famous singer Vadim Mulerman, he toured the country and at the same time looked for good musicians with the aim of creating VIA. They found me in Stavropol, Slava Indrokov - in Nalchik. There is no point in listing other cities; many guys left the ensemble. In 1972, a record was released on which the song “The Leaves Will Spin” was recorded. We didn’t bet on it and didn’t even think that it would become popular. I remember we came after some kind of tour to Kuibyshev. There, for the first time, we were given a warm LIAZ bus and luxurious hotel rooms. We approach the Lenin Palace of Culture, where our concert is supposed to take place, and we see huge queues! It turned out that our record had just appeared in the city. Fame came. And in 1973 we became laureates of the All-Russian competition of pop artists, in 1974 - already of the All-Union. In my collection there are all the songs performed by “Singing Hearts” - on reels, on cassettes. Sometimes I even received a reprimand from Weckstein: why do you write concerts? I carried a tape recorder everywhere, I wasn’t lazy. I connected it to the remote control and asked the engineer to record it. After many years, it turned out that I was right after all in collecting these songs. Why is it easy for us to revive them today? We pull them out from such a “shelf”, from such “chests”!.. You will hear several such songs at the concert that deserve attention and respect. For example, “Take back your words”, “Clouds in the river”, “Don’t call me again”... We start our performances with Wekshtein’s song “But you’re passing by again...”, this is a tribute to his memory.

- What can you say about your new songs?

But they are not needed! I don't know how to explain this. Although there are plenty of them! We have one and a half thousand songs in our repertoire... Sometimes we are invited to perform a concert at someone’s anniversary. They ask me to sing hits. We sing, after which they leave us, and until two or three in the morning we can continue to please the people. Thanks to our repertoire, we visited England, London last year. We spent five days in Paris. There was a conference there, and we entertained its participants in their free time. We were immediately asked to give out 12 of our hits, and then, they say, sing what you want. In our team, everyone writes songs. But the demand is still for “old stuff”. As they say, an old friend is better than two new ones. We passed the old hits, as they say, through the prism of today (after all, the public now has different needs): clearer rhythms, modern sounding keyboards, bass guitars, and we tried to leave the structure of the song so that it was recognizable, close to the heart of the listener who came listen to this particular song.

- After Wekshtein’s death, did the ensemble disintegrate?

No, it's a little different. In 1983, Vekshtein had a desire to renew the team, recruit young people, write off the “old people”, which, in fact, happened. I was the last one to leave the old lineup. And Volodya Kuklin (sitting nearby. - Author's note) is already from a later composition. He managed to work in the ensemble "Singing Hearts", which later turned into "Aria" (it was formed "under the wing" of Wekshtein). Later "Aria" became the group "Master". And Vekshtein again recruited a team (where Kipelov was), which to this day is called “Aria”, it is very popular, attracting stadiums. We must give Wekshtein his due; he always invited only worthy musicians, the “cream”. “Singing Hearts” always had a powerful “brass” band, keyboards, and drums. If a musician was a real professional, he would hire him even from Rostov, despite the difficulties with registration (at Mosconcert you could only work with a Moscow registration), and help him get settled. When I arrived in Moscow, at first I lived at his house.

- Where is Antonina Zhmakova, Wekshtein’s wife, who sang with you, now?

Alive and well. We communicate sometimes. She was at the presentation of our CD. Antonina teaches at a music school; she has a higher theater education. Sometimes he sings (romances, mostly).

- When were you reborn?

In 2000. From the old lineup, I, Indrokov, Kuklin gathered, began to look for “strong” musicians (following in the footsteps of Vekshtein), invited Andrei Greger, thanks to him, a fresh stream is felt in the arrangements. During the time when we were not working, I always told the musicians who no longer hoped for anything: “Guys, don’t worry, the time for professionals will come.” Well, here it comes. People reached out to old songs.

- How are things going with concerts these days?

