Leonid Afanasyev is a famous and popular composer of the Soviet era. His musical works are known not only in Russia, but also abroad. Many works of Leonid Viktorovich are used in many popular films. But the life of such a talented composer was not simple and easy.
Biography
Leonid Afanasyev was born, whose music is known and familiar to many people, in August 1921 in the city of Tomsk. Over time, the whole family moved to Semipalatinsk.
In 1931, Leonid went to Semipalatinsk to school number 1 named after Nikolai Chernyshevsky. After studying for eight years and receiving a diploma of education, I decided not to go to the ninth grade, but to realize my dream.
Aviation in the life of a composer
Back in school, Leonid Afanasyev, whose photo is in this article, began to attend the flying club. By the way, the end of the Semipalatinsk flying club coincided with the end of school education. Therefore, a young and talented young man decided to devote his whole life to aviation and flying. To realize his dream, he enters the Chkalovsk Aviation Institute, and in 1940 he graduated from an aviation school.
War in the life of the composer
But the war made a difference in the life of the future famous composer. In 1943, he went to the front and until the end of the war mercilessly fought with the enemy. During these front years he was the commander of the 948 squadron of the Assault Aviation Orsha Order Bogdan Khmelnitsky. It is known that over the years he made more than a hundred sorties on an IL-2 airplane.
Once a child ran out onto the airfield during shelling. Rescuing him, Leonid Afanasyev was himself seriously injured. In 1944, he decided to join the CPSU.
song's author
Leonid Afanasyev is known as a songwriter. But for this, after the end of the war in 1946, he entered the conservatory in Alma-Ata. He studied at the conservatory in the Brusilovsky class. In 1951, immediately after graduating from the conservatory, Leonid Viktorovich began his studies in graduate school, but only at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He was able to get into class A.I. Khachaturian.
Subsequently, he even became a consultant to the creative commission of the IC of the Soviet Union. His first musical composition was created in 1949. Subsequently, in different years, he creates several more symphonic poems. Among his musical compositions there are operettas, and concert waltzes, preludes, songs, romances, ballads.
Leonid Afanasyev: music from films
Huge success and fame brought him cinema. More than thirty films were released with music composed by Leonid Viktorovich. The first film, where the music of a novice composer sounded, was the film "Calling", which was released in 1956. And in 1958, his music sounded in two films at once: “Memory in the Heart” and “Knock on any door”.
Many viewers know and love Lev Kulidzhanov’s film “When the Trees were Big”, where Yuri Nikulin played the main male role. This dramatic tape was released in 1961, and all the music that sounds in this film belongs to the composer Afanasyev.
After that, there were many more films where musical compositions by Leonid Viktorovich sounded. In 1971, the movie "Shadows disappear at noon." This saga is about the fate of the people in difficult years for Russia, about the fate of a certain family. The film really liked the audience. And until now, this multi-part film is watched by viewers of different ages with great pleasure. And in this film the music of the talented composer Leonid Viktorovich Afanasyev sounds.
In 1973, Leonid Viktorovich wrote music for the multi-part drama film “The Eternal Call”, which takes the viewer into the past, shows the history of our country and the eternal problems of relations in a society of power and people. Love and war coexist in this film, and the music sounds alarming, piercing and memorable, which makes the viewer not only watch the film, but also empathize, and sometimes even cry and suffer along with the characters.
The military theme was very close to the famous composer, so in his creative piggy bank there are a huge number of films about the war, to which he wrote soulful music. Among the films, one can single out such films as “The Slowest Train”, “Letters to the Living”, “Exploded Hell” and others. In 1985, Leonid Viktorovich wrote the music for the film "Try to stay alive." The film takes the viewer in 1944 to the Baltic states, where active fighting was then taking place. Scouts and partisans together had to carry out a responsible and difficult task. The music in this film allows you to fully understand the plot of the film, comprehend it and empathize with the heroes.
In 1996, Leonid Viktorovich writes an unusual and empathic music, which is special for the Ermak feature film, the plot of which is based on historical facts. It will not leave anyone indifferent.
Awards composer Afanasyev
Among the awards of Leonid Viktorovich are a large number of orders and medals. So, in 1944, Leonid Afanasyev, whose songs the whole country knows and sings, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. And next year he was able to receive two awards at once: the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of the Patriotic War of the First Degree. Of course, in the prize box of the famous composer there are a large number of other important awards.
In 1952, Leonid Afanasyev received the Stalin Prize for his violin and orchestra concert . In 1975, Leonid Viktorovich was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In 1986, another title was awarded - People's Artist of the Russian Federation.
The famous and talented composer died in Moscow in early October 1995.