Pianist Oleg Akkuratov is a jazz and academic musician. Notes, harmonies and melodies became firmly established in his life from the age of 3, when his father sent him to a special music school in Yeisk. Oleg has been blind since birth, and at all performances he is accompanied by his father, the closest and most reliable person to him.
It was he who played the most significant role in the education of the future recognized pianist. Oleg Akkuratov also speaks warmly about his grandparents - he adopted their hard work ethic from them. Fame did not come to young Oleg right away, but when he began to be invited to various classical and jazz events, he began to spend time at the piano with even greater zeal.
In an interview with the JazzPeople portal, Oleg Akkuratov admitted that his favorite pastime is memorizing major musical works and touring the world with concerts.
About education and family relationships
– Oleg, what influence did your father and grandparents have on your upbringing?
– I was raised not only by my grandparents. The main responsibility fell on the shoulders of my father, with whom we have an excellent relationship. He is not just a dear person to me, but also a mentor. At the same time, I can’t say that I learned anything specific from him - we are constantly in contact with him, we toured together in India, China, Canada, America, he comes to all my concerts.
Academic and jazz pianist Oleg Akkuratov at a rehearsal I am grateful to him for always supporting me. I have been making music since childhood, and all these years he has been by my side. His life is also connected with music, and largely thanks to his experience, I can develop by looking at him not only in a musical direction, but also gain life experience.
My father comes to all my concerts
About cooperation with Igor Butman
– How did your collaboration with Igor Butman begin in 2013?
– Igor Mikhailovich came to us in Rostov-on-Don a year earlier, in 2012. I took part in the World of Jazz competition, in which he was the chairman of the jury. Reputable judges highly appreciated my performance of jazz standards, in particular the composition Over the Rainbow by Erroll Garner and Cotton Tail, and awarded me the Grand Prix.
Then he made me an offer of cooperation. One of our first joint performances abroad was at the International Jazz Festival in Latvia - World Jazz Festival. I am grateful to him for the opportunity to tour different cities and countries, play amazing music with top-notch jazz musicians.
About jazz and classics
– You play both jazz and classical music. Which of these two directions is closer to you and why?
– First of all, I would like to note that despite the fact that I play classical and jazz, I am also interested in other musical styles. In classical music, for example, a musician must maintain the accuracy of the text and dynamics. Jazz also has its own canons, but it is characterized by greater improvisation; its main feature is freedom of expression. You can’t limit it, but you can’t go beyond the limits of style either.
Having talent, you must definitely demonstrate it to the public
About music as a way of life
– Music is already an integral part of your life. When did you become famous and how do you feel about it?
Oleg Akkuratov equally enjoys playing classical and jazz pieces – I think fame came to me because I took part in a lot of competitions and demonstrated my musical abilities in public. If I, even having a talent from birth, had not told a wide audience about it, no one would have known about it, because no one would have heard my music.
I can say that the big stage began to open up to me when I was 14-15 years old. Even then I began to play equally a lot of classical music and jazz.
As for how I feel about fame, that's an interesting question. An artist becomes truly famous when he is in demand everywhere - he is constantly invited to play at concerts, host festivals, and participate in shows on television and radio.
– What is most important to you in music?
– I am interested in playing extensive musical works, for example, sonatas by Beethoven or Prokofiev, so, oddly enough, I really love sheet music. I like it and am able to memorize large essays that last several sheets. I won't say it's very easy, but I have a certain interest in it and I feel like I'm developing as an instrumentalist. A good memory and ear for music help me with this.
Distinguishing shades in a work is the main thing for me
Music for Oleg Akkuratov is his special world, filled with colors and emotions I think equally important is the need to respect the composer's style - you cannot play Chopin as Mozart, and Mozart as Chopin. Distinguishing shades in a work is what I also consider the main thing. If we talk about jazz, then when creating music in Latin American or ethnic style, you need to respect the traditions of these musical movements. This also includes playing technique - the sound changes depending on the touch of the piano keys.
About motivation
– Why do you continue to make music every day?
In addition to playing music, Oleg likes to listen to audiobooks with poetry – I am a musician, and I believe that this is how it should be in my life if I want to succeed at a professional level. I play every day, classes can take me 6-8 hours.
