Alexander Gradsky – famous singer and composer, lyricist, former mentor of the vocal show “The Voice”.
Family and childhood
When Alexander Gradsky was born, his family lived in the Chelyabinsk region, beyond the Urals, in the city of Kopeisk. The father of the future celebrity worked as an engineer. The head of the family was sent to this small settlement after graduating from university. Gradsky’s mother was an actress; she abandoned her career at the legendary Moscow Art Theater, choosing a family and leaving for her husband.
In Kopeisk, Gradsky’s mother headed one of the local amateur performance studios. The family managed to return to Moscow only in 1957. For some time, even before school, Alexander Gradsky lived in the capital region with his grandmother. Later, his parents moved to Moscow, where they rented a small room in the basement, but decided not to take the child with them.
Gradsky began to live with his mother and father when he went to school. At the age of 9, the mother sent her son to music school. By the way, the future celebrity did not show much zeal for studying. In particular, he played the violin. Gradsky was literally annoyed that he had to rehearse for several hours at home. If we talk about a regular school, the artist preferred humanities subjects. The boy really liked to read; he wrote his first poem at the age of 14. Gradsky could hear records with modern music thanks to his uncle on his mother’s side. He was an actor and often visited foreign countries, including America. From there the relative brought things that could not be obtained in Moscow.
IN school age Alexander Gradsky has already begun to actively and quite successfully perform on a small stage. At creative evenings, the student performed with a guitar or played the piano. In addition, he attended the acting section.
First compositions
At the age of 14, Alexander Gradsky was invited to a Polish teenage group called “Cockroaches”. Then he began to take part in various concerts, being part of musical group. The first song here was “ Best city Earth." When Gradsky was 15 years old, his family improved their living conditions in Moscow. Already in this teenage image, he finally decided that he would become an artist. The artist himself later said that he was very fascinated by the work of The Beatles.
Career development
In 1965, the Slavs team was formed. Its founders were Alexander Gradsky and Mikhail Turkov. Later, other participants joined the musicians. A year later, another ensemble appeared - “Skomorokhi”. By the way, the songs were performed only in Russian, mainly Gradsky was their author. The composition “Blue Forest” became a landmark in the artist’s life. At the same time, the singer performed as part of the musical group “Scythians”. Since young artist There was absolutely not enough money to purchase new equipment; he and his friends began working part-time at the Philharmonic. Gradsky was highly valued there, the leader even invited him to go on tour around the country.
The next group was VIA Electron. For several years, Gradsky had to not sing so as not to be exposed. During this time, the artist accumulated cash to purchase decent equipment.
In 1969, Gradsky entered the vocal department of Gnesinka under teacher Kotelnikova. While studying, he regularly took part in solo concerts, where he performed with a guitar. The artist was the first who decided in rock and began to promote lyrics in Russian.
The best works of Gradsky
After graduation educational institution Gradsky went on a large-scale tour. This time was marked by a jump in his recognition and popularity. At his concerts, the artist always collected huge amount Human. It happened that the number of performances reached four per day.
In 1975, Gradsky was enrolled in the conservatory. In parallel with this, work was carried out on several films. In 1976, the artist began writing his debut suite called “Russian Songs”; its second part was released two years later. At the same time, Gradsky actively worked in the field of creating rock compositions. The singer continued to tour, performing his original compositions in front of Soviet audiences.
Soon he began to try himself as a teacher. His teaching activity was carried out at his native school. Gnesins. Over time, Gradsky moved to GITIS, where he headed the vocal department.
The year 1980 became a turning point in the celebrity’s work. Then he was transferred to the “Protestants” category. At that time, there were dramatic inclinations in Gradsky's music. His charisma and voice were always recognizable, so any problems that arose were quickly resolved.
Gradsky went abroad for the first time in 1988. However, this was not a tour, but a conference, the participants of which were artists and recognizable politicians. Soon the artist had to reduce the number of performances as he began to work hard on his own Theater of Contemporary Music. For this project, celebrities even allocated a separate building in the center of Moscow, but it required reconstruction. Along with this, Gradsky wrote music: several discs were written in Japan.