Fine! Demand for us suddenly appeared last year. At the end of December they performed for three days at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. They sang in front of Putin. We and “Singing Guitars” were from VIA. Lyudmila Putina gave dinners, we were invited. And Voloshin was invited to dinners at the representative house of the Presidential Administration. These are "pretentious" concerts. And in “Russia” there was a concert “Ah, an anecdote, an anecdote...” (it should be shown on television), we sang there and told a joke. In March we are going to go to America with the Orera ensemble. "Orera" had concerts dedicated to their 40th anniversary in Moscow, at the Novaya Opera. We all sang with them for three days. The concerts were powerful! Many famous artists came to congratulate the heroes of the day, “Gems” performed with Yuri Malikov, Nani Bregvadze, Soso Pavliashvili...In 2001 we visited the international festival, it lasted three days in Khanty-Mansiysk. Basque, Dolina, Sergei Zakharov sang. Vanessa Mae came. In Moscow we are invited to the best venues. We recently visited Nakhodka and Vladivostok. And in the Orenburg region...

- Have you sung to a soundtrack before?

Never!

- And now?

Now we use a “minus” soundtrack at concerts. We really want to do everything “live”. There is such an opportunity in your city. But in others - no. So we are ready for any job. When we have a piano, we use it. We have some classics. The year before last, the Moscow government held a conference. After it there was a three-day cruise on a ship along the Moscow River, along the Volga. We worked there too. On the first evening there will be a performance by VIA "Singing Hearts". The second one features the same line-up, but the evening is dedicated to guitar. They sang songs only with a guitar. The third was dedicated to the piano. And they worked until three in the morning, and until six in the morning. And the last evening was called “From the Beatles to the present day.” We performed several songs from the Beatles' repertoire, and then sang everything that was asked of us. There was a French woman there, and after that we were invited to Paris.

- Who do you like from today's groups?

I really like "Pesnyary". We worked with both the Mulyavin team and the second one, where Valera Deineko is. In March, a concert in memory of Vladimir Mulyavin will be held at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses - we will perform. I like "Prime Minister". I am surprised by the pathos and hype around Tatu, which the West has announced about Russia, you even feel some kind of pride. Maybe Russia will begin to conquer the world stage...

- What did the musicians do when “Singing Hearts” ceased to exist?

Almost everyone continued to play music. For example, I went to the circus. There was such a circus program “Russia on Ice”. We worked in Latin America for a year. I saw exotic countries that I could never even dream of! Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica... This is not the first time I have been to Latin America. “Singing Hearts” went there for the first time in 1977, when we worked in twelve countries for three months. But with the circus orchestra (I played bass guitar there) I saw such exoticism! I visited all the pyramids - both Aztec and Mayan. I swam in Lake Nicaragua, which has water... can you imagine? - sweet! And in El Salvador - in a warm lake, in the belly of an active volcano. Then there were Israel and Greece, the islands of Kerkyra, Paxi and Antipaxi, where, by the way, I remembered Baikal, in which you can see a coin thrown into the lake (and there, in the sea water, the bottom is also visible).

-Have you thought about writing a book?

This has been suggested to me more than once. There are a lot of memories of Singing Hearts. We have traveled to more than fifty countries in our time. They sang in Cuba, on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, in twelve African countries... Naturally, it was not without adventure. There is something to tell. But to write a book... It seems to me that the time has not yet come, that we will live forever, will not go to another world... (Laughs).

(By the way, during our acquaintance, Victor immediately suggested not calling him by his patronymic; he said that “despite our gray hair and age, we feel young. So what if we are “fifty dollars”? We are young at heart!”).

The vocal and instrumental ensemble “Singing Hearts” was formed in 1971 in Moscow. The artistic director and founder of the group was the famous musician and composer Viktor Yakovlevich Vekshtein.

VIA "Singing Hearts" was popular in the Soviet Union in the 1970-1980s. In 1973, VIA became a laureate of the All-Russian, and in 1974, the All-Union competition of pop artists.

From several of its members, the popular jazz-rock group "Hermitage" was formed in 1984 (Vitaly Baryshnikov, Viktor Kharakidzyan, Alexander Oltsman), and in 1985 the popular rock group Aria.

Musicians

Currently, the ensemble “Singing Hearts” continues to work at Mosconcert. It consists of musicians: leader Viktor Kharakidzyan (bass guitar, vocals), Vyacheslav Kondakov (guitar, vocals), Andrey Greger (keyboards, vocals), Vladimir Kuklin (vocals, guitar, saxophone), Dmitry Dyachkov (keyboards), Vladimir Pankin (drums). In 2007, laureate of the “National Treasure” competition.

