Frenkel Jan Abramovich is a popular Soviet composer, a talented violinist, pianist, singer and actor. In 1989, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In 1982, Jan Frenkel became a laureate of the USSR State Prize.
The difficult birth of a composer
Jan Frenkel, whose biography is truly amazing, was born on November 21, 1920. Some sources indicate that he was born in 1925. But this is not true.
Jan was born in Kiev. According to the composer himself, with an intertwined umbilical cord around his neck. The doctors were not sure that the newborn would survive. But a miracle happened, and Jan remained alive. Only the lungs were very weak all their lives.
Childhood
Yan was raised by his father - Abram Natanovich. When the son was 4 years old, the doctors made a disappointing diagnosis - they found tuberculosis in the boy. His father was told that even the slightest draft could kill Jan. A child has been constantly sick since childhood. And as soon as the father heard about tuberculosis, he immediately found a way to “tie” his son to the house so that he would not go out into the street once again.
Abram Natanovich worked as a hairdresser, but also had a good command of the violin. He began to teach his son to play this instrument. Lessons did not interrupt, even when Abram worked at a hairdresser. While his father was engaged in clients, Jan diligently practiced the violin in a room located next to the hall. If he was false, the strict parent, apologizing to the client, immediately approached and silently pulled his ear. Abram always told his son that the quality of the game is very important in training and performance.
Education
Frenkel Jan Abramovich studied at school with long breaks, as his health was very poor. He constantly went to various sanatoriums and missed many lessons. Once, Yana Magaziner, a well-known teacher at the Kiev College of Music, heard Yana’s play.
The level of performance so impressed the teacher that he immediately identified young Frenkel in the 3rd grade. After graduating from college, Yang easily entered the capital's conservatory in the violin department. There, he honed his mastery under the direction of Magazin, and Boris Lyatoshinsky became a teacher in composition. Yang graduated from the Conservatory in 1941.
Start of war
When the Great Patriotic War began, the young Frenkel made the decision to "go to the front" one day. Ian submitted documents to the Orenburg anti-aircraft school. There he studied, and in his free time in the evenings he played in the orchestra of the Aurora Cinema on the violin, piano and accordion.
At the front
The first song written by Jan Frenkel was born at a military school. Ian called it "There was a pilot on the alley." Jan was taken to the front immediately after graduating from an anti-aircraft school. It happened in 1942. He fought at the front for a year, until he was seriously injured. It was so heavy that the doctors in the hospital did not believe that Ian would survive. But once again, a miracle happened in the life of young Frenkel. He stayed alive again. And as soon as he fully recovered from his wounds, he immediately went to the artistic brigade, which was engaged in raising the morale of the soldiers. In it, he played various instruments.
Personal life
With his future wife, Natalia, nee countess Loris-Melikova, Jan met at the front. Despite the fact that she was fourteen years older than him, later the woman became his legal wife.
After the war ended, Jan and his wife remained in Moscow. At first they had to live in an ordinary communal apartment. There, a daughter was born, who was named Nina. It was their only child. They lived modestly and without chic. The main attributes in the room were a closet with notes and a piano. However, this fact did not affect their feelings in any way and was not a reason for serious quarrels.
Despite the fact that Natalia was older than Frenkel, she died after him, in the mid-90s. Nina, their daughter, has been living in Italy since 1980. She had a son, who was named Jan in honor of his grandfather. The grandson became a famous musician. Like his grandfather, Jan the Younger is an excellent arranger and pianist. Since 2011, Frenkel’s grandson has been working as director of the music department at the American Coast Guard Academy.
The beginning of the musical career of Jan Frenkel
To feed his family, Jan played in Moscow restaurants in the evenings. And in the afternoon he carefully rewrote scores for eminent Soviet composers. And at the same time he made arrangements for their works. This was the beginning of Jan's musical career.
Frenkel's arrangements began to sound on the radio. Even in cartoons, they began to use the melodies of Jan. The directors immediately realized that an extraordinary talent was found and vyingly offered Frenkel to write songs for films.
The hard way to recognition
The popularity of Frenkel’s songs has become so widespread that it caused a bad jealousy among eminent composers. Such a rapid take-off could not pass without a trace. The persecution of Jan Frenkel began. His work was mercilessly criticized in the Union of Composers, calling it hopeless.
