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Petr Leshchenko (June 2 (14) June 1898-July 16, 1954) was a Romanian singer of Russian origin (baritone); head of the variety ensemble. One of the most popular Russian-speaking performers of the 1930s, Peter Leshchenko was born in the village of Isaevo in Kherson province (now Nikolaevsky district, Odessa region). His mother gave birth to him out of wedlock. In the metric book of the district archive there is a record: "Leshchenkova Maria Kalinovna, daughter of a retired soldier gave birth to a son Peter 02.06.1898." Peter Leshchenko was baptized on July 3, 1898, and later the date of his baptism was listed in Peter Leshchenko's documents-July 3, 1898. In the "father" graph, the entry is "illegitimate." The Godfathers: nobleman Alexander Krivosheev and noblewoman Katerina Yakovlevna Orlova. Peter's mother had an absolute musical ear, knew many folk songs and sang well, which had a proper influence on the formation of the personality of Peter, who from early childhood also discovered extraordinary musical abilities. The mother's family, together with 9-month-old Peter, moved to Chisinau, where about nine years later her mother married the dental technician Alexei Alfimov. Piotr Leshchenko spoke Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, French and German. Peter Leshchenko sang in the soldier's church choir (1906). In 1917 he graduated from the infantry school of warrant officers in Kiev, was sent to the Romanian front. In August of the same year he was seriously wounded and after leaving the hospital briefly served as a psalmist in the Church of Chisinau. In the autumn of 1919 he performed as part of a dance group at the Alagamber Theatre (Bucharest). In 1920 he began working in the Romanian theatre society "Scene", performing in pairs with ballerina Rosika under the pseudonym "Martynovic". From 1923 to 1925 he studied at the Paris Ballet School, after which together with his first wife-ballerina Eugene-Johanne zakit prepared several song and dance numbers and went on tour in the Middle East. His debut performance as a performer of gypsy romances took place in 1929 in the restaurant "Londra" (Kishinev). In 1930 he sang in Belgrade at the family holiday of King Alexander Karageorgievich. In the same year in the Riga Cafe "A. T.", accompanied by an orchestra under the direction of G. Schmidt, presented a large solo program, which included songs written especially for Leshchenko By Oscar Strok: "Black Eyes", "Katya", "Musenka native" and others in the repertoire of the singer there are works of various genres: tango, foxtrots, gypsy and domestic romances, as well as songs of unknown authors, as well as songs of unknown authors, among which the song is most popular. Performs songs by Mark Maryanovsky: "Tatiana," "Vanka, Sing," "Marfusha" and several songs of his own composition-"Back again you", "The Horses." He writes arrangements for many songs. In the early 30's he signed a contract with the Romanian branch of the English record company "Columbia" (about 80 songs were recorded). In addition, the singer's album is published by "Parlophon" (Germany), "Electrecord>" (Romania), "Bellacord" (Latvia). Moving in 1933 to Bucharest, Leshchenko became a co-owner of the restaurant "Our House", and in 1935 opens the restaurant "Leshchenko" in which he performs together with the ensemble "Trio Leshchenko" (the singer's wife and his younger sisters-Valya and Katya) and the aspiring pop singer Alla Bayanova. The announcement of the beginning of World War II will stop the singer in Romania. As a Romanian citizen, Leshchenko evades service in the Romanian army and continues his concert activities. In the summer of 1942, accompanied by an opera orchestra, the singer performs in Nazi-occupied Odessa. In September 1944, after the liberation of Bucharest, he gave a large concert for the officers of the Soviet Army, performing his own songs: "I Miss the Motherland," "Natasha," "Nadya-Nadechka," as well as songs by Soviet composers, including "Dark Night" by N. Theologian. In the concert programs of the post-war years there are songs: "Say why," "Don't leave," "Sleep, my poor heart" O. Strok, "All that was" by D. Pokrass, "Petrushka" by A. Albin, "Autumn Mirage" by A. Sukhanov, etc. on March 26, 1951 Piotr Leshchenko was arrested by the Romanian state security forces after the first concert. This was followed in July 1952 by the arrest of his wife Vera Belousova, who, like Leshchenko, was accused of treason against the Motherland (performing in occupied Odessa). On August 5, 1952, Belousova was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but in 1953 she was released for lack of a crime. Peter Leshchenko died in 1954 in a prison hospital. During his creative life, the singer recorded more than 180 gramophone discs, but until the end of the 80's none of these records was re-released in the USSR. The first album in the series "Peter Leshchenko Sings" was released by Melody on the 90th anniversary of the singer's birth in 1988 and in the same year took the first place in the TASS chart. During his creative life, the singer recorded more than 180 gramophone discs.