When the show “The Voice” started on Channel One, Gradsky was invited to take the place of a mentor. His players won the project for two years in a row.
Personal life
Alexander Gradsky's mother died when the boy was only 14 years old. In memory of her, the teenager took her maiden name. If we talk about the first marriage, it lasted only three months. After his divorce from Natalya Smirnova, the musician married Anastasia Vertinnskaya. By the way, the next wedding took place three years later. The couple lived together for two years, but filed for divorce much later.
Gradsky's third marriage took place immediately after the official breakup of the previous relationship. The rocker's chosen one was Olga Fartysheva. The couple lived in marriage for 23 years, the wife gave her lover a son and a daughter.
In October 2018, Alexander Gradsky became a father for the fourth time. The common-law spouse gave Russian artist son. For the girl herself, the child became the second in a row.
Alexander Borisovich Gradsky, whose biography and personal life is so interesting to us, was born in the Chelyabinsk region. In a town called Kopeisk. It was November 3, 1949. The musician's mother was a professional actress. She played in the theater. And perhaps it was from her that the boy inherited artistry and love of art.
Father Alexander had a more “down-to-earth” profession. He worked as a mechanical engineer. In 1957, the family moved to the capital of the USSR, Moscow. Dad still worked at the factory, and mom worked as a teacher in kindergartens. theater studios. In addition, she was one of the authors of a well-known literary magazine at the time. It is interesting that for a long time the boy lived with his grandmother in Rastorguevo (Butovo district) near Moscow. There he studied at a music school and learned to play the violin. This gave the child great interest. But he didn’t want to practice the violin much at home.
Childhood photo of Alexander Gradsky
At school, the boy also gravitated toward the humanities. He really liked history and literature. He was especially fond of poetry. And at the age of thirteen he wrote his first poem for the first time.
Gradsky recalls that instead of studying the violin, he spent all his free time to sports. The artist played football and was fond of volleyball and wrestling. In addition, he went to chess. He graduated from music school in violin class. But the Beatles, who appeared at that time, changed the boy’s worldview so much that he had no chance of becoming a violinist.
In addition, Gradsky loved to listen modern music- both domestic and foreign performers. He adored Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Mark Bernes, Klavdia Shulzhenko, Lydia Ruslanova.
A. Gradsky in his youth
His uncle brought him from abroad vinyl records with modern hits. And the boy was amazed by the amazing music. In high school, he began performing as a performer at school events. He sang and played along with himself on the guitar or piano. In addition, he tried his hand as an actor in the school theater.
As a child, Alexander bore the last name Fradkin, which is his father’s last name. However, everything changed when his mother, Tamara Pavlovna Gradskaya, passed away in 1963. The boy missed her very much and decided to change his last name.
1963 became a landmark year for the boy. He lost loved one, changed his last name and took the first steps in his musical career. He first started playing in the rock band "Cockroaches", which included students from Poland. And in 1965, at sixteen, he organized the group “Slavs”. This group became very popular in the USSR, the young guys won the hearts of many fans. They sang songs of popular groups - Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Gradsky in his youth
In 1966, Alexander Gradsky, in whose biography and personal life there is a lot interesting moments, created another group - “Skomorokhi”. He himself was the author of songs, composing them in his native language. And in the company of old friends from the “Slavs” - Vyacheslav Dontsov and Viktor Degtyarev - he travels around cities on tour. Soon they earn money to buy themselves high-quality expensive equipment. But he doesn’t abandon the “Skomorokhi” team either. Together with him, he continues to tour Soviet cities. And Gradsky personally receives honorary awards for his activities - “For vocals”, “For guitar” and “For composition”.
One day, director Andrei Konchalovsky noticed Alexander and invited him to take part in the filming of his film “Romance of Lovers.” Initially, Gradsky was invited simply as talented singer. And then he became the author of all the poems, songs and music that were heard in this film.
