Biography of Igor Matvienko
Igor Igorevich Matvienko - pop composer, hit maker, producer, founder of the M.A.M.A. Music Academy and the social project #LIVE, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
In the photo: Igor Matvienko
Possessing a phenomenal talent for revealing potential stars, he led to the success of many bright performers of the past and present - “Ivanushek International”, “Roots”, “City 312”, “Factory”, “Lube”, Vika Daineko, Sasha Savelyeva, Zhenya Belousova, Sati Casanova.
Excerpt characterizing Matvienko, Igor Igorevich
In Smolensk, finally, no matter how Bagration wished it, the armies are united. Bagration drives up in a carriage to the house occupied by Barclay. Barclay puts on a scarf, goes out to meet him and reports to the senior rank of Bagration. Bagration, in the struggle of generosity, despite the seniority of his rank, submits to Barclay; but, having submitted, she agrees with him even less. Bagration personally, by order of the sovereign, informs him. He writes to Arakcheev: “The will of my sovereign, I cannot do it together with the minister (Barclay). For God's sake, send me somewhere, even to command a regiment, but I can’t be here; and the entire main apartment is filled with Germans, so it’s impossible for a Russian to live, and there’s no point. I thought I was truly serving the sovereign and the fatherland, but in reality it turns out that I am serving Barclay. I admit, I don’t want to.” The swarm of Branitskys, Wintzingerodes and the like further poisons the relations of the commanders-in-chief, and even less unity emerges. They are planning to attack the French in front of Smolensk. A general is sent to inspect the position. This general, hating Barclay, goes to his friend, the corps commander, and, after sitting with him for a day, returns to Barclay and condemns on all counts the future battlefield, which he has not seen. While there are disputes and intrigues about the future battlefield, while we are looking for the French, having made a mistake in their location, the French stumble upon Neverovsky’s division and approach the very walls of Smolensk. We must take on an unexpected battle in Smolensk in order to save our messages. The battle is given. Thousands are being killed on both sides. Smolensk is abandoned against the will of the sovereign and all the people. But Smolensk was burned by the residents themselves, deceived by their governor, and the ruined residents, setting an example for other Russians, go to Moscow, thinking only about their losses and inciting hatred of the enemy. Napoleon moves on, we retreat, and the very thing that was supposed to defeat Napoleon is achieved. The day after his son’s departure, Prince Nikolai Andreich called Princess Marya to his place. - Well, are you satisfied now? - he told her, - she quarreled with her son! Are you satisfied? That's all you needed! Are you satisfied?.. It hurts me, it hurts. I'm old and weak, and that's what you wanted. Well, rejoice, rejoice... - And after that, Princess Marya did not see her father for a week. He was sick and did not leave the office. To her surprise, Princess Marya noticed that during this time of illness the old prince also did not allow m lle Bourienne to visit him. Only Tikhon followed him. A week later, the prince left and began his old life again, being especially active in buildings and gardens and ending all previous relations with m lle Bourienne. His appearance and cold tone with Princess Marya seemed to say to her: “You see, you made it up about me, lied to Prince Andrei about my relationship with this Frenchwoman and quarreled me with him; and you see that I don’t need either you or the Frenchwoman.” Princess Marya spent one half of the day with Nikolushka, watching his lessons, herself giving him lessons in the Russian language and music, and talking with Desalles; she spent the other part of the day in her quarters with books, an old nanny, and with God's people, who sometimes came to her from the back porch. Princess Marya thought about the war the way women think about war. She was afraid for her brother, who was there, horrified, without understanding her, by human cruelty, which forced them to kill each other; but she did not understand the significance of this war, which seemed to her the same as all previous wars. She did not understand the significance of this war, despite the fact that Desalles, her constant interlocutor, who was passionately interested in the progress of the war, tried to explain his thoughts to her, and despite the fact that the people of God who came to her all spoke with horror in their own way about popular rumors about the invasion of the Antichrist, and despite the fact that Julie, now Princess Drubetskaya, who again entered into correspondence with her, wrote patriotic letters to her from Moscow. “I am writing to you in Russian, my good friend,” wrote Julie, “because I have hatred for all the French, as well as for their language, which I cannot hear spoken... We in Moscow are all delighted through enthusiasm for our beloved emperor. My poor husband endures labor and hunger in Jewish taverns; but the news I have makes me even more excited. You probably heard about the heroic feat of Raevsky, who hugged his two sons and said: “I will die with them, but we will not waver!” And indeed, although the enemy was twice as strong as us, we did not waver. We spend our time as best we can; but in war, as in war. Princess Alina and Sophie sit with me all day long, and we, unfortunate widows of living husbands, have wonderful conversations over lint; only you, my friend, are missing... etc. Mostly Princess Marya did not understand the full significance of this war because the old prince never talked about it, did not acknowledge it and laughed at Desalles at dinner when he talked about this war. The prince's tone was so calm and confident that Princess Marya, without reasoning, believed him. Throughout the month of July, the old prince was extremely