Of course, I also have free time. I can listen to audiobooks - I mainly like poetry: poems by Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Zabolotsky, Gumilyov, Pushkin, Lermontov.
Even when I'm not playing music, it's still with me. Music is my soul, my language, my feelings, it is my world. I live, breathe and cherish music.
Interviewed by Victoria Mall
Photos provided by guest interview
Documentary film “Sinkopa” about Oleg Akkuratov
Oleg Akkuratov- a phenomenally gifted blind musician from the Krasnodar region. He amazed with his talent Lyudmila Gurchenko and Montserrat Caballe, and now, as a member of the Igor Butman Quartet and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, he regularly tours in various parts of the world. On Russia Day, June 12, the virtuoso pianist will perform a solo concert on the stage of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
Oleg told an AiF.ru correspondent about the large-scale concert, working with Igor Butman and love for music.
Daria Ostasheva, AiF. ru: Oleg, you are going to perform solo on the stage of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Many musicians dream about this all their lives, but how do you feel?
Oleg Akkuratov: I feel something very good. I think there will be a wonderful audience at the concert. We have prepared a rich program: the first part will feature the twenty-first sonata Beethoven, nocturne and polonaise Chopin, "June" Tchaikovsky from the series “The Seasons” and “Hungarian Rhapsody” Liszt. In the second, together with the Moscow Jazz Orchestra of Igor Butman, there will be a concert for piano and orchestra of the famous composer George Gershwin.
— You perform both classical and jazz music. Which direction do you prefer?
— I love playing classical music as much as jazz. For me these are two facets of one art. I feel equally free in both directions and do not want to part with either of them.
— Only this year you graduated from graduate school at the Rostov State Conservatory named after S.V. Rachmaninov, but you have been performing on the big stage for a long time. Tell me, what else do you dream about? What are your plans now?
— My future plans are to tour and give concerts, both solo and with an ensemble. There is no special dream, because everything comes true here and now. And the most important thing for me is to play and remain a musician.
— It really does come true, because at the age of 27 you have already managed to perform on the same stage with such stars as Montserrat Caballe, Evelyn Glennie... And what meeting do you remember most and, perhaps, changed something in your life?
“These were some of the events that I remember most.” But the most fateful meeting in my life at the moment is meeting Igor Butman. Igor is an amazing saxophonist and a person with whom it is always interesting to work. It was thanks to him that I visited many countries and gained tremendous experience playing with the orchestra and its team.
— I know that over the past few years, as a member of the Igor Butman Quartet and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, you have toured in Canada, China, Israel, India, Latvia, and even made several tours in the USA. Tell us how you are received by foreign audiences.
— Both in Russia and abroad the public receives us very warmly. But in the USA, for example, where jazz is more popular, the audience even gets up from their seats, dances, sings along and applauds especially wildly.
"Music is my life"
— Lyudmila Gurchenko also noticed you and even dedicated her directorial debut to you: the film “Motley Twilight.” Tell me, were you looking for a meeting with her or did the prima one day find you?
“She came up to me completely unexpectedly during lunch and said: “Hello, darling, hello, my dear... Let’s sing “Silence behind the Rogozhskaya Gate”?” (this was later the song we started working with her on).
Then Lyudmila Markovna decided to direct the film “Motley Twilight” about a blind musician. But it can rather be called fiction rather than documentary work, that is, I was only the prototype of the main character. For example, I am not from Voronezh, unlike the hero of the film. I didn’t study in Toronto or New Jersey, but I studied in Moscow, Armavir, and Rostov.
— In “Motley Twilight,” a hero named Oleg Akkuratov was played by professional actor Dmitry Kubasov. Didn't you want to play the main role yourself?
- No, I didn’t even have such a thought. In this film I sang songs, played musical pieces, that was my role.
— What does music mean to you? How do you feel when you play?
— Music is my language. This is my soul, this is my freedom, this is all I live, all I feel. When I play, I try to convey one or another state that the composers put into this music. Everything, of course, depends on the work: if it’s Beethoven, then it’s one character, if Tchaikovsky is completely different. My task is precisely to feel everything that is intended by the authors.
Oleg Akkuratov, whose biography will be described in this article, is a young pianist, virtuoso, laureate of prestigious competitions and festivals. The brilliant musician was blind from birth and was brought up in a boarding school.