Peter Leshchenko about himself: At the age of 9 months with his mother together, as well as with her parents moved to the city of Chisinau. Until 1906 I grew up and was brought up at home, and then, as having the ability to dance and music, was taken to the soldier's church choir. At the same time, the regent of the bishop's choir Berezovsky, drawing attention to me, defined me in the choir. In 1915, due to the change of voice, I could not participate in the choir and was left without funds, so I decided to go to the front. He was a free-flowing man in the 7th Don Cossack Regiment and served there until November 1916. From there I was sent to the infantry school of warrant officers in the city of Kiev, which I graduated in March 1917, and I was awarded the title of warrant officer. After graduating from the school, after 40 spare regiments in Odessa, he was sent to the Romanian front and enlisted in the 55th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division as a platoon commander. In August 1917, he was seriously wounded and concussed in Romania and sent to a hospital, first to a field and then to the city of Chisinau. The revolutionary events of October 1917 caught me in the same hospital. Even after the revolution, I continued to be cured until January 1918, that is, until the moment of the capture of Bessarabia by The Romanian troops. Piotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko was born on June 2, 1898 near Odessa in the village of Isaevo. My father was a small servant. Her mother, Maria Konstantinovna, an illiterate woman, had an absolute musical ear, sang well, knew many Ukrainian folk songs-which, of course, had a proper effect on her son. From early childhood, Peter found extraordinary musical abilities. It is said that at the age of seven he spoke to the Cossacks in his village, for which he received a pot of porridge and a loaf of bread...At the age of three, Petya lost his father, and a few years later, in 1909, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Bessarabia, in Chisinau. Petya is arranged in the parochial school, where the boy notices a good voice and enrolls him in the bishop's choir. Despite the fact that Petya passed only four years of training, he acquired a lot. At the age of 17, Petya was called to the school of warrant officers. A year later he was already in the current army (there was the First World War) in the rank of warrant officer. In one of the battles Peter was wounded and sent to the Chisinau hospital. Mean course, Romanian troops captured Bessarabia. Leshchenko, like thousands of others, was torn from his homeland, becoming an "emigrant without emigration." It was necessary to work somewhere, to earn bread: young Leshchenko enters the Romanian theatre society "Scene", performs in Chisinau, presenting fashionable dances at that time (among which-Lezginka) between sessions in the cinema "Orpheum". In 1917, her mother, Maria Konstantinovna, gave birth to a daughter, named her Valentina (in 1920 was born another sister-Ekaterina)-and Peter performs already in the Chisinau restaurant "Suzanne". Later Leshchenko tours Bessarabia, then, in 1925, comes to Paris, where he performs in a guitar duet and in the balalaya ensemble "Guslar": Peter sang, played the balalaika, then appeared in a Caucasian suit with daggers in his teeth, lightning fast and deftly poked daggers into the floor, then-dashing "snums" and "Arab steps." He has a terrific success. Soon, wanting to improve the technique of dance, he enters the best ballet school (where the famous Vera Trefilova, born Ivanova, who recently shined on the Mariinsky stage, won fame both in London and Paris). At this school, Leshchenko meets a student from Riga, Sinaida zakit. Having learned a few original rooms, perform in Parisian restaurants, and everywhere have success...Soon the dance couple becomes a couple of married. Newlyweds make a big tour of Europe, performing in restaurants, in cabaret, on theatrical stages. Everywhere the audience enthusiastically accepts artists. And now it's 1929. The city of Chisinau, the city of youth. They are given the scene of the most fashionable restaurant. The posters read: "The restaurant "London" is home to the famous ballet