Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich - this name is inscribed in golden letters in the history of the musical culture of our country, and, perhaps, of the world. There are only a few composers who can write high-quality music for films, and in our country in the second half of the 20th century, we can remember, except for Alexander Sergeyevich, Andrei Pavlovich Petrov, who, alas, left in 2006. In the world, too, one can only recall perhaps two quantities of this level: Jerry Goldsmith, who died in 2004, and the legendary Ennio Morricone, who, like Alexander Sergeyevich, still delights us with his work.
A very interesting fact: it so happened that the paths of Zatsepin and Morricone once crossed - two legendary composers worked in one joint Soviet-British-Italian project - the film "Red Tent". To date, composers of this level who can write masterpieces of cinema music, except for Zatsepin and Morricone, in the world, alas, there are no more. But Zatsepinâs work is not only movie music. He also wrote large musical forms: musicals, symphonies and even ballet. But, of course, his work in the cinema and song genre, as well as outstanding jazz compositions brought him popularity and deserved fame.
The biography of Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich will be presented to your attention in the article.
Composer Biography
The future composer was born in Novosibirsk on March 10, 1926 in the family of Russian surgeon Zatsepin Sergey Dmitrievich and school teacher of Russian language and literature Valentina Boleslavovna Oksentovich, who had Belarusian and Polish roots. Who is Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich by nationality? The nationality of the composer is Russian. He studied at a regular Novosibirsk school number 12. Sashaâs childhood was not much different from the childhood of other boys of that time. He loved to ride a bicycle, he loved sports and even at a serious level was engaged in gymnastics and acrobatics. Being a student, he even wanted to drop out of school and enter the circus as an acrobat. Sasha's mother, of course, was categorically against it, and he never realized this idea.
Alexander's father worked as a surgeon and was fond of chemistry. In their apartment there was a whole chemical laboratory, so the passion for this science did not pass Sasha either. Like many children of that time, was fond of radio business. The school had a circle of radio amateurs, and young Alexander collected tube receivers and amplifiers there. This lesson so fascinated him that he even designed and assembled a film projector. This achievement was awarded a prize at the school Olympiad. The passion for radio was so strong that he even decided to enter the Moscow Institute of Communications. The ability to assemble amplifiers subsequently helped him a lot in his musical career, when he personally equipped a recording studio in a Moscow apartment. But it will be later, and then, precisely in childhood, the parents made a fateful decision for Alexander and the music lovers of our country - they sent him to a music school. It is good that the restless lad immediately liked to study at a music school, where he was identified by his piano class.
As a teenager, Alexander was affected by his craving for technology, he enrolled in courses of tractor drivers and, in parallel, on courses of projectionists. Thanks to the skills of the tractor driver, the young Zatsepin Alexander Sergeyevich worked in the summer on the sowing and harvesting at the local regional collective farm, which gave him life-hardening and became a matter of pride. A part-time projectionist for a lifetime fell in love with cinema.
At the beginning of the war, a misfortune occurred in the Zatsepin family. His father, a leading Novosibirsk surgeon, was repressed due to false denunciation under article 58 and sentenced to ten years in prison camps. Nevertheless, after graduation, this did not stop Alexander from entering the Novosibirsk Institute of Railway Transport. The craving for technology affected, but in his dreams he would later transfer to the radio engineering faculty of the Moscow Institute of Communications.
Unfortunately, and perhaps fortunately, the love of music began to overpower Alexanderâs technocratic inclinations, plus mathematics was clearly not his skate. But the institute had a small jazz orchestra. Naturally, much more attention was paid to him than to mathematics. The compositions of Glenn Miller from the popular film âSerenade of the Sun Valleyâ performed by the student jazz band led by Alexander Sergeyevich invariably delighted a grateful audience. As a result, the student Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich âfailedâ everything that could be âfilled upâ, and the number of âtailsâ was accumulated critical. A logical continuation of such a combination was expulsion, after which the young man was immediately drafted into the ranks of the Soviet army. It happened at the very end of the war - March 1945.
Army service
While serving in the army, the profession of projection mechanics came in handy, besides, it was at this time that Zhdanov's persecution of jazz began. It was in the army that Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich became a real multi-instrumentalist. Basic piano education allowed him to learn, in addition to the piano, accordion, clarinet and even balalaika. A talented soldier was invited to the song and dance ensemble of the Novosibirsk military district, where he performed until demobilization in 1947.
The beginning of a long journey
After the demobilization of a young and talented musician, they immediately accepted into the Novosibirsk Philharmonic. Tours, constant trips, warm reception of the audience - it was fascinating, but Alexander felt that he was capable of more. He himself wanted to write music. There was not enough knowledge for this. During a tour in the Kazakh capital, he decided to continue his musical education and enter the Alma-Ata College of Music. After listening, he was dissuaded and the documents were immediately accepted to the conservatory. At the Faculty of Piano and Composition, his teacher was the legendary composer of Kazakhstan, Yevgeny Brusilovsky.