Biography
Oleg Akkuratov was born in the Krasnodar region, in the village of Morevka, in 1989. He was raised by his grandparents, his mother was only fifteen years old. The pianist was born blind. Musical abilities began to appear in the boy at the age of 4 years. His grandmother took him to audition in Armavir, at the only music boarding school in Russia for visually impaired and blind children. He was accepted to study there, and the boy left home. In Armavir, Oleg learned musical notation using the Braille system. At the age of 6, he was already playing P. I. Tchaikovsky’s first concerto, which he learned by ear from a record. Then he won his first victory in the competition. In 2008, Oleg graduated from the Moscow Music College of Pop and Jazz Art and entered the Institute of Music.
Oleg has an excellent musical memory; he performs both classics and jazz wonderfully. There are no difficult works for him. O. Akkuratov sings well and has a pleasant lyrical baritone.
Creative path
In 2003, while still a student, Oleg Akkuratov performed in Great Britain before the Pope. He also took part in the concert of the outstanding opera diva Montserrat Caballe.
In 2005, the young pianist performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and London. His partners were world-famous orchestras.
In 2006, Oleg proved himself to be a talented vocalist, taking 1st place in the competition of choirs and soloists.
In 2009, A. Akkuratov was the hero of A. Malakhov’s “Let Them Talk” program. Then he moved to live in Morevka, with his father and his family. He headed the Mich Band jazz orchestra in the city of Yeisk and became a soloist at the Russian Opera Theater. A concert was organized at the Moscow Conservatory in which Oleg Akkuratov was supposed to perform. The pianist planned to perform J. S. Bach's fantasy together with a combined choir of 815 people and an orchestra. But the concert did not take place. Oleg’s father, who had previously not taken any part in his son’s fate, prevented this performance.
Due to blindness, the pianist has to spend 10 or more hours a day mastering new works. Oleg is constantly developing and improving.
Awards
The owner of a large number of diplomas is Oleg Akkuratov. The blind pianist became a laureate of a large number of competitions and festivals at the regional, all-Russian and international levels. He received his first diploma in 2002.
Competitions in which Oleg Akkuratov won
- "The starry youth of the planet."
- Competition for young jazz performers.
- “Piano in Jazz” (competition for young performers).
- Competition for young pianists named after K. Igumnov.
- "Orpheus".
- Competition of young composers of Kuban and many others.
In 2001, he became a scholarship recipient of the Gifted Children program.
Found family
Oleg Akkuratov, as mentioned above, was brought up with his grandmother, and then in a special music school for visually impaired and blind children. Parents did not take any part in the musician’s upbringing. Several years ago, Oleg found a father and stepmother. And also two brothers and a sister. Oleg now lives with them in Morevka. They control his entire life. There are rumors that his relatives forced the pianist to perform almost in restaurants so that he could earn money from them, since none of his family members work. His apartment, which he received from the state, is put up for sale, and the money accumulated in his account has been spent. The pianist's father is going to become his concert director, because he believes that the musician does not need strangers, although he does not have the necessary experience for this.
Concert programs
Oleg Akkuratov is actively touring. He travels to different cities and also performs at prestigious venues in the capital.
Concert programs this season:
- “The Saved World Remembers” (evening in memory of composer A. Eshpai);
- festival of musical humor in Chelyabinsk;
- concert with Deborah Brown;
- "Beauty Queens";
- performance with Igor Butman and his orchestra;
- musical evenings in Aramil and Yekaterinburg;
- concert with the Russian Chamber Orchestra;
- charity marathon "Flower of Seven Flowers";
- concert with Jesse Jones and others.
A landmark event in which Oleg Akkuratov took part was a concert " The possibilities are limited - the abilities are limitless." The pianist performed in a duet with E. Kunz. The musicians performed F. Schubert's Fantasia in F minor four hands. The performance was bright and emotional. The musicians played superbly with each other and sounded like one person.
Great actress
Oleg Akkuratov became the prototype for the main character of the film "Motley Twilight", in which actress Lyudmila Gurchenko acted as director and composer. The film was filmed in 2009. The premiere show took place in Lyudmila Markovna, who loved the blind pianist very much, called him son and did a lot for him. She attended school in Armavir, where Oleg studied, and took part in a charity concert. The great actress and the young pianist performed songs included in the film “Motley Twilight,” which was still in the process of filming at that time. A lot of listeners came to the concert. Lyudmila Gurchenko and Oleg Akkuratov were not allowed to leave the stage for a long time. The death of the great actress was a blow for the musician.