dancers zinaida zakit and Piotr Leshchenko, who came from Paris." In the evenings in the restaurant sounded jazz orchestra Michael Weinstein, and at night came out already, performing gypsy songs to the accompaniment of a guitar (gifted by his stepfather), Petr Leshchenko, in a gypsy shirt with wide sleeves. After the beauty of zinaida appeared. Dance numbers started. All evenings were very successful. "In the spring of 1930,-remembers Konstantin Tarasovich Sokolsky-in Riga there were posters informing about the concert of the dance duo of zinaida and Petra Leshchenko, in the premises of the Dyles Theatre on romanovskaya N37 Street. I wasn't at this concert, but after a while I saw their performance in the divertissement program at the Palladium cinema. They and singer Lillian Ferne filled the entire divertissement program-35-40 minutes. He was brilliant in honing her movements and performing the figures of Russian dance. And Leshchenko-dashing "squats" and Arabic steps, making foldings without touching the floor. Then there was the Lezginka, in which Leshchenko temperamentally threw daggers...But a special impression was left by zakit in solo characteristic and comic dances, some of them she danced on pointes. And here, to give his partner the opportunity to change for the next solo number, Leshchenko went out in a gypsy costume, with a guitar and sang songs. His voice was a small range, a light timbre, without "metal", on short breath (like a dancer) and therefore he was not able to cover with his voice the huge room of the cinema (microphones at that time were not). But in this case it did not matter, because the audience looked at him not as a singer, but as a dancer. And in general, his performance left a good impression... The program ended with a couple of dances. In general, my performance as a dance couple I liked-felt the professionalism of the performance, a special work of each movement, liked me and their colorful costumes. Especially impressed with her charme and female charm partner-such were her temperament, some mesmerizing internal burning. Leshchenko also left the impression of a beautiful beau...Soon we had to speak in the same program and get to know each other. They turned out to be pleasant, sociable people. She turned out to be our Latvian, Latvian, as she said, "the daughter of a homeowner on Gertrudes Street, 27." And Peter-from Bessarabia, from Chisinau, where his whole family lived: his mother, stepfather and two younger sisters-Valya and Katya. It must be said here that after the First World War Bessarabia went to Romania, and thus the whole Leshchenko family mechanically became Romanian subjects.Soon the dance duo was out of business. She was pregnant, and Peter, left to some extent out of work, began to look for opportunities to use his voice data and therefore appeared to the management of the Riga music house "Young Man and Fairabend" (these are the names of the directors of the company), which represented the interests of the German gramophone firm "Parlophone" and offered his services as a singer...Subsequently, it seems in 1933, the company "Young and Feyerabend" in Riga founded its recording studio called "Bonophone", on which I, in 1934, after the first return from abroad, first sang "Heart", "Ha-cha-chai", "Sharab-yablochko", and a comic song "Antoshka on the harmonica...The management took Leshchenko's visit indifferently, saying that they do not know such a singer. After Peter's repeated visits to this firm, they agreed that Leshchenko would go to Germany at his own expense and to sing ten trial songs on "Parlofon", which Peter did. In Germany, Parlophone has released five discs out of ten works, three of which are for the words and music of Leshchenko himself: "From Bessarabia to Riga," "Fun, Soul," "Boy." Our Riga patrons sometimes held parties for parties to which popular artists were invited. On one of these evenings at the "doctor's ear, throat and nose" Solomir (I do not remember the name, I called him simply "doctor"), where I repeatedly visited with the composer Oskar Davydovich Strok, we took with us Peter Leshchenko. He came with a guitar...By the way, at Solomir the walls of the office were hung with photos of our opera and concert singers and even touring artists, such as Nadezhda Plevitskaya, Lev Siberiakov, Dmitry Smirnov, Leonid Sobinov and Fyodor Chaliapin, with touching autographs: "Thank you for the saved concert", "Miracle, in time to return my voice"...Solomir himself had a pleasant timbre of tenors. We always sang romances in a duet at such evenings. So it was that night. Then Oskar Strok called Peter, agreed on something with him and sat down to the piano, and Petya took the