The following members of the ensemble worked at different times:

  • Igor Ivanov (guitar, vocals) (ex-“Leisya, song”, ex-“Nadezhda”)
  • Zhmakova Antonina (vocals)
  • Agutin Nikolay (vocals) (ex-“Blue Guitars”, ex-“Jolly Fellows”)
  • Mogilevsky Anatoly (vocals) (ex-Gems, ex-Plamya)
  • Indrokov Slava (guitar, vocals)
  • Kharakidzyan Victor (bass guitar, vocals)
  • Baryshnikov Vitaly (piano, keyboards)
  • Oltsman Alexander (guitar, vocals)
  • Shneiderman Vladimir (keyboards)
  • Dorokhin Victor (drums)
  • Shemankov Vitaly (saxophone)
  • Izboynikov Vladimir (trumpet)
  • Ofitserov Igor (vocals)
  • Dubinin Vitaly (vocals) (ex-“Magic Twilight”, ex-“Alpha”, “Aria”)
  • Zhuchkevich Nikolay (vocals)
  • Shemankova Natalia (vocals)
  • Kipelov Valery (vocals) (ex-“Aria”, “Kipelov”)
  • Rastorguev Nikolay (vocals) (“Lyube”)
  • Avetisov Georgy (Yuri) (keyboards)
  • Galaktionov Anatoly (guitar, vocals)
  • Galaktionov Georgy (bass guitar, vocals)
  • Noskov Nikolay (vocals) (ex-Gorky Park)
  • Pokrovsky Kirill (keyboards) (ex-“Aria”, “Master”)
  • Granovsky Alexander (bass guitar) (ex-“Aria”, “Master”)
  • Kholstinin Vladimir (guitar) (“Aria”)
  • Bolshakov Andrey (guitar) (ex-“Aria”, ex-“Master”)
  • Miloslavsky Alexey (guitar)
  • Sergey Shalaev (keyboards, vocals)
  • Krupyshev Nikolay (saxophone)
  • Tartakovsky Anatoly (drums)
  • Vasin Anatoly (trumpet)
  • Akhmetgareev Vadim (trombone)
  • Babakov Pavel (vocals)
  • Slavin Grigory (vocals, keyboards)
  • Zharkov Gennady (trumpet)
  • Kashkin Igor (vocals, guitar, drums)
  • Ivannikov Igor (vocals)
  • Felix Krasilovsky (vocals)
  • Nevolin Alexander (vocals)

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Excerpt characterizing Singing Hearts