Mikhail Okun, Oleg’s teacher, is seriously concerned about the future of his student.
“Motley Twilight” - this is what Lyudmila Gurchenko called her film, which was recently released. The actress took as a basis the story of a Kuban nugget - from the birth of a blind pianist from the city of Yeisk Oleg Akkuratov.
His name thundered throughout the country when the boy was only five years old. His parents didn't need him - his 15-year-old mother cared only about herself. The boy was raised by his grandparents, and they showed their grandson to music teachers at a boarding school for the blind. The teachers recognized the child’s talent and took him to various competitions. Akkuratov received his first prize at the age of six, becoming a diploma winner at the II International Louis Braille Competition.
By the age of 17, Oleg not only played phenomenally, but also sang beautifully and performed with Montserrat Caballe. And at the age of 19 he won the International Piano Competition in Novosibirsk - beating his sighted peers.
The famous jazzman Mikhail Okun trained with the boy. When Oleg graduated from the Moscow Pop and Jazz School, the teacher introduced him to Lyudmila Gurchenko. The actress was so fascinated by the boy that she decided to make a film about his difficult fate. But if on the screen there is a story with a happy ending, then in life 21-year-old Oleg Akkuratov, who was applauded by the Pope himself, makes a living playing the piano in a restaurant in his native village.
INSTEAD OF A BIG SCENE - WORK IN THE HOUSE OF CULTURE
Oleg was a difficult child,” says Alexandra Kutsenko, director of a music school for blind and visually impaired children in Armavir, where Akkuratov studied. - But at the same time the most gifted in the entire history of the school. He is very different from the hero in the film. He is punchy, and our Oleg is soft.
“He has perfect pitch and a fantastic memory,” says Lyudmila Gurchenko about her ward. “Talented people like him are born once every hundred years.”
When Akkuratov turned 18, his own parents unexpectedly remembered him (by that time they were already divorced and his father married for the second time). Although why be surprised - the child was such a success! At first, the mother wanted to see Oleg, but her ex-husband beat her to it, taking the boy from the boarding school.
I haven’t been able to reach Oleg on the phone for a year now,” sighs Alexandra Kutsenko. - The people around him don’t want him to win competitions like before. This is understandable: it’s enough to just give concerts and collect dividends. Now the guy plays in a local recreation center and doesn’t want to go anywhere.
However, acquaintances of the Akkuratov family disagree:
Oleg is helped by a philanthropist who has organized a fund to support a blind musician. And don’t think that he is rotting in the swamp of the province! Yes, Yeysk is not Moscow, but world-class stars also come here.
“IF A GUY DOESN’T PERFORM, WHY DOES HE HAVE AN APARTMENT?”
When we called Oleg’s stepmother, it turned out that the story was more complicated than it seemed at first.
Everything the school principal says is nonsense! - Marina Akkuratova raised her voice. - We are going to an international competition in Rostov soon! Let her tell you better about the apartment, the keys to which Oleg was given in 2007 (after a charity event, Oleg was given three rubles from caring Armavir residents. - Author's note). He couldn't get into it for three years! They told us: well, if a guy doesn’t live in Armavir and doesn’t perform, why does he need an apartment? Then we wrote a statement to the prosecutor's office, and ten days later the issue was resolved in our favor.
However, his former mentor does not agree with what the musician’s stepmother says.
Oleg did not use the apartment only because it was more convenient for him to live in a boarding school: there was no furniture in the apartment, explains Alexandra Kirillovna. - He gave the keys to his home to me so that I and the employees of the cultural department would keep order there. And in 2009, when we bought furniture, we celebrated a housewarming party.
And what about the pianist himself? Is he happy with how his fate turned out?
I’m offended that this happened, but it seems that Alexandra Kirillovna and I will no longer have the same relationship,” says Oleg. - She was always too strict with me. Now I have a new life, a new repertoire.
It looks like Oleg is really happy with what he has. Perhaps the performer has outgrown his genius and become like thousands of other musicians who deftly pluck the keys? The boy grew up and we didn’t even notice...