Gradsky and Kanchalovsky
Then Gradsky receives even greater fame and the “Star of the Year” award (1974). Career young musician is rapidly going uphill. The audience loves Gradsky very much; they come to his concerts with pleasure.
But Gradsky, despite his resounding success, does not become arrogant - he continues to study. In 1974 he became a student at the Moscow Conservatory. His teacher was the famous composer Tikhon Khrennikov. In 1988, Gradsky wrote compositions for films, which soon became popular.
In the late 70s, Gradsky wrote many songs in support of rock music. As you know, such compositions were not very encouraged in the USSR. They were considered a negative trend from the West. Because of such activities of Gradsky, he has many ill-wishers.
However, the musician remains true to his views and continues to work actively. For several years he taught at the Gnessin School, and then at the institute. Worked as head of the vocal department.
Vinyl record by A. Gradsky
From 1976 to 1980 he wrote the suite “Russian Songs” in two parts. He also publishes a collection of compositions, “Reflections of a Jester,” where he introduces himself as an artist capable of singing and playing music in various genres. In addition, Gradsky composes the opera “Stadium” and music for the ballet “Man”. And after the death of the poet and composer Vladimir Vysotsky, Gradsky changes the vector of creativity to tragic and dramatic.
It is interesting that Gradsky is popular not only in his homeland, but also abroad. Under his leadership, various creative projects. Concerts are held in the capital of the USSR with the participation of various orchestras, rock groups and choir soloists. Gradsky also has fifteen CDs with his compositions coming out. Abroad, Gradsky works with such celebrities as Liza Minnelli, John Denver, Diana Warwick and others.
A. Gradsky with John Denver
Today Gradsky is still popular, continues to tour Russia and works abroad. In addition, for a long time he was a member of the jury of the “Voice” project on central television. Young talents under his leadership have repeatedly become winners of this high-profile project.
Gradsky has been friends with Alexandra Pakhmutova for many years. They met at work. Gradsky was supposed to record a composition for the film “My Love in the Third Year.” And Pakhmutova wrote the music for this film. This acquaintance grew into a long friendship. And it was Pakhmutova who wrote it for Alexander Borisovich famous song"How young we were." It's been a hit for years now.
Gradsky admitted in an interview that he gained popularity precisely thanks to the composition “How Young We Were” and the popular film “Romance of Lovers,” for which he wrote musical accompaniment. The artist does not hide that he was offered a lot of money for concerts - like no one else in the USSR. The fact is that everywhere he could gather full houses. Not every touring artist can do this.
Alexander Gradsky, whose biography and personal life we are discussing today, is widely known as the author of numerous stage productions. For example, his work - the rock opera "Stadium" became very famous and popular. It talks about the military coup in Chile in 1973. Then Augusto Pinochet subjected the country to terrible repressions. Many people died. The hero of the opera is musician Victor Jara, who also became a victim of the bloody regime. Although Gradsky does not indicate the name of the main character and the location of the events, it is clear that this is the story that is based on it. Interestingly, the role of the singer with tragic fate played by the artist himself.
During protrusion
This work was released on disc, so fans of Gradsky’s work can get acquainted with it. The roles in the work are played by the author's friends - Alexander Rosenbaum, Joseph Kobzon, Lolita, Andrei Makarevich, Grigory Leps and others.
With I. Kobzon during a performance
It so happened that the popular musician was married several times. His first wife is Natalya Gradskaya. The artist met her in his youth and, without thinking twice, got married. The second wife of the master was the famous Soviet actress Anastasia Vertinskaya.
This marriage also did not bring happiness to the artist. The actress and musician stayed together for only four years and broke up in 1980.
With Anastasia Vertinskaya and her son
For the third time, the artist married Olga Gradskaya, the site reports. They lived together for 23 years. Olga gave birth to two children to the musician. The son of Alexander Gradsky, whose personal life and biography is still of interest to fans, is called Daniil. He was born in 1981. And his daughter's name is Maria. She was born in 1985. son is successful businessman, which does not prevent him from seriously pursuing music. The daughter works as a TV presenter.