guitar. The first thing he sang (as I have left in my memory)-the romance "Hey, friend-guitar." He held on boldly, confidently, his voice dredtly. Then he sang a couple more romances, for which he was rewarded with friendly applause. Petya himself was delighted, went up to O. Row and kissed him...To be honest, I really liked him that night. There was nothing like it when he sang in theaters. There were huge halls, and here, in a small living room, things were different; and of course, the huge role was played by the wonderful musician Oscar Strok. The music enriched the vocals. And yet, what I consider one of the main points: the singers base-basic - to sing only on the diaphragm, deep breathing. If in the performances in the dance duet Leshchenko sang in a short breath, agitated after the dance, now there was a certain support of sound, and hence the characteristic softness of the timbre of the voice...At some family party like this, we met again. Peter's singing again everyone liked it. Oskar Strok became interested in Peter and included him in the program of the concert, with which we went to the city of Liepayu, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. But here again repeated the history of the performance in the cinema. The great hall of the Maritime Club, where we performed, did not give Peter the opportunity to show himself. The same thing happened in Riga, in the Cafe Barberina, where other conditions for the singer were unfavorable, and I did not understand why Peter agreed to perform there. I was invited there repeatedly, offered a good fee, but, cherishing his prestige singer, I always refused. In old Riga, on Izmaylovskaya Street, there was a small cozy cafe called "A.T." What these two letters meant, I do not know, probably, it was the initials of the owner. In the cafe played a small orchestra under the direction of the beautiful violinist Herbert Schmidt. Sometimes there was a small program, singers performed and especially often-a brilliant, witty storyteller-entertainer, artist of the Theatre of Russian drama, Vsevolod Orlov, brother of the world-famous pianist Nikolai Orlov. Once we sat at this cafe at a table: Dr. Solomir, lawyer Elyashev, Oskar Strok, Vsevolod Orlov and our local impresario Isaac Teithlbaum. Someone thought: "What if leshchenko's performance in this cafe? After all, it could have been a success here-the room is small, and the acoustics, apparently, here is not bad." At half-time, when the orchestra paused, Herbert Schmidt came up to our table. Oskar Strok, Elyashev and Solomir talked about something with him - we, sitting on the other side of the table, at first did not pay attention. Then, at the request of Teithlbaum came the manager of the cafe, and it all ended with the fact that Solomir and Elyashev "interested" Herbert Schmidt to work with Leshchenko, and Oscar took to help him with the repertoire. Peter, when he found out about it, was very happy. Rehearsals have begun. Oscar Strok and Herbert Schmidt did their job and two weeks later held the first performance. Already the first two songs were a success, but when it was announced that "My Last Tango" would be performed, the audience, seeing that the author-Oscar Strok, was in the audience, began to applaud, addressing him. The string rose on the stage, sat down to the piano-it inspired Peter and after the performance of the tango the hall erupted with a standing ovation. In general, the first, the performance was a triumph. After that I listened repeatedly to the singer-and everywhere the audience well accepted his entry. It was at the end of 1930, which can be considered the year of the beginning of the singing career of Peter Leshchenko. Peter's wife gave birth to a son, who was named By Igor at the request of his father (although the relatives of zina, Latvians, assumed another, Latvian name). In the spring of 1931, I went abroad with the troupe of the miniature theatre "Bonzo" under the direction of the artist-comedian A.N. Werner. Peter stayed in Riga, performing at the cafe "A.T." At this time in Riga, the owner of a large book publishing house "Gramato Draug" Helmar Rudzitis opens the company "Bellacord Electro." In this firm, Leshchenko records several records: "My Last Tango," "Tell Why" and others...The first recordings were very popular with the directors, the voice was very phonogenous, and from this began the career of Peter Leshchenko as a recording singer. During his stay in Riga, Peter sang at bellacord in addition to the songs of O. Stroka and songs of ours, also Riga, composer Mark Maryanovsky "Tatiana", "Marfusha", "Kavkaz", "Pancakes" and others. In 1944, Maryanovsky died in Buchenwald. The company paid a good fee for