active and even animated. He also laid out a new garden and a new building, a building for the courtyard workers. One thing that bothered Princess Marya was that he slept little and, having changed his habit of sleeping in the study, changed the place of his overnight stays every day. Either he ordered his camp bed to be set up in the gallery, then he remained on the sofa or in the Voltaire chair in the living room and dozed without undressing, while not m lle Bourienne, but the boy Petrusha read to him; then he spent the night in the dining room. On August 1, a second letter was received from Prince Andrei. In the first letter, received shortly after his departure, Prince Andrei humbly asked his father for forgiveness for what he had allowed himself to say to him, and asked him to return his favor to him. The old prince responded to this letter with an affectionate letter and after this letter he alienated the Frenchwoman from himself. Prince Andrei's second letter, written from near Vitebsk, after the French occupied it, consisted of a brief description of the entire campaign with a plan outlined in the letter, and thoughts on the further course of the campaign. In this letter, Prince Andrei presented his father with the inconvenience of his position close to the theater of war, on the very line of troop movement, and advised him to go to Moscow. At dinner that day, in response to the words of Desalles, who said that, as heard, the French had already entered Vitebsk, the old prince remembered the letter from Prince Andrei. “I received it from Prince Andrei today,” he said to Princess Marya, “didn’t you read it?” “No, mon pere, [father],” the princess answered fearfully. She could not read a letter that she had never even heard of. “He writes about this war,” said the prince with that familiar, contemptuous smile with which he always spoke about the real war. “It must be very interesting,” said Desalles. - The prince is able to know... - Ah, very interesting! - said Mlle Bourienne. “Go and bring it to me,” the old prince turned to Mlle Bourienne. – You know, on a small table under a paperweight. M lle Bourienne jumped up joyfully. “Oh no,” he shouted, frowning. - Come on, Mikhail Ivanovich. Mikhail Ivanovich got up and went into the office. But as soon as he left, the old prince, looking around restlessly, threw down his napkin and went off on his own. “They don’t know how to do anything, they’ll confuse everything.” While he walked, Princess Marya, Desalles, m lle Bourienne and even Nikolushka silently looked at each other. The old prince returned with a hasty step, accompanied by Mikhail Ivanovich, with a letter and a plan, which he, not allowing anyone to read during dinner, placed next to him. Going into the living room, he handed the letter to Princess Marya and, laying out the plan of the new building in front of him, which he fixed his eyes on, ordered her to read it aloud. After reading the letter, Princess Marya looked questioningly at her father. He looked at the plan, obviously lost in thought. - What do you think about this, prince? – Desalles allowed himself to ask a question. - I! I!.. - the prince said, as if awakening unpleasantly, without taking his eyes off the construction plan. - It is quite possible that the theater of war will come so close to us... - Ha ha ha! Theater of war! - said the prince. “I said and say that the theater of war is Poland, and the enemy will never penetrate further than the Neman. Desalles looked with surprise at the prince, who was talking about the Neman, when the enemy was already at the Dnieper; but Princess Marya, who had forgotten the geographical position of the Neman, thought that what her father said was true. - When the snow melts, they will drown in the swamps of Poland. “They just can’t see,” said the prince, apparently thinking about the campaign of 1807, which seemed so recent. - Bennigsen should have entered Prussia earlier, things would have taken a different turn...
Childhood
Igor Matvienko was born on February 6, 1960 in Moscow. His father, Ukrainian by nationality, was a military man, his mother, Russian, worked as an economist. At an early age, the main activity of their little son was playing war in the yard with the neighbor kids. But at the age of 10, when his parents sent Igor to music school and bought him a Zarya piano, everything changed. Games, which take up a lot of time, had to be abandoned in favor of music.
Igor Matvienko in childhood
At first, daily classes seemed boring and uninteresting to the active boy, but soon the persistence of the mother, who saw signs of a creative personality in her son, and the professionalism of the teacher, who managed to establish contact with the student, bore fruit. Igor realized that being creative was pleasant and interesting, he learned to play the piano and sing perfectly, and even began to write his own musical compositions.
Igor Matvienko with his father
Having received a certificate, the young man became a student at a music school known as Ippolitovka (Ippolitov-Ivanov Music School), which he successfully graduated in 1980.
Biography[ | ]
Igor Matvienko was born on February 6, 1960 in Moscow into the family of a military man. In 1980 he graduated from the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music College with a degree in choirmaster. Since 1981, he has worked as a composer, artistic director and performer (keyboards) in various musical groups - VIA “First Step”, VIA “Hello, Song!”, “Class”.
Igor Matvienko in the recording studio
From 1987 to 1990, Igor worked at the Popular Music Studio “Record”, in 1987 he became its music editor and at the same time, together with vocalist Nikolai Rastorguev and songwriter Alexander Shaganov, he founded the group “Lube”, for which he wrote music and made arrangements. In 1991, Igor became the head of the production center. In 2002, he became the producer and director of the First Channel musical project “Star Factory-1”, and in 2004 - “Star Factory-5”.
