25 Facts About Alexander Gradsky

Alexander Borisovich Gradsky was a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer.

Alexander Gradsky was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia.

Alexander Gradsky composed two rock operas and numerous songs including soundtrack music for several films and cartoons.

Alexander Gradsky was born on 3 November 1949 in the Russian city of Kopeysk, into a family of mixed Jewish and Russian origin.

Alexander Gradsky's father Boris Fradkin was an engineer working in a factory, and his mother Tamara was an actress.

Alexander Gradsky's 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.

Alexander 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.

Alexander Gradsky consequently decided to form his own band, Skomorokhi in 1967.

Alexander Gradsky's 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.

Alexander Gradsky enrolled in Gnesins Academy of Music in 1969, and continued to perform with Skomorokhi while a student.

Alexander Gradsky performed two songs, one of which, "Zhil-byl Ya", got critical acclaim.

In 1973, film director Andrei Konchalovsky asked Alexander Gradsky to compose and perform music for the film "A Lover's Romance", which was released in 1974, the same year in which Gradsky graduated with a master's degree in vocal performance.

Alexander Gradsky performed all the male vocal parts in the film soundtrack, which brought him fame as a solo artist.

Alexander Gradsky composed a rock ballet Chelovek, released in 1988.

Alexander Gradsky was a tenor who is reported to have a three-and-a-half octave vocal range, and played 12 instruments.

Alexander Gradsky performed the demanding role of the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in 1988.

Alexander Gradsky formed a concert program in the "singer-songwriter" style.

Alexander Gradsky participated in the organization of a number of Soviet rock festivals such as Rock-panorama.

Alexander Gradsky took part in a charity concert for the liquidators of Chernobyl disaster.

Since the late '80s, Alexander Gradsky taught vocals at the Gnesin Music Academy and performed there.

On 16 July 1988 Alexander Gradsky performed at the San Francisco, California Golden Gate Park Bandshell as part of the American Soviet Peace Walk Concert.

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.

Alexander Gradsky took part in 2015; his participant, Mikhail Ozerov, took the second place.

Alexander Gradsky was married for the second time in 1970 to actress Anastasia Vertinskaya.

Alexander Gradsky was in a relationship with Ukrainian fashion model Marina Kotashenko in his late years, they had two sons together: Alexander Gradsky and Ivan.