- Natasha, what are you doing? Come here,” said the Countess.
Natasha came under the blessing, and the abbot advised to turn to God and his saint for help.
Immediately after the abbot left, Nashata took her friend’s hand and walked with her into the empty room.
- Sonya, right? will he be alive? - she said. – Sonya, how happy I am and how unhappy I am! Sonya, my dear, everything is as before. If only he were alive. He can’t... because, because... that... - And Natasha burst into tears.
- So! I knew it! Thank God,” said Sonya. - He will be alive!
Sonya was no less excited than her friend - both by her fear and grief, and by her personal thoughts that were not expressed to anyone. She, sobbing, kissed and consoled Natasha. “If only he were alive!” - she thought. After crying, talking and wiping away their tears, both friends approached Prince Andrei’s door. Natasha carefully opened the doors and looked into the room. Sonya stood next to her at the half-open door.
Prince Andrei lay high on three pillows. His pale face was calm, his eyes were closed, and you could see how he was breathing evenly.
- Oh, Natasha! – Sonya suddenly almost screamed, grabbing her cousin’s hand and retreating from the door.
- What? What? – Natasha asked.
“This is this, that, that...” said Sonya with a pale face and trembling lips.
Natasha quietly closed the door and went with Sonya to the window, not yet understanding what they were saying to her.
“Do you remember,” Sonya said with a frightened and solemn face, “do you remember when I looked for you in the mirror... In Otradnoye, at Christmas time... Do you remember what I saw?..
- Yes Yes! - Natasha said, opening her eyes wide, vaguely remembering that Sonya then said something about Prince Andrei, whom she saw lying down.
- Do you remember? – Sonya continued. “I saw it then and told everyone, both you and Dunyasha.” “I saw that he was lying on the bed,” she said, making a gesture with her hand with a raised finger at every detail, “and that he had closed his eyes, and that he was covered with a pink blanket, and that he had folded his hands,” Sonya said, making sure that as she described the details she saw now, that these same details she saw then. She didn’t see anything then, but she said that she saw what came into her head; but what she came up with then seemed to her as valid as any other memory. What she said then, that he looked back at her and smiled and was covered with something red, she not only remembered, but was firmly convinced that even then she said and saw that he was covered with a pink, exactly pink, blanket, and that his eyes were closed.
“Yes, yes, exactly in pink,” said Natasha, who now also seemed to remember what was said in pink, and in this she saw the main unusualness and mystery of the prediction.
– But what does this mean? – Natasha said thoughtfully.
- Oh, I don’t know how extraordinary all this is! - Sonya said, clutching her head.
A few minutes later, Prince Andrei called, and Natasha came in to see him; and Sonya, experiencing an emotion and tenderness she had rarely experienced, remained at the window, pondering the extraordinary nature of what had happened.
On this day there was an opportunity to send letters to the army, and the Countess wrote a letter to her son.
“Sonya,” said the Countess, raising her head from the letter as her niece walked past her. – Sonya, won’t you write to Nikolenka? - said the countess in a quiet, trembling voice, and in the look of her tired eyes, looking through glasses, Sonya read everything that the countess understood in these words. This look expressed pleading, fear of refusal, shame for having to ask, and readiness for irreconcilable hatred in case of refusal.
VIA "Singing Hearts" somehow fell out of the general range of ensembles created in the early 70s. In the first period of its existence, it had only one all-Union hit, “The Leaves Will Spin.” Then for a long time nothing like this worked out. Although, like many famous VIAs of that time, he easily gathered Sports Palaces and other prestigious concert venues several times a day. The presence of a large brass group also did not add to popularity, since young people considered this a sign of backwardness in musical fashion and favored guitar groups more. And “Singing Hearts” always had a lot of people on stage, but there were only 2 guitarists.
From the outside it seemed that the ensemble did not have its own recognizable sound, there were no bright musicians and vocalists whose voices would be recognizable on the records.
Only with the arrival of Igor Ivanov in 1976 was this gap seemingly eliminated. Later, the ensemble acquired a new soloist, Antonina Zhmakova, and after some time she began to dominate the program. This further reduced interest in the team. He was still well known and popular, but he had few real fans.
Like many other VIAs, he quietly went missing in the mid-80s, and his leader Viktor Vekshtein created “Aria”, then several more groups that were mainly involved in accompanying Antonina Zhmakova, who reoriented herself to heavier music.
This was approximately my opinion about this VIA until recently. Rummaging through my old papers, I found a diary that I kept in the mid-70s, and there I was surprised to read my impressions of two “Singing Hearts” concerts in 1974 and 1977. It turns out that back then I was completely delighted with their performances. And when I met with Victor Kharakidzyan, and he told me the life story of this group, then I realized that I actually knew nothing about this ensemble.
While working on this material, I discovered the composer Viktor Vekshtein. It turns out that he wrote very bright and modern songs that fit well into the style of both the ensemble itself and Antonina Zhmakova. And it’s a shame that most of them were never recorded. Although something similar could have been assumed before. After all, at the first “giant” it was Wekshtein’s song “Where to Find Love” that stood out among all the others.
Communicating with Victor Kharakidzyan was easy and pleasant. In addition, he has preserved old concert recordings of the ensemble, which will be presented in this material.

It all started in the army.

I was born in the city of Armavir, Krasnodar region. I started playing music since childhood. They gave me a violin and I tried to play it. Then I gave up the violin and began to study other instruments: saxophone, clarinet, trumpet.
We had different tools at the railway workers' center, which I tried, but they didn't work out very well.