And in 2004, Alexander married again. His chosen one was the beauty and model Marina Kotashenko, who is thirty years younger than him. They met on the street, where the charming Gradsky was able to attract the girl’s attention. Marina later admitted in an interview that she was happy in her marriage. The musician treats her with love and takes care of her. In addition, she is interested in him as a person. Marina is currently filming TV series.
A. Gradsky with Marina Kotashenko
And in 2014 she gave Alexander Borisovich a son. Happy Event happened in the capital of the United States. The child was named Sasha in honor of his father, but it is too early to say whether the boy will become such a famous musician.
In 2016, paparazzi caught Gradsky and his young wife on vacation and posted photos of Alexander and Marina on the Internet. After which the family was hit with many malicious comments. Alexander, unlike his young wife, cannot boast excellent shape. Therefore, many called their union nothing more than “Beauty and the Beast.” Alexander admits that he does not have a complex, but on the contrary, he is very glad that Marina chose him and not someone younger and more athletic.
Alexander and Marina
It should be noted that the beauty was never seen trying to cheat on her husband and never gave anyone any reason to doubt her love for her husband. However, it is not surprising that Gradsky really does not like journalists. It was he who introduced the word “journalist” into use, reflecting his negative attitude towards representatives of this profession.
Now Alexander Gradsky, whose biography and personal life is the subject of today’s article, lives with his family in the Moscow region. He writes music and teaches vocals.
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Gradsky and his wife, the beautiful Marina Kotashenko, became parents on October 31, 2018, and three days later the artist turned 69 years old. This is Marina’s second child, and Alexander became a father for the fourth time. He has an adult daughter and son born in a previous marriage.
Gradsky and his wife are happy together
For the first time, Gradsky married Natalya Smirnova, but lived with her for only three months. Three years passed and he married Anastasia Vertinskaya. This marriage also did not last long - they separated after two years, although the divorce was not filed immediately. But in his third marriage, with Olga Fartysheva, Gradsky lived for 23 years, and their separation came as a surprise to those around him. This marriage produced a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Maria.
Now Alexander lives with Marina Kotashenko, who is 31 years younger than him. Gradsky and his wife have been living for 14 years, although they have not registered official marriage. In 2014, on September 1, their son Sasha was born, and on the last day of October 2018, another boy, Ivan, was born.
About meeting his fourth wife, Gradsky said that on his part it was love at first sight. Alexander saw Marina walking along the sidewalk as he passed by in a car. The beauty of the girl struck him so much that he could not help but stop. Soon Marina felt that next to her there was a man of extraordinary attractiveness, with whom she felt calm and comfortable. And communication with HIM brings joy.
Marina is proud that their eldest son is very similar to his father. Gradsky and his wife had already noticed the boy’s remarkable musical abilities. The baby already has a real guitar, he plays it and sings songs. Sasha enjoys reciting poetry and learning to read.
Gradsky repeatedly talked about how lucky he was that such a beauty fell in love with him, although she could have chosen someone more profitable. He is not at all offended by the fact that sometimes phrases like “beauty and the beast” are addressed to them; he does not at all doubt the reciprocity of their feelings.
Gradsky and his wife settled in the Moscow region, in the village of Novoglagolevo, and live there very happily. Alexander still writes music and teaches vocals.
Creative paths of Gradsky and his wife
Alexander's parents sent him to a music school, where he learned to play the violin when he was 9 years old. The boy did not really like to study at home much, although he loved music.
At school he preferred the humanities and read a lot. At the age of 14, Alexander wrote his first poem. His uncle repeatedly went on tours abroad and thanks to this, records appeared in their house, thanks to which Sasha learned about modern Western music. The teenager became seriously interested in the work of the Beatles, and this played a role in his decision to continue studying music.