In February 2014, he became the music producer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. For the most touching scene of the closing ceremony, “Mirror World” made an arrangement that combined the compositions “One among strangers, a stranger among friends” by Eduard Artemyev and “Goodbye, Moscow” by Alexandra Pakhmutova[1].
In March 2014, he created an arrangement for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Paralympic Games, including the compositions “Come on for...” by the Lyube group and “The Last Letter” by the Nautilus Pompilius group, to which the Russian national team performed.
In 2020, he advocated limiting modern songs that appear on youth charts that promote drugs and sex—from the hip-hop and rap genres[2].
Music career
The musical career of the young man, who received the specialty of a choral conductor, began in 1981 with work as an artistic director, keyboard player, and songwriter in various vocal and instrumental groups, including “Hello, Song!” and "Class". Their performances were held in stadiums of many thousands with amazing success.
Igor Matvienko at the beginning of his creative career
Then Matvienko moved to the Record studio, where in 1987 he took up the position of editor and, in partnership with singer Nikolai Rastorguev and poet Alexander Shaganov, created the rock group Lyube. Dozens of compositions he created for this group later became real hits.
Ensemble "Hello, song!" (Igor Matvienko – far left)
Among them, it is worth noting such works as “Horse”, “Come on for...”, “Atas”, “Half-Stations”, “Birches”, “You carry me like a river (Beauty)”. Igor Igorevich called the composition “Horse” the main song he wrote. She is included in the repertoire of many famous choirs, and her music is considered folk, and this, Matvienko is sure, is the best assessment for a composer.
Igor Matvienko and Nikolai Rastorguev met back in the mid-80s
In 1991, the musician opened his own production studio. During that period, he began collaborating with Evgeny Belousov, wrote for him, together with Shaganov, the composition “Girl-Girl,” which won the hearts of many fans of his work.
Igor Matvienko with Evgeny Belousov
In 1995, he realized his dream of combining the wonderful traditions of folk song, domestic pop and foreign dance pop music by creating the group “Ivanushki International”. The first cast of “Ivanushki” included Igor Sorin, Kirill Andreev and Andrey Grigoriev-Apollonov. After the release of their second video for the song “Clouds,” the group experienced incredible popularity, and they began giving three concerts every day.
Igor Matvienko and the first composition of the group “Ivanushki International”
In 1996, the boy band's debut studio disc entitled “Of Course He” was released. The music for all the songs included in it, as well as for most of the following, was written by the producer himself, Igor Matvienko. And the authors of the words, in addition to Shaganov, were Sorin, Leonid Derbenev, Mikhail Andreev, German Witke, Andrei Zuev.
The compositions of the talented show business figure occupied the top lists of domestic radio stations. He became a laureate of the “Song of the Year” festival almost every year: in 1996 for the composition “Clouds”, in 1997 for “Doll”, and in 1998 for “Poplar Fluff”. In subsequent years, the best songs were called “Bullfinches”, “Beznadega dotka ru”, “Revi”, “Golden Clouds”. “Ivanushki” along with “Hands up!” became the most popular pop group in the country.
Soundtrack from the film “Border. Taiga Romance" (“Carry Me, River”) In 2000, Alexander Mitta’s melodramatic series “Border. Taiga Romance”, where the performer of the title song “Carry Me, River” to the words of the director was the composer himself - Matvienko. Later this song was also performed by Nikolai Rastorguev.
Igor Matvienko and his group "Factory"
In 2002, the maestro headed the Star Factory project, launched on Channel One. Then he discovered many new talented musicians - “Roots”, Sati Casanova, Alexander Savelyev, Vika Daineko, Irina Toneva.
At the celebration of Igor Matvienko's 50th birthday
In 2010, the composer’s special talent for composing, fantastic flair and ability to reveal the creative abilities of each performer were emphasized by the star guests of the creative evening at Crocus City Hall, dedicated to the half-century anniversary of Igor Matvienko. Grigory Leps, Joseph Kobzon, and Philip Kirkorov performed at the concert. A medley of songs by Igor Matvienko The 2010 TV program “Property of the Republic” was dedicated to the popular composer, who created many favorite hits, where, in particular, the incredibly fashionable composition “Because You Can’t” by the White Eagle group was performed in the late 90s.
Igor Matvienko and Sergey Mazaev are old friends
In 2012, the producer was a confidant of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, and in 2014 he was entrusted with producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Sochi. Interview with Igor Matvienko In 2015, the musician was one of the judges-mentors of the rating TV show “Main Stage” on the TV channel “Russia 1”, a domestic adaptation of the English show X Factor. After the competition, he continued to collaborate with Tatyana Tkachuk and her team “My Michelle”, who was on his team and became a super finalist in the television project.
Igor Matvienko judge of the TV show “Main Stage”
In 2016, Matvienko created the song and project “#Live” with the goal of providing financial assistance to everyone who finds themselves in a difficult life situation, and also completed the musical arrangement of the historical film “Viking” with Danila Kozlovsky and composed the anthem of the Russian Ground Forces “Forward, infantry!". #Live is a wonderful song by Igor Matvienko
Igor Matvienko: I give all artists the opportunity to express themselves
Dmitry Kirillov:
He rarely gives interviews. He does not like to be seen in public and prefers to close himself in the studio and write music. Igor Matvienko is an unsurpassed melodist. His motifs are like flowers in a field: they seem simple and uncomplicated, but they have some kind of genuine beauty.