The young graduated composer Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich graduated in 1956. The thesis - the ballet "The Old Man Hottabych" - went on the stage of the Kazakh Opera and Ballet Theater until 1971. By distribution, Alexander got a job at the Alma-Ata Philharmonic as a concertmaster. It was there that he wrote music for his first films. At first documentary, and in 1957 he already wrote music for the first feature film of the Kazakh film studio "Our dear doctor." The song "The sky is blue above you" far surpassed the film itself in popularity. Audio tracks were recorded in Moscow, where a young and talented composer and musician was spotted and received an invitation to move from the capital of the Kazakh SSR to the capital of the Soviet Union.
Recognition and deserved fame
At first, life in Moscow was difficult. I even had to play the accordion in restaurants. And then fate again helped Alexander Sergeyevich. It so happened that the famous Soviet comedian Leonid Gaidai quarreled with the famous Soviet composer Nikita Bogoslovsky and was left without a composer for his films. Zatsepinâs works have been familiar since 1961, when he wrote music for the film almanac âSeriously.â One of the novels of the almanac "Dog Watchdog and Extraordinary Cross" put just Leonid Gaidai. But their first joint project was the film Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures, set in 1965. After that, Leonid Iovichovich Gaidai no longer looked for a composer for his films, because there was no better way. Gaidai made all his other films only with the music of the composer Zatsepin.
In addition to music for Gaidaiâs films, Alexander Sergeevich wrote for so many filmmakers. The filmography of Zatsepin has more than 70 films. Many of his motion picture songs have long survived the films themselves and live separately from them. In the same 1965, fate brought Zatsepin with the poet Leonid Derbenev. In a creative tandem, more than 100 songs were written. The creative duet Zatsepin-Derbenev lasted until 1995 until the death of Derbenev.
Everything happened on the creative and life path. They even tried to arrange persecution. In 1983, the newspaper Trud published a devastating article about his work. It especially got his song "There is only a moment", written ten years earlier. But popular love conquered both these persecutions and forced departure. And the song itself became the hallmark of Alexander Sergeyevich Zatsepin.
Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich, whose photo you see in the article, and now, in his 90s, is full of strength and energy, as well as creative ideas. Moving is already difficult, but he is not going to deviate from the principle - I work in Moscow, and I rest in Paris.
Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich: wives and women-muses in the life of the creator
Alexander Sergeyevich can not be called an ascetic, but he was never a ladies man, indiscriminate in relations with women. He was married four times. As a rule, a woman in the life of a creative person most often happens to be his muse, which stimulates and inspires him to new masterpieces. But this does not always happen.
Revmira Sokolova
For the first time he saw her on the stage of the Novosibirsk Drama Theater. Bright appearance and female attractiveness simply could not but win the heart of the creative personality and the stars of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic. The mysterious name of Revmir also gave charm. In fact, the name meant "revolution of the world", and its owner had a rather nasty character. âWe signed quickly and dispersed just as quickly,â Alexander Sergeevich later recalled. Troubles began almost immediately after marriage. After the registry office, it turned out that she was pregnant and expecting a baby from another man, but this was not an insurmountable obstacle for Alexander. When the girl was born, he adopted her. Alas, the girl died when she was only a year old ...
The need for self-improvement and continuing music education brought Alexander to Alma-Ata, where he wanted to go to a music school. But a talented young man was immediately accepted into the conservatory.
In Almaty, a young family rented a room, they already had a son who was born in 1951. Unsettled life only deepened the contradictions. Revmira could not get a job in the theater, for this it was necessary to learn the roles, and most importantly - to have a desire. Required new outfits and a silver fox fur coat. She could leave her son to her neighbors for 15 minutes and leave the house for the whole day. So the cracks in the relationship quickly turned into an abyss, and the young people broke up. She kept Revmirâs son. Subsequently, the ex-wife persecuted Alexander Sergeyevich with mercantile claims for a long time. Because of her denunciation, which she, as the true daughter of the revolutionaries of the world, had scribbled to the conservatory, where the future composer was studying, he was expelled. I had to collect certificates and even prove that his fatherâs grandfather fought against tsarism and that child support was regularly paid.
Muse named Svetlana
Shortly after the divorce, the young composer met pianist Svetlana. It was necessary to "lick" the wounds of the soul. The girl was attractive and close in spirit. When he proposed to her, he still did not know that she would become the most important muse in his life. In their happy marriage, beloved daughter Lena was born in 1956, which subsequently gave him a grandson and granddaughter. It was the years of their life together that the heyday of Alexander Sergeyevich's work came to a head. The most popular songs and compositions were written, which are performed to this day, and will be performed for many years to come, without losing their popularity. They say about such marriages that they are made in heaven. Often, Svetlana was both the first enthusiastic listener and the first strict but fair critic of his works. It always seemed so. But, unfortunately, in 1982, the 47-year-old Svetlana had an aortic aneurysm, and the great composer Alexander Zatsepin was widowed. The family was of great value to him, so the death of his beloved wife was very difficult.
