Mikhail Turetsky is a popular domestic musician and performer. He is best known as a producer and founder of an art group called Turetsky Choir. In 2010 he received the title of People's Artist of Russia.
Childhood and youth
Mikhail Turetsky was born in Moscow in 1962. In the family, he was the second child, and unwanted, at least for his father. Boris Borisovich Epstein, that was the name of the dad of the hero of our article, in every possible way discouraged his wife from giving birth to a second child. The reasons were many: difficult times, the young age of parents, the painful first-born Alexander, with whom there were always a lot of problems.
Today we can only be grateful to the musician’s mother for insisting on her own. April 12, Bella Semenovna gave birth to a boy, Misha. Interestingly, Turetsky is not his pseudonym at all, but the name of his mother, which he took to perform on stage.
Nationality of Mikhail Turetsky is a Jew. This created certain problems when he grew up, but in his childhood no one paid attention to it. Misha’s parents constantly disappeared at work to earn money for the maintenance of two sons. Therefore, the main responsibilities for his education fell on the shoulders of his elder brother Alexander, who was 15 years older. Of course, this was a burden for him, so he often left the child next to the radio or television turned on, and he went for a walk.
Creative makings
Apparently, this played a definite positive role in the biography of Mikhail Turetsky. When the parents learned about this upbringing, they did not even begin to punish Alexander, because they noticed that little Misha constantly sings along to the songs sounded on the air. And he does it well, showing good inclinations. The main hit at that time was the song "Lilac Mist".
Mikhail Turetsky’s father worked as a workshop foreman, and his mother was a kindergarten teacher. There was always a little money in the family, but over time they managed to save up an extra room in a communal apartment near the Belorusskaya metro station, where they all lived. There was even money left for an old piano.
A musical instrument was purchased so that Misha could study at home with a guest music tutor, honing his talent. However, the teacher was not as optimistic as the parents. About six months later, she said that there was no point in further work, because the child had absolutely no hearing.
This upset his parents, but the persistent Mikhail Turetsky convinced him to give him another chance. He entered a music school, began to learn to play the flute, because it was the cheapest.
Education
In 1973, an important event took place, which cannot be noted in the biography of Mikhail Turetsky. He met his father's cousin, who turned out to be the world-famous conductor and violist Rudolf Barshai. Hearing that Misha goes to music school, and also tries to sing, Rudolph asked him to do something. The boy’s vocal abilities sincerely delighted him, and soon he was able to attach him to the prestigious choral school named after Sveshnikov. It was possible to do this only by pulling.
Having become a graduate of this educational institution, Mikhail Turetsky, whose photo is in this article, enters the Gnesins Academy of Music. He graduated with honors in 1985. By this moment, there have already been big changes in the personal life of Mikhail Turetsky: he got a wife and daughter, but more on that later. Also, the musician grew up professionally, having managed to participate in several major performances under the leadership of Sherling and Mravinsky.
Professional career
Mikhail decided not to say goodbye to the Gnesins' Music Academy right away, but to unlearn his studies in graduate school. The practice had to be held at rehearsals of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonic of St. Petersburg, as well as in the then-famous Theater of Musical Art.
Money for life is constantly not enough. Therefore, in his free time, he worked part-time where he would have to. He was a loader in a supermarket, a taxi driver at night. The family needed to be fed. But even on the most difficult and moneyless days, he continued to dream of his own musical project.
In 1987, the first step was taken on this path. Turetsky begins to collaborate with the ensemble and chorus of political songs. Work in this team gave him invaluable experience, and also allowed him to formulate for himself the basic principles of his future team, what he should be, what goals to adhere to.
Own project
Turetsky announces the launch of his own project in 1989. Michael begins recruiting soloists in the men's choir for the capital's chorion synagogue. Do not forget that Turkish is a Jew, he always adhered to his diaspora.
The idea was truly original. He planned to revive authentic Jewish spiritual music in the vastness of the Soviet Union.
The program was quickly compiled and quickly rehearsed. It included Jewish liturgical songs with which the choir went on tour in Russia and abroad. In particular, they were accepted with pleasure in Israel, France, Germany, and Great Britain.
Tragedy
When Turetsky was on tour in Lithuania, he received terrible news from home. In a car accident, his wife died. She crashed in a car on the Moscow-Minsk highway with her brother and father. All of them returned from the celebration of the relative's birthday.
After receiving this message, Turetsky’s tour was, of course, interrupted. He urgently returns to Moscow. His mother-in-law, Zoya Ivanovna, gives him all possible assistance, even offering to take custody of her daughter. But Michael refuses this option. He decides to raise a child himself, even if he will constantly dangle with him on tours. Shortly after the funeral, they left under contract for America for two whole years.