In terms of the number of hits that have gone viral, composer Igor Matvienko can compete with the most outstanding songwriters of the 20th century.
Matvienko has long had the unofficial title of “People's Composer of Russia.” Even if he didn’t have any orders or titles for a long time. He simply wrote and writes music, and opens talented artists to the country.
Igor, this is amazing. Until the age of 60, you were not awarded any titles - neither national nor honored. Was it really offensive?
Igor Matvienko:
Not really. Fine.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The venerable Igor Matvienko buys a ticket for Billie Eilish’s girlfriend and goes to the concert. Interesting?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, I really like her. For six months, my children forced me to buy tickets.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The first disco in the city of Rublevo. Furor, in my opinion, right? The audience didn't want to let you leave the stage.
Igor Matvienko:
The legs barely carried away. Because we were specifically beaten.
Dmitry Kirillov:
If it weren’t for an elderly man named Kapulsky, you might not have had much in life.
Igor Matvienko:
Absolutely. You are well prepared.
See also Ilona Bronevitskaya: 7 broadcasts of “Wider Circle”, and I am known throughout the country, and I begin to give solo concerts - that’s what television was like
Dmitry Kirillov:
For many years you deliberately avoided television, trying not to give interviews. But then “Factory” struck. Did your life change after 2002, when television really entered your life, did it overwhelm you?
Igor Matvienko:
Of course it has changed. It has changed radically.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The famous choir of the Sretensky Monastery sings the folk song “Horse”. Is this actually your answer to those examiners who didn’t accept you at Gnesinka?
Igor Matvienko:
I never thought about this topic - to take revenge on the “Horse”.
Dmitry Kirillov:
But it’s true that how to spell “producer”, 30 years ago you had no idea about it.
Igor Matvienko:
Nobody had, of course.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The first because they were?
Igor Matvienko:
We were the first to have an officially registered production center.
Dmitry Kirillov:
In general, great songs can be born, for example, in an elevator or, sorry, in a toilet?
Igor Matvienko:
Certainly. They should be born there. In general, all ideas should be born in unexpected places. By the way, I had a song in the St. Petersburg toilet. It was called “Sha”, such a song from “Lube”.
There was something written on the walls of the toilet. It was fashionable then to write all sorts of things... “Masha was here, Petya was here.”
Dmitry Kirillov:
Twice in two educational institutions you were told: “Well, where are you going? You have no hearing." If at the music school they told you specifically that you were simply unsuitable for the profession, then I was surprised that at the institute, when you passed everything perfectly, they also told you: “Listen, you have no place in a higher educational institution.”
Igor Matvienko:
Not certainly in that way.
Dmitry Kirillov:
How was it?
Igor Matvienko:
I applied to become a conductor of a folk choir. That was the name of the faculty. But in fact, the conductor of the folk choir... I don’t know how it is now, but in the past they trained just artists for the folk choir. I knew harmony, solfeggio, and all musical literacy perfectly well. I passed. And when I came to the profile exam, they told me: “Well, now sing.” I say: “What should I sing? Let me play jazz in a folk style for you.” They say: “No, jazz is all good.” But because I couldn’t sing, they didn’t take me.
Dmitry Kirillov:
So Igor Matvienko came out onto the street. How did it feel? What to do next? They didn't take me to college.
Igor Matvienko:
In my opinion, there was no particular tragedy, because I played in a group and imagined a wonderful future, touring, a lot of equipment, a bunch of fans.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The first disco in the city of Rublevo is still not the Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway, right? It's somewhere further away, perhaps?
Igor Matvienko:
There was no Rublevka then. It was just a highway where people really lived…. Lived.
Dmitry Kirillov:
People lived.
Igor Matvienko:
People lived from there. And Rublevo is, of course, a completely different world, yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
That is, you got up on stage, you didn’t understand at that moment what kind of contingent, what kind of audience was looking at you and what kind of music they were waiting for? We just decided...
Igor Matvienko:
No. It was a disco. We had a DJ, Father Sergius. He was a DJ then. And we brought all these records... Emerson, Lake & Palmer, all these... King Crimson and so on. What we students really liked was what we played. And for the ordinary guys... It ended well. Because somehow, apparently, people were kinder. And although there were 30 of us, and 100 of them, we rushed out of there when there was a crowd behind us, ran into the bus, and looked - all these guys stopped. We think: “Well, thank God. So they broke away." And the bus literally made a circle for about 5 minutes and returned to the same place. And then they all came in. And, in short, the execution took place right on the bus. And there wasn't even much blood.
Dmitry Kirillov:
They are neat.
Igor Matvienko:
They kicked me carefully, yes. I have this long black short coat, it was all over my feet. Very funny. My friend Seryozha Paramonov suffered the most. This is the one who sang “Let pedestrians run clumsily through the puddles.”