While still a fourteen-year-old schoolboy, Alexander took part in performances by the Polish student group “Cockroaches”. Then “Slavs”, “Skomorokhs”, “Scythians”, “Los Panchos”, “Electron”, he played in these groups, but did not sing. Gradsky simply set himself the goal of saving money to purchase decent equipment, and only then show himself and Russian rock and roll in Moscow.
At the age of 20, Alexander entered Gnesinka. Then he began to give solo concerts, sing with a guitar. After graduating from the Gnesin Institute, Gradsky became very popular and began giving many concerts, in which his songs were mostly played.
In 1975, Alexander entered the conservatory, but did not stop touring. At the same time, he worked a lot on music for films and released several records. Soon he began teaching, first at Gnesinka, and then at GITIS.
Gradsky's wife, Marina Kotashenko, was a model in a Moscow agency at the time they met. Now, after graduating from VGIK, he plays in the theater studio of his master, Vsevolod Shilovsky. In addition, she can sometimes be seen in some TV series. Marina also received legal education in absentia. Marina motivates this by the fact that she relies only on her own strength, so that her influential husband does not have to provide her with protection.
Alexander Gradsky is not only famous singer, but also famous composer, who, despite his age, never ceases to amaze fans with his inexhaustible talent. He is famous in the field national stage, and throughout his career was able to not only write, but also perform many songs.
It is worth mentioning that back in school he tried to conquer the real stage and earn the love of the audience. He always had a love for music, although as a child he hated playing, for example, the violin for several hours at a time. But ultimately, Alexander Gradsky was able to realize himself as a worthy musician.
Height, weight, age. How old is Alexander Gradsky
Many who are interested in the personality of this musician are interested in his height, weight, and age. It’s easy to answer how old Alexander Gradsky is - the composer is already 68 years old. With a height of 180 centimeters, the musician weighs 93 kilograms. And from the photographs it is clear that he has a small amount excess weight. At the same time, he always keeps good location spirit and, perhaps, this is one of the reasons why Gradsky manages to maintain popularity and retain the love of the audience for so long.
If you look at the photo of Alexander Gradsky in his youth and now, you can see that he always wore glasses. During his career, they became an integral attribute of the composer's appearance.
Biography and personal life of Alexander Gradsky
Throughout school years The future musician was mainly interested in the humanities. The same cannot be said about more accurate ones. Gradsky was especially interested in literature. It is known that already at the age of 14 he was able to write his first poem. In addition, at the same time he began to participate in creative life school - read poetry, played the guitar and even went to theater club, where he showed very good results. Interestingly, his parents were in no way connected with musical activity. Father - Boris Fradkin - worked as a mechanical engineer. And my mother, Tamara Gradskaya, was an actress and director. But later she became an employee of the Theater Life magazine. The guy made his final decision to become a musician at the age of 15, when he began to get interested in by The Beatles. It was then that the biography and personal life of Alexander Gradsky took a new turn.
The performer began his career in mid. 60s. It was created by him music group called “Slavs”, which slowly but surely became more and more popular over time. I had to turn to part-time jobs in addition to performing, because there was absolutely not enough money for equipment. And every next step brought Gradsky closer to his dream of becoming a real professional in the field of music. Real fame came to Alexander when he graduated from university. Then his tours around the country began, and his career began to rapidly climb the mountain. In the 70-80s he was able to win the love of the public.
Of course, things happened to Alexander, but he was still able to achieve fame. Gradsky became a novelty in the musical field. His songs could be heard in every home. If we talk about the personal life of this man, it is quite eventful. First of all, it is worth noting that Alexander Gradsky was not particularly lucky with his women. Maybe the whole point here is that he lost his own mother early.
His first wife was a girl named Natalya Smirnova. It is not known for certain whether they are communicating now ex-lovers, but as the musician himself later said, this marriage was not something really serious for him. And this seems to be true, because the family lived together for only a few months. His next wife was Anastasia Vertinskaya. Alexander had already lived with her for a couple of years, but he could not avoid divorce in this case either. His next wife, with whom the musician lived for twenty-three years, gave him a son and daughter. Currently Gradsky lives with his new wife, Marina Kotashenko, who is thirty years younger than him. And, by the way, she also gave the composer a son. Only time will tell whether this marriage will be Gradsky’s last.