singing, i.e. Leshchenko finally got the opportunity to have a good income...Around 1932, in Yugoslavia, in Belgrade, in the cabaret "Russian Family", owned by Serb Mark Garapich, our Riga dance quartet "Four Smaltsevs" with European fame performed with greatsuccess. The head of this room, Ivan Smaltsev, heard P. Leshchenko speak in Riga, at the A.T. Cafe, he liked his singing, and so he suggested to Garapich to engage Peter. The contract was drawn up on brilliant conditions for Leshchenko-15 dollars per evening in two performances (for example, I will say that in Riga for fifteen dollars you could buy a good suit). But fate again did not smile peter. The hall was narrow, large, and even before his arrival there was a singer from Estonia Resurrection, the owner of an extensive, beautiful timbre of a dramatic soprano. Petya did not live up to the expectations of the directorate, lost-and although the contract with him was concluded for a month, but after twelve days (of course, fully paid under the contract) with him parted. I think Peter drew a conclusion from that. In 1932 or 33, the company Gerutsky, Kavura and Leshchenko opened in Bucharest, on the street Bresolyanu, 7 small cafe-restaurant called "Kasutsa nostra" ("our house"). Capital invested a personable kind of Gerutsky, who met guests-visitors, in the kitchen hosted by an experienced chef Kavura, and Petya with a guitar created the mood in the hall. The clothes of visitors in the wardrobe were taken by Petit's stepfather and mother (it was at this time that the whole Leshchenko family from Chisinau moved to Bucharest, and their son Igor lived to live and be brought up in Riga, with relatives of zina, and therefore the first language in which he began to speak-Latvian). At the end of 1933 I came to Riga. He sang in Russian drama theater all the musical reviews, went to neighboring Lithuania and Estonia. Petya repeatedly came to Riga to visit his son. When they went for a walk, I was always an interpreter, because Petya did not know Latvian. Soon Peter took Igor to Bucharest. Things in "Casuza Nostra" went well, the tables were taken, as they said, with the battle, and there was a need to change the room. When in the autumn of 1936, under the contract, I came again to Bucharest, then on the main street of Kaley Victoria (N1) there was already a new, big restaurant, which was called-"Leshchenko". In general, Peter in Bucharest was verypopular. He was fluent in Romanian and sang in two languages. The restaurant was visited by exquisite Russian and Romanian society. He played a great orchestra. She turned Peter's sisters, Valya and Katya, into good dancers, they performed together, but, of course, the highlight of the program was mostly Peter himself. Having understood in Riga all the secrets of singing on the records, Petya agreed with the branch of the American firm "Colombia" in Bucharest and sang there many records-His voice in those recordings has a beautiful timbre, expressive in execution. After all, this is the truth: the less metal in the timbre of the voice of the artist of intimate songs, the better it will sound on gramophone records (some called Peter a "plate singer": Peter did not have the appropriate stage of voice material, at the same time on the performance of intimate songs, tango, foxtrottes, etc. I consider him one of the best Russian singers I have heard; when I sang songs in the rhythm of tango, or foxtrot, requiring softness and sincerity of the vocal timbre, I always tried, humming the records, singing also with a light sound, completely removing the volume of the voice, which is necessary. In 1936 I was in Bucharest. My impresario, S.J. Bisker once told me: soon here in Bucharest, there will be a concert by F.I. Chaliapin, and after the concert the Bucharest public arranges a banquet in honor of his arrival in the restaurant "Continental" (where the Romanian violin virtuoso Grigorash Niku played). Chaliapin's concert was arranged by S. J. Bisker, and of course for me a place for the concert and the banquet was provided...But soon Peter came to my hotel and said, "I invite you to a banquet in honor of Chaliapin, which will be held in my restaurant!" It turned out that Peter managed to negotiate with the administrator of Chaliapin, managed to "interest" him, and the banquet from "Continental" was moved to the restaurant "Lescenco". I was sitting on F.I. Chaliapin fourth: Chaliapin, Bisker, the critic Goldarev and I. I was all the attention, all the time listening to what Chaliapin said with those sitting next to him. Speaking on the evening's program, Peter was in shock, while singing tried to turn to the table, at which Chaliapin sat. After the performances of