Dmitry Kirillov:
After you got out of this situation, the coat was cleaned, the bruises healed, there was some kind of rethinking about what our people need, what kind of music to play?
Igor Matvienko:
No. We chipped in, bought vodka, drank normally and forgot everything.
Dmitry Kirillov:
We drank vodka, calmed down and thought: “Nothing, nothing, we will continue to play good quality music.”
Igor Matvienko:
Certainly. Progressive.
Dmitry Kirillov:
And no one will lead you astray.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
But fate brought you to another comrade.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. And so he led us astray, if you are talking about Vyacheslav Dobrynin.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Absolutely right.
Igor Matvienko:
There was simply a kind of deadlock situation, because we were rehearsing, but we understood that, in general, we had no concerts or any kind of future, but we had to live on something. And then Slava Dobrynin came. He seemed infinitely old to us, although I think he was about 30 years old then. And he began to show his songs. It was a bit of a shock for us too. But then we figured it out, we even stipulated that we would play some of our songs. And they began to cooperate.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Still, this is also some kind of important step - a meeting with such a master who has already scored more than one hit...
Igor Matvienko:
Certainly. Glory to the master. Moreover, through him I got into the company of these people who wrote hits. I don’t know, Shaferan, Leonid Derbenev. Especially Derbenev. They gathered near Zvenigorod. There's a Christmas tree there, pearls like that, you know. And I was able to listen to their conversations. Very interesting.
Dmitry Kirillov:
And Vaska listens and eats. It was necessary to reel it in with a mustache.
Igor Matvienko:
I was shaking.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Do you remember your meeting? How did you meet Derbenev?
Igor Matvienko:
We met through Dobrynin. One time I bring him a song and say: “Vyacheslav Grigorievich, I wrote a song.” Came around November. “And I want the chorus to be “New Year, New Year, New Year.” He listened and said: “New Year is very good. What will you and I eat in the spring?” And he wrote to me... it was the song “Floors” by Ivanushki. This was the first story.
And the second story is that they also wrote a song. It was also called “Inflatable Ship”. And he tells me... I agreed to show Alla the song. Going to see her is like going...
Dmitry Kirillov:
To the Queen of England.
Igor Matvienko:
Probably even cooler. Because the queen is understandable. And here is Pugacheva. And I came and remembered the lesson for the rest of my life. The fact that I arrived and sat down myself, began to play and hum this song. Accordingly, my voice completely disappeared from excitement. I mumbled something incomprehensible. She said something like “fine, but I won’t – there’s some kind of politics there.” And there they really inflated the ship. There was something there, something went wrong. “Let Lenya change the text to lyrical. Then let’s see if I can sing.”
Dmitry Kirillov:
“Let Lenya”? Is that what she said?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. I passed it on. To which Leonid Petrovich said: “What?!” And some kind words. So it was not possible to arrange the song for Alla Borisovna.
Dmitry Kirillov:
How do you remember Derbenev?
Igor Matvienko:
It was very deep. Then, he was a very religious man. And as far as I understand, he became a church member at the end of his life. The first conversations about faith were him talking to me. Before meeting him, I wasn’t even baptized. We talked to him, I was baptized. In simple words, he told me everything clearly.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Like his songs, right?
Igor Matvienko:
Maybe yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
In simple words about the most important thing.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes Yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The next stage, it seems to me, is fateful - God sent it to you... Such a fateful meeting with Shaganov. A person who is somewhat of the Derbenev type in terms of simplicity and depth of texts, in terms of nationality.
Igor Matvienko:
I would say, after all, Leonid Petrovich is more of a city singer, and Sasha Shaganov is Russia, this is post-Yesenin.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Where did he come from? Where was it excavated?
Igor Matvienko:
This is also random. We just lived next door to him. I’m on Zhdanovskaya, he’s on Ryazansky Prospekt. Well, and Kolya is there later...
Dmitry Kirillov:
In Lyubertsy.
Igor Matvienko:
In Lyubertsy, yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
It turns out that it’s in the area, right?
Igor Matvienko:
We had everything in the area. Then we had an office in the area. We were given some small room in a high-rise building.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Do you remember the day when you first saw Nikolai Rastorguev?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. I remember it very well. It was just the group “Hello, Song”. It was a casting. And then Nikolai came to the audition.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Impressed? Liked?
Igor Matvienko:
No. He sang convincingly, but the design was not very good. It was somehow very simple for our complex conceptual music. But he and I began to try experiments. I had a couple of songs - “Uncle Vasya”, “Aunt Doctor”, such a strange mixture of thieves, disco, rock. Something like that. We started experimenting. But it was still a long way from “Lube”.
Dmitry Kirillov:
When you started writing the album, did you have such a strong feeling that yes, this is now going to be torn to pieces by people?
Igor Matvienko:
No. There wasn't any at all.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Was it Rastorguev who initiated the “come on, let’s write”?
Igor Matvienko:
Andrey Lukyanov financed the recording of our first album. He was the biggest representative of show business. We were just one of the startups he invested a little in... we're all lazy artists.