At one of the meetings, the question was even raised of expelling him from the community of professionals. Everything was very serious, the situation was heating up. But D. Shostakovich intervened. When it was his turn to express his opinion on the work of Jan, the master meticulously answered: "Very melodic." His assessment dramatically changed the course of the entire meeting.
Creation process
Frenkel's friends often recalled how his work was born in an ordinary communal apartment. As soon as Ian composed a new song or tune, he ran to the telephone, called poets and hummed his works in a full voice. Neighbors often resented such concerts, not yet knowing that Frenkel is the future famous personality and pride of the country. In this “communal” time, songs were born such as: “Kalina red”, “Broke a lot of branches, break a lot of firewood”, “I'm in a hurry, excuse me”, etc.
Frenkel Talent
Composer Jan Frenkel worked with M. Tanich, M. Matusovsky, I. Goff, I. Schafferan and many other equally famous authors. He composed and performed at the same time his songs with which he traveled around the country. Moreover, at his concerts the halls were always crowded, and the audience knew all the words by heart and often sang along to Yana.
The versatility and breadth of his talent cannot be underestimated. Frenkel wrote many compositions for the orchestra, melodies for films, cartoons, which literally in one day became hits. On theatrical stages there were constant full houses. Frenkel's music was used in pop numbers.
Jan played professionally on the accordion and piano as well as on the violin. For several years, the composer directed pop groups and jazz orchestras.
Legendary Cranes (sheet music by Jan Frenkel)
About the song "Cranes" must be written separately. It is like one small epoch with its own separate history, uniting forever the lives of three talented people. The song “Cranes” was written in 1969. The words belonged to R. Gamzatov. M. Bernes found these lines in the magazine and turned to Frenkel with a request to compose music for the words.
Jan reworked the text. And he wrote music to the words. He put his whole soul into the song, the pain and suffering of the war, front-line hardships and victory. It was the birth of the Cranes. Bernes performed it first in front of his military leaders.
At that time he was already a terminally ill person. But he sang it so penetratingly that even tough generals and marshals shed tears in his eyes. Then you can imagine what feelings this song evoked among those who went through these military circles of hell on the front lines. Music by Jan Frenkel Together with the words of the song and the talented performance, she laid bare the soul.
And again, the colleagues of the great composer from the Union of Composers were envious. More than one complaint was sent to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in which they unflatteringly spoke about the sound of Cranes. The song at that time became already beloved by all the people. The complaints asked to ban the execution of Cranes. But Brezhnev still allowed. True, with one condition - not often.
After that, Yang approved his position as a professional composer through a competition. A new version of the anthem of the USSR was needed. It was Frenkel who came out of the competition as a winner. The State Commission voted to arrange it.
Composer's work
Only 18 years after the musical work “The Pilot Along the Lane” a stream of new songs began to flow, the authors of which was Jan Frenkel: a waltz called “Old Waltz”, “Textile Town” and many others. All of them were so emotional and touching that it was already impossible to forget them after hearing at least once.
Frenkel's character
Jan Frenkel, whose lyrics and music the whole country knew, easily entered the office of any officials. He could easily help so that those who asked for his help received a place to live or a telephone, etc. But Yang always asked for others only. He never asked for anything personally for himself.
As a result, he moved to an apartment with his family, being already an adult man. Before that, they had been hiding in a communal apartment for a long time. Frenkel was good-natured and warm with everyone. He never canceled his concerts and performed in any weather. Constantly traveled even to the most remote villages and villages, mining villages.
Ian never complained or resented. He could play the piano even without electricity. And people sang along with him. The purpose of each performance by Jan was not monetary gain. Frenkel tried to convey to people the good, warmth, love, impressions with which his songs are saturated. Tanich wrote about his colleague that he was a considerate and courteous person. Of those people who have no enemies.
The death of the great composer
Death didn’t spare Jan Frenkel, although he immediately began to be treated as soon as he became seriously ill. He even went to live in Riga, hoping that a climate change would help. But the disease prevailed.
The great composer died in Riga on 08.25.1989. At his funeral, the legendary song “Cranes” was performed. Frenkel was buried in the Moscow Novodevichy cemetery.