Format change
Having become acquainted with the cuisine of American show business, Turetsky decides to fundamentally change the format of his team, as well as the entire repertoire. He decides to add more color, spectacle and dynamics to each performance.
It is worth noting that Broadway musicals, which he regularly visited while in America, had a great influence on him in this regard. At the same time, the creativity of Turetsky himself was also praised. In 1994 and 1995 he was awarded the Golden Crown of the Cantors of the World.
"Choir Turkish"
With an updated format, an art group called "Turetsky Choir" returns to Russia in approximately the form in which we all know it today. In 1997, they made a splash on the national stage, occupying a free niche. The popularity comes to them after a joint performance with Joseph Kobzon, who praised the work of Mikhail himself and his team.
From 1999 to 2002, the team performs in the capital's State Variety Theater with its own performance, known as the "Mikhail Turetsky Vocal Show". In 2002, the hero of our article was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia.
The team is finally formed by 2003. It has ten soloists who perform with diverse voices - from tenor to bass. The repertoire itself has long gone far beyond exclusively Jewish culture. Music critics rate the Turetsky Choir as a classic crossover.
The very next year, the team manages to assemble the largest concert venues in Russia and abroad. This is the Ice Palace, the Olympic sports complex, George Hall, Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall.
In 2005, Mikhail decided to write his own autobiography, which sets out in detail his entire history, how he managed to achieve success, what obstacles were overcome on the way. Tells how the songs of Mikhail Turetsky became popular.
In 2008, it seems that the team is reaching the peak of its popularity. They give a concert in the State Kremlin Palace. They are beginning to be considered one of the most famous and popular artists of the country, but Turetsky does not think to stop there.
Women's team
In 2010, he launched a new project called SOPRANO. In fact, this is the female version of the Turkish Choir. Girls from this team, which are produced by Michael himself, are quickly becoming popular. They perform at prestigious festivals.
For example, on "Song of the Year", "Slavic Bazaar", "New Wave". 2010 is becoming successful for Mikhail in the sense that he is awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia and the Order of Honor.
Personal life
Mikhail Turetsky built his family in 1984. His chosen one is classmate Elena. In the same year, their daughter Natasha was born. It was Elena who died in the accident along with her brother and father, after which Mikhail went with Natalia on a tour of America.
In the USA, his daughter liked it. There she even first began performing on stage. However, her father managed to convince her to try herself in some other field, because he himself already understood what a hard work it was. The main argument was that music and vocals completely deprive the girl of her personal life. She did not dare to go for it, as a result she began to study law. Now she works as a lawyer in the office of the Turetsky Choir, quickly resolving all the issues that arise.
In 2014, she gave Ivan the father a grandson, and in 2016, her daughter Elena was born.
At the very Mikhail Turetsky children also appeared. In 2001, an illegitimate daughter named Isabelle was born, this happened after a short affair with Tatyana Borodovskaya. And in 2002, the hero of our article married a second time. He chose as his wife an Armenian named Liana, whom he met during the next tour of America, which was organized by the girl’s father.
Even before her marriage to Turetsky, Liana already had a child - her daughter Sarina. Despite this, the couple decided to also have joint children. In 2005, Emmanuel was born with them, and four years later Beata.
Activities in recent years
Now Mikhail Turetsky is 56 years old. For the musician and vocalist, a lot, but he still does not even think to leave the stage. All his life he showed himself as a workaholic, he scored the same enthusiasts as a team and does not intend to slow down.
"Turetsky Choir" together with its leader and mastermind annually gives about two hundred concerts in Russia and abroad. In parallel, artists are actively developing social networks so that fans can literally watch them in real time.
In 2017, several important and significant events took place in Turetsky’s life at once. He received the Order of Friendship for the development of culture, and also gave his daughter Saryn married to Tornik Tsertsvadze. Sarina is Liana’s daughter from her first marriage, which Mikhail himself has long considered almost native.
At the moment, the group "Turetsky Choir" has already released eight albums. The first one was released in 1999 under the title High Holidays, then there were Bravissimo records, “Turetsky Choir Presents,” “When Men Sing,” “Born to Sing,” “Moscow - Jerusalem,” “Music of All Time,” “The Show Must Continue.”
Talking about their work, artists often like to emphasize that during the year they have to take a plane about a hundred times, travel about 120 thousand kilometers by car, and also overcome significant distances by train and bus. But they all admire their leader and respect him very much.