Alexander Borisovich Gradsky is a Russianrock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His diverse repertoire includes rock 'n' roll, traditional folk songs performed with a rock twist, and operatic arias. He has composed two rock operas and numerous songs including soundtrack music for several films.
Early life and musical beginnings
Alexander Gradsky was born on November 3, 1949, in the Russian city of Kopeysk, into a family of mixed Jewish and Russian origin. His father Boris Fradkin was an engineer working in a factory, and his mother Tamara was an actress. His mother encouraged him to learn to play the violin as a child, and her brother, Boris Gradsky, Alexander Gradsky's uncle, was a dancer who toured abroad with the famous Moiseev dance group and brought home records of Western music artists including Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong and Little Richard. Such music was not ordinarily available in Soviet Russia at that time. By the age of 12, Gradsky was singing Elvis Presley songs and accompanying himself on guitar. In 1963, at the age of 13, he sang with a Polish student band called Tarakany in a concert at the International Club of Moscow State University. This is believed to have been the first public performance of rock 'n' roll by any Russian musician.
Other bands
In the mid-1960s, Gradsky joined the band Slaviane as lead singer. The band's repertoire consisted almost entirely of Beatles and Rolling Stones covers. In 1966-'67, he was working with three bands: Slaviane, Los Panchos and Skify. However, he found himself disagreeing with his Slaviane bandmates over the direction the band should take. Gradsky wanted to perform original rock songs in his native Russian language, whereas the other band members did not think that such endeavours could be successful and wanted to continue performing imported songs. Gradsky consequently decided to form his own band, Skomorokhi in 1967. His band became popular playing original Russian songs, as Gradsky blended elements of Western rock music with the lyric-centred, folk-influenced Russian bard music which was popular around that time. He enrolled in Gnesin Music Academy in 1969, and continued to perform with Skomorokhi while a student. A successful performance at the Soviet pop-rock festival Silver Strings was followed with airplay and record deals.
Solo career
In 1973, film director Andrei Konchalovsky asked Alexander Gradsky to compose and perform music for the film Romance for Lovers, which was released in 1974, the same year in which Gradsky graduated with a master's degree in vocal performance. Gradsky performed all the male vocal parts in the film soundtrack, which brought him fame as a solo artist. His many records released during his long career encompass a variety of genres. His first rock opera, Stadium, was released as a double LP in 1985. He also composed a rock ballet The Man, released in 1988. Gradsky is a tenor who is reported to have a three-and-a-half octavevocal range, and also plays 12 instruments. He performed the demanding role of the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in 1988. His collaboration with John Denver, with whom he performed the 1986 song Let us Begin..., brought him to wider international attention. In 1999, he performed a recital at New York City's Carnegie Hall. Since the late '80s, Gradsky has been teaching vocals at the Gnesin Music Academy as well as performing. On July 16, 1988 Gradsky performed at the San Francisco, CaliforniaGolden Gate Park Bandshell as part of the American Soviet Peace Walk Concert. Later that evening he also played acoustic guitar and sang during the intermission at the Grateful Dead Rex Foundation Charity concert at U.C Berkeley's Greek Theater. In late 2009, Alexander Gradsky released a 4-CD opera adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, starring Gradsky himself as Master, Woland, Yeshua and Behemoth. The opera also stars Nikolai Fomenko as Koroviev, Mikhail Seryshev as Ivan, and Elena Minina as Margarita, in addition to many renowned Russian singers and actors in episodic roles, including Iosif Kobzon, Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, Andrei Makarevich, Alexander Rosenbaum, Arkady Arkanov, and the late Georgi Millyar.
Personal life
Alexander Gradsky has been married four times. His first marriage was when he was in his early twenties but it was short lasted and they divorced within months. He was married for the second time in 1970 to actress Anastasia Vertinskaya. His third marriage was with a then 20 year old Lomonosov Moscow University economics student Olga Fartysheva. They were married for 23 years and have two children together Daniel and Maria. Alexander has been in relationship with Ukrainian fashion model Marina Kotashenko for the past 11 years, they have a son Alexander together.