Dmitry Kirillov:
And he can get money.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
“Lyube” - stadiums are already packed, people’s love is already, cassettes are being bought, songs are being sung. And then the boy band appears.
Igor Matvienko:
In general, my first production group was the “Class” group.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Electonic music.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, new wave, there was such a fashionable style, “Duran Duran”. Then Zhenya Belousov, I wrote several songs for him. Apparently I was missing the lyrical part. I really wanted...
Dmitry Kirillov:
Some kind of outlet, right?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. And I thought - in what form will this all be realized? Met Andrei Grigoriev-Appolonov.
Dmitry Kirillov:
At a show at the Sochi Fashion Theater. The two-meter red-haired artist made an impression. He was too noticeable on stage and told everyone that he was a good singer. Matvienko scheduled an audition for him.
Igor Matvienko:
I really love these portable chairs in hotels.
Dmitry Kirillov:
They say that you come to the room and they are already recording there.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, I could afford a luxury and so on. Then I listened to Andrey. So very charismatic, of course. Some kind of cosmic dandelion, happy. I didn't even realize if it was a girl or a boy at first. Because it seemed to me that she was actually a girl, because she was so three-meter tall with long hair. But the vocals weren't great.
Dmitry Kirillov:
You can’t do a solo project with something like that. Vocal data not from the Bolshoi Theater. How did the guys figure it out further?
Igor Matvienko:
He went somewhere to Poland to work on a musical. I went to Moscow. I've been bugging someone all my life. But I don’t make projects for myself. I listen to it - something remains in my head. And then it somehow steers somewhere or doesn’t steer. Red arrived in Moscow. And we began to think how and what. Then Kirill Andreev appeared. And he brought Igor Sorin, with whom he worked in a musical in Poland.
We made a remake of the song “Universe”. Seryozha Bazhenov, our comrade, made a video for us. He had a wonderful studio, Silicon Graphics, the first huge computers. He had all this flying there, space stuff. But there was no success.
I've also been around for about six months. Then Andrei Lukyanov, Alexander Shulgin, met again. They took our album. We turned to the right director. This is Oleg Gusev, St. Petersburg director. He shot a huge number of videos for everyone... He is number one in terms of the number of videos shot. Masterpiece created a video - “Clouds”. There somewhere near St. Petersburg. He is very beautiful. And that’s it, after “Clouds” it went.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Did the guys go crazy or not?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. Of course, it wasn't easy. That is, somewhere in August we released a video, 3-4 months later it was already such a total success for them. Lots of fans. All this joy.
Dmitry Kirillov:
We waited.
Igor Matvienko:
We waited, yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
2002 A person who doesn’t give interviews anywhere, who tries to be away from the stage somewhere, appears on the main channel and says: “Hello, now I’m going to try to do this project.” Was this really an adventure?
Igor Matvienko:
It was very difficult. It was really incredibly difficult for me. That is, never in my life has it been as difficult as on this project. You are given certain people, you have to make something out of them. I realized that I will involve almost all the people who will be involved. Group "Roots", group "Factory". I wanted to do some kind of “ABBA” there. Two guys from "Roots". I don't remember who. And two from the Factory. We released them as if they were a band. Then I didn't like it. I disbanded it all. And based on the results, I decided for myself: there will be a boy band with a guitar, “Roots”, in that English style, and a girl band.
Dmitry Kirillov:
All projects have different lifespans. What is the reason? Human factor?
Igor Matvienko:
And the human factor, and people get bored. In “Ivanushki” we coped when our soloists kept leaving.
Dmitry Kirillov:
It would seem that “Ivanushki” worked in spite of itself, right? There were so many situations when it seemed that this group would definitely break up. In my opinion, the first story was connected with Andrey. Andrey had an accident.
Igor Matvienko:
It was like that, yes. At the beginning. But they weren’t even popular yet, yes. That is, we rehearsed. This is exactly during that period. I was waiting for him at... He had to come. He didn't come. The next day it turns out that he is in the hospital. Well, everything worked out well.
Dmitry Kirillov:
You could literally write a book about “Ivanushki” - how to survive in extreme...
Igor Matvienko:
“Ivanushki International” is specifically a rock band with everyone... Like the Rolling Stones, that is, they have gone through everything. The Rolling Stones didn't go as far as Ivanushki did.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The second blow is, in my opinion, Kirill.
Igor Matvienko:
Kirill, yes. It happened too, yes. There was also a blow. It was his birthday. He was hit. Fell. He had a craniotomy. Seriously injured his head.
The only plus is that Kirill hasn’t had a gram of alcohol or a gram of nicotine since then. Nothing at all.
Dmitry Kirillov:
How it was cut off.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
He has a new life.
Igor Matvienko:
Absolutely new. He was born again.
Dmitry Kirillov:
The story with Igor. Is he tired? What happened? Now is there any explanation for why he decided to just up and leave the group?