French muse maestro
The Frenchwoman Genevieve entered the composer's life swiftly, like a comet, and just as quickly went beyond the horizon. After the death of his beloved wife, Alexander Sergeyevich lived alone for a long time, creativity was the main doctor, who distracted him from difficult experiences. It was creativity that played its crucial role in concluding a third marriage. When Alexander Sergeyevich was with the Soviet delegation in the heart of Hollywood - Los Angeles, he was introduced to an American producer and allowed him to listen to one of Zatsepin's compositions. The producer was delighted, after which he immediately received a proposal to work for Hollywood. Under the terms of the contract, it was necessary to write music for two films a year.
In addition to purely material interest, which was not the main thing for the composer at that time, it was a new challenge, and new perspectives, and a new creative level. Alas, for the Soviet country it was an era of stagnation. Officials did not want to recognize this contract for anything, but there was still no necessary freedom of movement around the world. In Moscow, Alexander Sergeyevich had a friend Alain Preshak, a Frenchman who worked in the Union on a contract basis. It was he who offered him a way out of the situation, namely, he married his sister, the artist Genevieve, to his wife. She came to Moscow. Mutual sympathy arose. Genevieve even painted a portrait of the composer. The marriage was concluded in Moscow, and the road to the West was open. Alexander Sergeevich received dual citizenship: French and Soviet. But I still had to write an application for moving to France for permanent residence. Madame Genevieve's character turned out to be difficult. The differences in the mentality and temperament of the spouses were aggravated by the fact that Zatsepin did not know French, and Genevieve Russian. I had to communicate in English. These, at first it seemed, were not fatal contradictions and led to a break in 1986. Alexander Sergeevich could even forgive the betrayal, but the inconsistency of temperament and mentality, coupled with the contradictory nature of Genevieve, led to the dissolution of the marriage.
And again the muse, and again Svetlana
In 1986, Zatsepin and his daughter left France for Moscow. Alexander again engaged in creativity, and his daughter was engaged in children. It was her son, the grandson of Alexander Sergeyevich, who introduced him to his future fourth wife - Svetlana. The grandson was going to go to music school, for this Elena, the composer's daughter, hired him a piano tutor - Svetlana Grigoryevna Morozovskaya. The acquaintance with the teacher turned into friendship, and then into a happy marriage, which was issued in 1990.
Since Zatsepin had dual citizenship, this allowed him to purchase a house in France for the fees that he received for music written for Western customers. The family lived in two countries. France for relaxation, Russia for creativity. Alexander and Svetlana even learned French. A happy family life lasted more than 20 years until 2014. Alexander Sergeevich was widowed again that year ... Now he still lives in two houses. One in the northern suburbs of Paris, the second in Moscow. According to him, he works in Moscow, and rests in Paris. I never found a new life partner ...
A star named Alla
Remembering the women of the master, it is necessary to mention one more. No, it was not a marital union, and there were no close relations either. There was a creative union, which allowed a young singer who was beginning to gain popularity to climb the pop Olympus of the Soviet Union, and then Russia. With Alla Borisovna Pugacheva Zatsepin introduced at her request in the mid 70's. She already sang "Harlequin", but there was no popular fame yet. Alexander Sergeyevich directly in a Moscow apartment had his own recording studio equipped, in class and capabilities even exceeding the professional studios that existed at that time in the Union. Pugacheva had to reduce and record her songs. It so happened that Alexander Sergeyevich invited Alla to sing several songs for the films of the Tajik film studio, for which he wrote music. The hit with the performerâs choice turned out to be âa bullseyeâ.
Zatsepinâs songs on Derbenevâs poems performed by Pugacheva began to sound in every yard of the Soviet Union. It was with them that the popular love for Alla Pugacheva began. Their creative union broke up in 1978 on the set of the film âThe Woman Who Sings,â this film brought Alla unprecedented popularity, Alexander Sergeyevich wrote music to him.
Alla asked to include her composition in the film. Since Pugacheva was not a member of the Union of Composers, a story was invented about the disabled composer Boris Gorbonos. During installation, it turned out that more than one composition was being performed. Since Alexander Sergeyevich was responsible for the integrity of the audio track for the film, and this was done without his consent, he wrote a letter of resignation from the project. He did not begin to disclose the cunning of Alla Borisovna, but simply ceased all creative contacts with her. Popularity and folk love brought Alla songs Zatsepin.
Zatsepin Alexander Sergeevich: children of the composer
Married to Revmira, Alexander Sergeevich in June 1951, the son of Eugene was born.
After the divorce, he remained with his mother, but Zatsepin never forgot about him, helped with money and monitored his upbringing. When he found out that his son began to study poorly, he took him from Revmira to his place in Moscow, hired him tutors and was ready to educate him further. But mother persuaded the boy to return to her. In 1975, after being drafted into the army, he contracted multiple sclerosis and died at the age of 24.
Daughter Elena was born in 1956. She was a welcome child, a real support and support for her father. I was always there in joy and in sorrows. I gave him two wonderful grandchildren. One of them, the namesake of his famous grandfather - Alexander, just like him, devoted himself to music, studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Elena graduated from MGIMO. Currently resides in Switzerland.
Here is such an interesting and rich biography of Zatsepin Alexander Sergeyevich. He is just a wonderful and talented person. Bravo, maestro!