Peter Bisker asked Chaliapin: "Do you think Fyodor (they were on you), Leshchenko sings well?" Chaliapin smiled, looked in the direction of Peter and said, "Yes, stupid songs, well sings." Petya first, when he found out about these words of Chaliapin, was offended, and I then hardly told him: "You can only be proud of such a line. After all, what you and I sing, different fashion hits, romances and tango, really are stupid songs compared to the classical repertoire. But you were praised, told that these songs you sing well. And who said it-Chaliapin himself! This is the greatest compliment from the mouth of a great actor." Fyodor Ivanovich was in a great mood that evening, not skimping on autographs. On February 7, 1937, I left Bucharest, and Peter and I haven't met since." In 1932, Leshchenko's wife returned from Riga to Chisinau. Leshchenko gives two concerts in the Diocesan Hall, which has exceptional acoustics, the building of which was the most beautiful in the city. The newspaper wrote: "On January 16 and 17, the famous performer of gypsy songs and romances, who enjoys great success in the capitals of Europe, Petr Leshchenko, will perform in the Diocesan Hall." After the performances, the following reports appeared: "Peter Leshchenko's concert was an exceptional success. The heartfelt performance and successful selection of romances led the audience to delight." Then Leshchenko and zinaida zakit perform in the restaurant "Suzanne" and then - again trips to different cities and countries. In 1933, Leshchenko was in Austria. In Vienna, at the company "Colombia" he is recorded on records. Unfortunately, this best and largest company in the world (whose branches were in almost all countries), recorded not all the works performed by Peter Leshchenko: the owners of the companies in those years required works in fashionable rhythms at that time: tango, foxtrots and they paid for them several times more than for romances or folk songs. Thanks to the millions of copies of the records, Leshchenko is gaining extraordinary popularity, with Peter willingly working the most famous composers of the time: Boris Fomin, Oskar Strok, Mark Maryanovsky, Cloud Romano, Efim Sklyarov, Gera Vilnov, Sasha Vladi, Arthur Gold, Ernst Nonigsberg and others. He was accompanied by the best European orchestras: brothers Genigsberg, brothers Albin, Herbert Schmidt, Nikolai Chereshni (in 1962 touring in Moscow and other cities of the USSR), "Colombia" by Frank Fox, "Bellacord-Electro". About half of the works of Peter Leshchenko's repertoire belong to his pen and almost all of it belongs to his musical arrangement. Interestingly, if Leshchenko had difficulties when in the large halls his voice "disappeared", then on the records his voice was recorded perfectly (Chaliapin even once called Leshchenko a "plate singer"), while such masters of the stage as Chaliapin and Morphesy, who sang freely in large theater and concert halls, were always dissatisfied with their records, according to K. Sokolsky' mark. In 1935 Leshchenko came to England, performed in restaurants, he was invited to the radio. In 1938, Leshchenko and zinaida in Riga. An evening was held at the Kemer Kurgauz, where Leshchenko and the orchestra of the famous violinist and conductor Herbert Schmidt gave his last concert in Latvia. And in 1940 there were the last concerts in Paris: and in 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Romania occupied Odessa. Leshchenko receives a call to the regiment, to which he is assigned. He refuses to go to fight against his people, he is judged by the officer's court, but he, as a popular singer, is released. In May 1942 he performed in the Odessa Russian Drama Theatre. At the request of the Romanian command, all concerts had to start with a song in Romanian. And only then the famous "My Marusichka," "Two Guitars," "Tatiana" sounded. The concerts ended with "Chubchik." Vera Belousova (Leshchenko) says: "I lived in Odessa. She graduated from music school, I was 19 years old at the time. She performed in concerts, played the accordion, sang... Once I see a poster: "The famous, inimitable performer of Russian and Gypsy songs Petr Leshchenko performs." I'm sitting in the audience, listening, and he's looking at me sing: You're nineteen years old, you have your own way. You can laugh and joke. And I have no return, I have experienced so much...So we met and soon got married. We settled with his mother. In August 1944, Russian troops entered the city. Leshchenko began to offer his performances. The first concerts were very cold, Peter was very worried, it turned out, was given an order: "Leshchenko not to applaud." Only when he gave a concert in front of the commander