Family and children of Alexander Gradsky
The family and children of Alexander Gradsky are what currently occupy a special place in his life. Currently, the composer's family consists of his wife Marina and three children - Daniil, Alexander and Maria Gradsky.
Let us remind you that Daniil and Maria Gradsky have long been adults and today they are the only ones, like their father, who work in the field of show business, although they were not able to reach such heights in it as he did. Although, in fairness, it is worth mentioning that they did not strive for anything like that. In addition, we should not forget about the youngest heir of the musician, whom she gave him last wife- Marina.
Sons of Alexander Gradsky - Daniil and Alexander
The sons of Alexander Gradsky - Daniil and Alexander - are his only sons, although born from different women and in different times. But little is known about both. So, for example, Daniil, the eldest son, was born in 1981. Currently, he works as a businessman, which, however, does not prevent him from making music.
As mentioned earlier, the guy was born in the composer’s third marriage with Olga Gradskaya. Youngest son musician, Alexander, is only four years old and, unlike his half-brother and sister, he is just beginning to explore this world. But it is possible that in the future the boy will also want to connect his life with music.
Daughter of Alexander Gradsky - Maria
The daughter of Alexander Gradsky, Maria Gradskaya, was also born in the musician’s third marriage. She is five years younger than her brother Daniel. As it already becomes clear, Maria is already an adult. It is not known for certain whether she has her own family. But there is information that she works not only as a TV presenter, but also as an art manager. Moreover, he really loves what he does, so he always tries to do his job “excellently.”
As you can see, very little is known about the children of the composer Gradsky, but at least the elders have already “flyed” from the nest and are living independent life. Which, in turn, is what little Sasha has yet to do.
Ex-wives of Alexander Gradsky - Natalya Gradskaya, Anastasia Vertinskaya, Olga Gradskaya
It can be said that famous composer there were quite a lot of women. But, be that as it may, ex-wives Alexandra Gradsky - Natalya Gradskaya, Anastasia Vertinskaya, Olga Gradskaya - each of them played a specific role in the life of the future showman.
Alexander first married in his youth, to a girl named Natalya. This marriage lasted only a few months. For the second time, Gradsky married actress Anastasia Vertinskaya, but it did not bring the expected happiness to the musician, although it lasted a couple of years.
Alexander's third wife was a woman named Olga Gradskaya - with her the master lived for twenty-three years, and it was with her that he first learned the joy of fatherhood. But this family could not be saved from breaking up.
Alexander Gradsky's wife - Marina Kotashenko
Fourteen years ago, the musician married for the fourth time. It’s interesting that this time Alexander Gradsky’s wife, Marina Kotashenko, is old enough to be her husband’s daughter. She is thirty years younger than her chosen one. The couple met on the street and Marina admitted that the musician made a serious impression on her. Now she is happily married and the musician takes care of her. Kotashenko currently works as a fashion model and also appears in TV series. Ten years after the start of the relationship, Marina gave birth to her husband little son, whom the musician loves very much, like his other children.
According to Alexander himself, unlike his wife, he cannot boast ideal forms, but is not at all complex about this. Quite the opposite - I’m even glad that Marina chose him and not someone younger and more beautiful.
Instagram and Wikipedia of Alexander Gradsky
If you wish, you can find a lot of information about this person on the Internet, on a variety of sites. Of course, the most popular pages for this matter are such pages as Instagram and Wikipedia of Alexander Gradsky. There you can find the most different facts O creative path this amazing man, his development as a composer and performer, details about the details of his personal life, and so on.
On your Instagram profile page you can always see the latest photos and videos with captions. In particular, these are pictures from rehearsals or vacations. Thus, any information about this celebrity is available to ordinary fans. Article found on alabanza.ru