When I was 10-12 years old, I suddenly fell in love with the button accordion. It seemed to work out, and one fine day, without telling anyone, I went to enroll in a music school in Armavir. I was accepted. You had to study there for 5 years, but I finished it in 4 years. I passed the exams and went to enroll in Moscow at the Gnessin Music and Pedagogical School.
When I came to enroll, I brought my button accordion with me. And literally 3 days before the exams it was stolen from me. There were a lot of tears, because I simply became close to him. During the exam I had to play 6 pieces. When my turn came, I talked about the theft of the button accordion and showed confirmation of this from the police. One of the teachers calmed me down, they gave me a button accordion, and allocated a room so that I could study for about an hour and a half. Then I went out and played. When I saw myself on the list of those accepted, I was immensely glad. It was 1963. This is how I set out on the path of a professional musician.
We lived in a school dormitory near VDNKh. After studying for a year, I was drafted into the army for three years.
The first year I was in training, where I was trained as a mechanic-driver of a PTS (medium floating conveyor). After which they were sent to serve in Poland for the remaining 2 years.
I must say that at that time I already knew how to sew on a sewing machine and I was later assigned to a household platoon, where there was a lot of free time, and I was able to study music. It was 1965, the year of the Beatles' heyday.
At one evening, a Polish beat group performed in our unit: three guitars and a drum. I've never heard anything like this before. The guitars were plugged into amplifiers and it impressed me so much that I met their leader Ryszard. He promised to teach me to play the guitar.
By that time I had created an orchestra at the House of Officers. He taught one football player to play the drums, and he himself played the accordion, piano or button accordion. There was also an acoustic guitar and double bass. We played our Soviet songs at the dances. This allowed me to often go to the city on leave.
Ryszard and I started dating, and he studied at the Radio Engineering Institute and was already making amplifiers and guitars himself. It was he who taught me to play the guitar. At first I had a regular guitar, converted from a seven-string. Then he gave me a guitar and a bass guitar. I still have both of them.

My guitar had 4 pickups and 6 knobs. It could be adjusted in any combination. It was something at that time (1966). Later he made me a fuzz (now called distortion) - it was a box with a switch that had 7 positions. And a wah. I had all this in the army.
On this basis, I created my own beat group there. At that time there were such fashionable ensembles as “Shadows”, then “Monkeys”. I learned many of their works, and we played them at dances. Ryszard also gave me a 45 rpm record player and a set of records.
One day he told me that in Zielona Gora there lived a violin maker, very famous in Poland, who, in addition to violins, also made guitars. Richard offered to go to him and buy me a guitar. That’s what we did, got on his motorcycle and arrived in Zielona Góra. The master showed us a huge collection of violins and guitars. And I chose a guitar there. It was a semi-acoustic guitar, and it sounded so incredible. But when we drilled holes for potentiometers, pickups and switches, that gorgeous acoustic sound disappeared. But in electric form it sounded just great. I managed to play it in “Singing Hearts”.

Since I was the leader of the orchestra that played at dances in the House of Officers, all the young officers knew me and this even allowed me to go to the city without a leave. If I was stopped by a patrol, it would be like this:
-Comrade soldier, come.
-Oh, this is not a soldier. This is Kharakidzian! Let him go.
After the army in 1967, I returned to Moscow and re-entered the music school, but it was difficult to study for financial reasons. I transferred to the correspondence department and returned to Armavir.
There I formed my own beat group, which I called “Black Guitars”. The repertoire was almost entirely Western. We played at various events and dances. As a result, they became very popular. I played guitar in the group. I came to Singing Hearts as a guitarist, and only there, by force of circumstances, became a bass guitarist.

Beat group "Black Guitars" in Armavir.
Victor Kharakidzyan is on the right.

At some point, probably in the summer of 1969, we were offered a job at the Adygea Philharmonic. There was a circus group of ten midgets, they and I were united in the common program “Circus + Variety”, and we went on tour. One part was them, and we accompanied them, and in the second part we performed. There were a lot of concerts and it was hard because I was not used to it.
Once we performed in Grozny. At this time, Muslim Magomayev arrived there on personal business. The republic's leadership persuaded him to give concerts in Grozny. He did not have accompanying musicians and then the following decision was made: the first part, where he would perform with the classical repertoire, the local symphony orchestra would work with him, and in the second, where Magomayev would sing pop songs, our ensemble would accompany him.
As a result, we rehearsed a little with Muslim and then worked on two concerts.

In preparation for this concert, I found a photographer in the city and agreed with him that he would photograph this event. But either he was worried, or he didn’t know how to shoot it with his hands. As a result, his photographs turned out to be of very poor quality. This one turned out to be the "best".
After Grozny, we toured for some time, and then returned to Armavir.
By that time, I decided to leave for Stavropol and enter the music school there in the conducting and choral department. In the end I did just that. In Gnesinka I studied by correspondence, and in Stavropol I began to study full-time. In addition, I got a job in the orchestra of the Stavropol restaurant.

Around November 1969, Vadim Mulerman came to Stavropol on tour. The leader of his ensemble was Viktor Vekshtein. They lived in the hotel where our restaurant was located. There we met Weckstein. He told me:
-I am creating a vocal and instrumental ensemble. Do you want to work there?
I agreed. He left and promised to send me a call.
And soon such a challenge came.

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