of the squad, everything immediately changed. We both began to perform in hospitals, in parts, in halls. The command gave us an apartment...It's been ten years since one day. Peter all sought permission to return to his homeland and once he received this permission. Gives the last concert-with triumph passed the first branch, begins the second...And he's not coming out. I go into the artistic: there are a suit, a guitar, I was approached by two in mufti and said that Peter Konstantinovich was taken away for a conversation, "need clarification." Nine months later, they gave me a date address and a list of things I needed. I went there. We measured six meters from the barbed wire, they were punished not to approach. Peter was brought in: neither to say nor to touch. Parting, he folded his arms, raised to the sky and said, "God knows, I have no guilt in anyone." Soon I was arrested for treason for marrying a foreign national. They brought me to Dnipropetrovsk. Sentenced to death, then replaced with twenty-five years-sent to the camp. He was released in 1954. I found out that Peter Konstantinovich is not alive...I started performing, driving around the country. In Moscow I met with Kolya Chereshnya (he was a violinist in the Leshchenko orchestra). Kolya said that in 1954 Leshchenko died in prison, allegedly poisoned with canned food. They also say that they put him in jail for bringing his friends to a farewell dinner, he raised a glass and said, "Friends! I am happy to be back in my homeland! My dream came true. I am leaving, but my heart remains with you." The last words ruined. In March 1951 Leshchenko was arrested...The voice of "peter Konstantinovich Leshchenko," the favourite of the European public, stopped sounding. Vera Leshchenko performed on many stages of the country as a singer, as an accordionist and pianist, sang in Moscow, in the Hermitage. In the mid-eighties went on a well-deserved rest, just before our meeting (in October 1985) she returned with her husband, the pianist Eduard Wilhelmovich, to Moscow from the city where her best years-from the beauty of Odessa. Our meetings took place in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere...Petra Leshchenko's sister, Valentna, once saw her brother as the convoy was leading him down the street, digging ditches. Peter also saw his sister and cried... Valentina still lives in Bucharest. Another sister, Catherine, lives in Italy. His son, Igor, was a magnificent choreographer of the Bucharest Theatre, died at the age of forty-seven years...People's History www.peoples.ru
Some records indicate that the author of words and music is Peter Leshchenko himself. Samuel Pokras (1895-1939)-the eldest of the brothers-composers Pokrassov. He created music for romances "And flowers came to life," "At a crossroads," "Love has passed..." and some others. In the 1930s he emigrated and composed music for Hollywood. Received by the USSR as "trophy" in the early 1950s went to the Soviet boxoffice.
Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko (Russian: Пётр Константинович Лещенко; 2 June 1898-16 July 1954), a singer in the Russian Empire, Romania and later the Soviet Union, is universally considered "the King of Russian Tango"[1] and specifically known for his rendition of "Serdtse"-a tango, sung unusually not in Spanish but in Russian. He was born as an illegitimate child of the Russian Empire in Isayevo village of the Kherson Governorate (now part of Odessa Oblast, Ukraine) into a poor and illiterate Ukrainian peasant family. During the First World War, his mother and stepfather moved to Chișinău (Bessarabia Governorate), which was later united with Romania (today's Moldova). He was drafted into the Russian army, and attended an officers college in Kiev. After graduating he was sent to the front, and was wounded soon thereafter, recuperating at a military hospital in Chișinău. He was proficient in numerous languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, German, and others. In his early childhood, he sang in a church choir and learned how to play the 7-string guitar. After the war, Pyotr, who had never learned a real trade, worked at various restaurants, serving, dish-washing and performing small theatrical acts. He had a soft baritone voice. After taking some ballet lessons in Paris, he started performing with his Latvian wife Zinaida Zakit, a dancer. Their act was a mixture of ballet, folklore dance and European tango, which was so popular it led to tours to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Germany and Britain. It was at Riga, when he improvised gypsy music and tango singing to make up for the absence of his pregnant wife, that he discovered he could