Igor Matvienko:
At some point, he was terribly tired of all this popularity. And plus he still wanted to express himself somehow. Because in “Ivanushki” I still had to express my thoughts. Although I give all artists the opportunity to express themselves. There was also fatigue from endless touring. Unlike Western industries, our artists have always been fed by concerts.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Was it difficult to break up?
Igor Matvienko:
Of course it's hard. Everyone tried to dissuade him, saying: “We need to wait out this moment. It will pass. Relax". No, I finally decided to leave. I completed 3-4 months of concerts. While we found Oleg Yakovlev, he was introduced into the program. We even shot a video, where both Igor and Oleg are filming.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Was there an inner feeling that he was not standing firmly on his feet? Did you feel like this was the wrong step?
Igor Matvienko:
I didn’t have such experience then. But although I understood that it was very difficult to go through and break through like this alone. And then, when in your head, you imagine: “Here I will make my own music.” What kind of music? He tried, but it didn’t work.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Oleg came to the group. A new chapter in the history of “Ivanushki” has begun. Did the guys quickly adapt to the fact that Igor was gone?
Igor Matvienko:
Certainly. Work, life. “Poplar fluff” appeared.
Dmitry Kirillov:
New round.
Igor Matvienko:
New round.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Oleg. This story is also difficult. Did you know that something was wrong with him?
Igor Matvienko:
I know everything that happens with Ivanushki. But sometimes I don’t know how to influence this. With such artists, talking about some kind of fines or contracts is not serious.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Have you listened to Byzantine singing on Mount Athos?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
What impression did Athos make on you?
Igor Matvienko:
Athos is, of course, some kind of 3D. You find yourself in a completely different reality.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Many Russian composers at some point in their lives turned to trying to write sacred music. Would you write if you were a choir member?
Igor Matvienko:
Now I’ll say something seditious. I don't like either what Rachmaninov or what Tchaikovsky did. Still, for me, religion is something internal, not entirely connected with our worldly experiences. Therefore, it is unlikely that I will write anything. I have a composition for a Viking. And, by the way, one of the versions is sung by Father Herman, a performer I dearly love. German Ryabtsev.
This is the kind of spiritual creativity that I like. It's emotionless. Like a prayer. I am for such church creativity.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Without copyright input?
Igor Matvienko:
Certainly. Without beauty, yes. Because it immediately becomes somehow secular.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Did your parents wait for your success? They found them when these songs were playing and people were already saying: “This is Igor Matvienko.”
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, my father found it. Mom, unfortunately, no. She died in 1990. And “Lube” is exactly 1989.
Dmitry Kirillov:
That is, the mother who, in general, forced...
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, which brought me, of course. If she hadn’t brought her to Alexander... then nothing would have happened.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Where did she find it?
Igor Matvienko:
At the music school, which said that...
Dmitry Kirillov:
Unsuitable for professional use.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. It was there that the director of the music school advised the teacher. The teacher turned out to be her husband Alexander Abbovich Kapulsky. He prepared me for music school.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Apparently, he was simply an outstanding teacher, and also a musician?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes, definitely. I then tried to find some information about him. There is almost nothing.
Dmitry Kirillov:
In your memory, is this man probably the godfather of the profession?
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. Then it was a general trend - all children went to music schools. Now all the children are athletes. Then all the children go to music schools. Because being a musician was very honorable and prestigious.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Now so many years have passed, everything has changed. This is not entirely honorable and not prestigious everywhere.
Igor Matvienko:
This is not honorable or prestigious at all. I'd say it really sucks.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Thousands of people write to you and call you.
Igor Matvienko:
If before there were really thousands, now there are not thousands at all. Those people who watched “Star Factory”, for example, still know me. But the generation that was born in 2005...
Dmitry Kirillov:
Who listens to Billie Eilish, right?
Igor Matvienko:
At the concert I walked completely calmly, no one recognized me at all. To the point that they kept checking my tickets and everyone thought that I had somehow illegally entered this event. For this generation, I am no longer needed as a producer.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Has a new era arrived?
Igor Matvienko:
New era, yes.
Dmitry Kirillov:
As I understand it, the project you want is already real on paper - this is the “City of Music”, which will be in Moscow. What it is? For whom will it be primarily?
Igor Matvienko:
For me, for some of my fantasies. One of my favorite books is The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. It's fantastic for me when I read about this Castalia, when the whole world is busy playing this musical-mathematical game. And the highest caste of people are musicians, and music is a kind of absolute that everyone strives for. And everything else worldly is like a monastery. These are some echoes. I still want to make such a musical city in Moscow. We are now in a studio complex where we already have many studios. There will be even more studios. The Music Academy operates here. There will also be a separate building of the Music Academy here. Opposite there will be a concert hall.
Dmitry Kirillov:
You have a lot of plans.
Igor Matvienko:
Yes. It's a pity - 60. It would be at least 55.
Dmitry Kirillov:
That's only two times 30. It's not that much.
Igor Matvienko:
In life - yes. In general, for men, life just begins after 50, sometimes after 60.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Exactly. Then just go ahead. And may there be many, many more songs like this that we would sing at the table.
Igor Matvienko:
Thanks a lot.
Dmitry Kirillov:
Thank you.
Personal life of Igor Matvienko
The musician and composer is a father of many children; he has five children in total. He was married several times. Igor’s first son, Stas, was born in 1986 in a civil marriage with a girl named Valentina. Now Stanislav heads his father’s production center, and previously he worked for some time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Igor Matvienko with his son Stanislav
The composer's second wife in 1987 was Evgenia Davitashvili, known as the healer Juna. She was 12 years older than him, and delighted the composer with her genius, brightness, and incredible energy. He was officially married to her, but for only 24 hours - they quarreled during the marriage registration and immediately broke up. After communicating with her, he became a deeply religious man.
Igor Matvienko and Juna were married for 24 hours
The master's next official wife was Larisa, who gave him a daughter, Nastya. The girl studied to be a clothing designer in the UK, but soon realized that this occupation was not for her. In 2020, she became interested in cosmetology, and Matvienko was thinking about opening a beauty salon for her daughter.
Igor Matvienko with his family
On the set of Belousov’s “Girl” video, the producer met Anastasia Alekseeva, who played an innocent victim in the video, and he himself played an insidious seducer. In his third official marriage with Anastasia, the musician had three children: in 1997 - Taisiya, in 2000 - Polina, in 2001 - Denis. The eldest daughter loves to draw and wants to go to art school. The youngest intends to become a lawyer, and the son enjoys playing football. All the children practice the piano once a week and, like dad, love to play tennis.
In 2020, Matvienko announced that he intended to divorce his wife, but gave the marriage a couple more years.
Personal life
According to Igor, he was married four or five times:
- Unregistered relationship son - Stanislav Matvienko
- daughter Anastasia Matvienko, studied in England to become a fashion designer
- daughters Taisiya Matvienko (born 1997) and Polina Matvienko (born 2000), son Denis Matvienko (born 2001)[7]
Composer
- 1994 - Lube Zone
- 2000-2005 - Lethal force
- 2000 - Border. Taiga novel
- 2002 Special Forces
- 2003 - Special Forces 2
Igor Matvienko now
The successful composer and producer continues to collaborate with Vika Daineko, Tatyana Tkachuk, Sati Kazanova and the groups “My Michelle”, “Lube”, “Ivanushki International”, “Roots”, “City 312”.
FACTORY - “Vova Vova” (music and lyrics by Igor Matvienko) In 2017, a new song by Igor Matvienko “Tula is proud of the Tula people” was released, which premiered at a gala meeting in honor of the region’s anniversary.
Recently, in an interview, the master, who has reached a fairly advanced age, admitted that he is no longer particularly interested in writing pop compositions for 15-year-olds.
He began to be attracted to large forms - music for large-scale events (for example, the Olympics), anthems (of Tula, the Ground Forces), the soundtrack to the film “Viking”. Igor Matvienko in the “Today Evening” studio In 2020, as the head of the public council under Roskomnadzor, he spoke at a meeting of the board of this federal body with a proposal to introduce restrictions in the field of rap music, since, in his opinion, most rap artists promote drugs and sex. This speech caused a wave of indignation on the Internet among fans of the genre.
Creation
Igor Matvienko wrote many songs in collaboration with Alexander Shaganov. It all started from the time of VIA “Hello, Song”, in which Igor acted as a keyboard player. Song House on the street is different
- one of the first joint songs of Matvienko and Shaganov.
The collaboration continued in “Lube” - Atas
,
Kombat
,
There, behind the fogs,
etc., then with Zhenya Belousov -
Love has eyes of separation
,
Girl-girl
, later with “Ivanushki” -
Clouds
,
Doll
,
Ring
,
Hopeless dot ru
,
Golden clouds
.
With “Factory” - Factory Girls
.
In addition to working with artists from the Igor Matvienko Production Center, songs were written for Vladimir Asimov - Give me a winter evening
,
Dark night
. Nikon Zhila, regent of the Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery Choir, calls the most popular song performed by the group “Horse” by Matvienko and Shaganov. In 2020, the anthem of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation “Forward, Infantry!” [4][5] was written.
Matvienko began collaborating with Mikhail Andreev while being a musician in the group “Class” - Non-telephone conversation
,
First poems
.
For “Lyube” they wrote Luna
,
Tram Pyaterochka
,
Birches
, etc., for “Ivanushki” -
Poplar fluff
,
Revy
,
Boat
, etc., for “Factory” -
About Love
.
For "Roots" - It was you who declared war
.
Also, jointly they wrote a song for the group “White Eagle” - Because you can’t be beautiful like that
.
Other collaborations are not so long and fruitful. Igor Matvienko also collaborated / is collaborating with poets - Leonid Derbenev, Naum Olev, Konstantin Arsenev, German Vitke, Victor Pelenyagre, Pavel Zhagun, Olga Rovna, in some songs ( Let's get...
,
For you, Motherland,
etc.) himself acted as the author of the words.
- Performed the song “Beauty” (“You carry me like a river”) for the TV series “Border. Taiga novel."