sing in front of an audience. In 1935, he was at the peak of his success. Though he still included old Russian romances, and even Soviet songs (like "Serdtse", which was originally sung by Leonid Utyosov) in his repertoire, songs were now composed for him exclusively (with the tango songs turning Argentine in style and arrangement). One of his favourite non-Russian composers was Jerzy Petersburski, but he also sang work composed by Pavel German, Konstantin Podrevsky and Isaak Dunayevsky. Composers who composed certain songs specifically for him included Oscar Strok, Mark Maryanovsky and Yefim Sklyarov. Many lyrics of Leshchenko songs were written by Boris Fomin. Leshchenko performed for European nobles and "White" (anti-Bolshevik) Russian émigrés at his own "Leschenko" cabaret in Bucharest (dubbed the "Eastern Maxim's"). The first part of every performance would typically be dedicated to gipsy music, but during the second part Leshchenko would dress up in a tuxedo, with a white silk handkerchief and sing and dance Argentine tango. In the Soviet Union his work was banned both because he was believed to be a White émigré (which he was not legally) and because the style (tango and foxtrot) was deemed counter-revolutionary. Nevertheless, secretly he was very popular: people would even listen to Radio Tehran to hear his music, '78 records were smuggled into the country from the Baltics, and specialists would bootleg his music onto "ribs" (used X-ray plates). When during the Second World War and the subsequent occupation of Odessa by the Romanian army, Leshchenko was finally able to perform in the country he still considered his own, people would queue for hours on end to buy a ticket to one of his Odessa concerts. It was at Odessa that Pyotr met his second wife, Vera Georgievna Belousova, for whom he would later, back in Romania, divorce Zinaida. After Romania switched sides during World War II and the Soviet army came to Romania, Leshchenko was not arrested and became the protégé of general Vladimir Ivanovich Burenin, military commander of the Red Army garrison in Bucharest.[2] Some sources believe this was due to Marshal Georgy Zhukov being a secret admirer of his music-Pyotr probably thought so, and after the War, wrote many letters to friends in the Soviet Union asking them to contact high-level officials so that he and Vera might be allowed back to the country of their birth. In 1951, a week after receiving an official letter granting them permission to settle in the Soviet Union, Vera and Pyotr were arrested by the Romanian police. Vera was extradited to the Soviet Union (where she was condemned to forced labour for amongst other things, "marrying a foreigner") and Pyotr was sent to a Romanian prison near Bucharest. Both outlived Joseph Stalin, but Pyotr died in a prison hospital in Târgu Ocna on 16 July 1954, without Vera at his side (she had already been released but did not know her husband was still alive). Some friends present when he died claimed his last words were "Friends, I am happy, for I will return to my fatherland! I am going away, but I leave you my heart." Vera died on December 18, 2009, age 86. In 1988, his 90th birthday was marked by several articles in Soviet newspapers, and several radio shows were dedicated to him at the time. While most tango dancers around the world only know Serdtse, on special theme evenings and modern CDs, other songs sung by Pyotr Leshchenko may get a mention. They include: the Argentinian Tangos Anikusha, Barselona, Chornye Glaza, Davay Prostimsya, Golubye Glaza, Moyo Poslednee Tango (Strok), Ne Uhodi, Ostansya, Priznaysya Mne, Studentochka, Skazhite Pochemu, Skuchno, Ty I Eta Gitara (both sometimes called "Polish Tangos"), Vernulas Snova Ty, Vino Lyubvi (Maryankovsky) and Zabyt Tebya, the Gypsy Romances Chto Mne Gorye and Za Gitarnyi Perebor and finally the "waltzes" Moy Drug and Pesnya o Kapitane (this last one, like Serdtse, with text written by the Soviet poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach).
Pyotr Leschenko. Everything That Was...(Russian: Пётр Лещенко. Всё, что было…, romanized: Pyotr Leschenko. Vse, chto bylo...) is a Russian biographical television mini-series, directed by Vladimir Kott, starring Konstantin Khabensky as Pyotr Leshchenko. The show depicts the most significant events and milestones in the singer's life: childhood and youth, battles in the First World War, the beginning of his career, his success, touring in occupied Odessa, his women, and the tragic death in a prison in Romania in 1954. The first episode of the series aired on Inter on 14 October 2013. From 22 until 25 May 2017, it was shown on 1TV.
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