Evgeniy Bronevitsky
— Evgeniy Alexandrovich, how is the life of “Singing Guitars” going today? — Today we work and give concerts, corporate and private parties, presentations. Our plans, like all artists, are to update the program, not to lose shape, voice, or work skills. Everything is very simple. Thank God, there is work, and there are also plans for the future. We add a song a month, something new appears, sometimes we return to the old, since the new is the well-forgotten old. Ten years have already passed since we were reborn.
— Two days ago you gave two concerts. What kind of performances were these? — These were concerts in support of a political party. It was an event where other groups participated with us.
reference
Wikipedia
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Bronevitsky “Friendship”, “Master”, “Forward”, “Singing Guitars” Pop singer, musician Leningrad, St. Petersburg / USSR / Russia
Date of birth: June 30, 1945
— Evgeniy Aleksandrovich, what was interesting in these ten years, after the revival of the team? “Personally, I found myself in my own corner. I perform the music that I performed in my youth, in a slightly modified version. Ten years of work... A man should cross himself and say: “Thank God there is work.” And when there is work, there is everything. All these years have been filled with work. Filled with good work without intrigue, deception, lies, treason, betrayal. And thanks for that too. And so the work is in full swing - this is our slogan. I don’t note any special creative finds. We just changed our sound a little, the choral arrangements, in the absence of Sasha Fedorov, we changed the nuances a little, but this is noticeable only to us. The public doesn't really notice. Purely technological changes. But the course is the same - for a good song with a good melody, without excessive philosophizing. Pseudo-philosophizing, as I call it.
Without teaching people how to live. We do not allow people to be taught from the podium. At our concerts, people both relaxed, are still relaxing, and, I hope, will continue to relax. This is the main thing. Life is not a very easy thing, and sometimes you need to be able to relax.
— In the history of “Singing Guitars” there was a period of turning to large forms. And then there was a return to the songs... - A return to the pop song. This word is not shameful - it’s a pop song. There is no such thing as a pure genre. There is no classification of pure genre at all. This is not romance, not rock, not pop music in its purest form. It's an eclectic mixture, a vinaigrette pulled together from everywhere. It turns out that we are designing songs. Naturally, it is necessary to keep up with the times. We are not retrogrades and do not remain at some previous level, giving preference to one genre. There are people who destroy themselves because of this.
— How did the transition to large forms affect the Singing Guitars group? “Our backbone was not ready for this.” We are more musicians and a little bit singers. But opera artists - sorry. We were not ready for this. We prepared with great difficulty. We were, of course, trained like dogs to do this, but it’s very boring: every day there are three concerts, the same thing, the same thing. This is a conveyor belt. And besides, due to their professional capabilities, our team was not ready for the role of opera and dramatic artists. There was a need for facial expressions, and it was necessary to dance, have time to sing in the choir and change clothes. For some it is joy with tears in their eyes, but for me and for my other colleagues it was a routine.
And the opera is good. We loved her. Just working with her is crazy. Theater is theater. There is discipline, every step is measured.
— Evgeniy Alexandrovich, how necessary is professionalism to perform a pop song? — Professionalism and good taste are like sisters and brothers. It seems to me that professionalism in the narrow sense means knowing the notes, accurately intonating, and being able to use timbres. And in a broad sense, it is a set of qualities that enable a person to be in demand and enable the public not to forget this artist. This is a professional in the broadest sense of the word. In my opinion, taste is necessary in everything. In sound, in clothing, sound production, behavior at home and at work - all this is part of one complex.
- Do you think it is possible to develop a taste? - Taste is not developed. This is not physical education. This is your upbringing from childhood, your social circle. And sometimes our taste changes too. This is a very delicate matter. This is not to say that we have exceptional taste. Yes, we also sometimes engage in bad taste. Anything can happen. It is very difficult to stay at such a level as not to break any rules. Nonsense. Everything is very vague. Today it is a violation of taste, vulgarity, tomorrow it is in demand and not vulgar. Time dictates its amendments. It is very difficult to give advice on how not to lose your sense of taste. This is the same as staying healthy: don’t smoke, don’t drink - stupidity, really. How to eat? One is good with salty, and the other is good with sweet. There is no answer to how to cultivate taste. Muscles can be pumped up in the process of physical education, but taste - either it is there or it is not. So is talent. Every man to his own taste.
Resentment towards Edita Piekha, divorces and son’s addiction: family tragedies of Ilona Bronevitskaya
Ilona Bronevitskaya
On February 17, Ilona Bronevitskaya celebrates her 59th birthday. Today she is known as a singer, TV presenter and animal activist who is not indifferent to the fate of stray dogs. The businesswoman skillfully combines charitable activities with creative evenings. But in her youth, the artist never thought that she would follow in the footsteps of her famous mother and become a media personality.
Like Edita Piekha, Bronevitskaya married three times. When her career took off, there was a critical lack of time for her family and child: another similarity with her star relative. Stas Piekha has long blamed Ilona for his troubles, who deprived him of love and care in childhood. How did Ilona Bronevitskaya manage to make peace with her son and forgive her own mother?
Abandoned child
Ilona Bronevitskaya grew up in a family of artists
Ilona grew up among creative people: her mother Edita Piekha was an incredibly popular artist in the USSR, and her father Alexander Bronevitsky became famous as a talented composer who founded the VIA Druzhba. The child did not need anything, because his parents brought expensive clothes and new toys from the tour. However, gifts could not replace the attention of loved ones.
Piekha did not part with her daughter only in the first eight months of the baby’s life. Then, the singer was urgently asked to join the Druzhba ensemble in Vladivostok: the group was booed, the audience demanded Edita Stanislavovna’s performance. The artist left the girl with her mother-in-law and went on tour. At every opportunity, she tried to return to the heiress, but this did not work out as often as she wanted.
Edita Piekha: “My husband was jealous of me, so we fought”
Every year the resentment of the child abandoned by his mother grew. Problems worsened during adolescence, especially after parents separated. One day Ilona announced that she would not live with Edita Piekha, but would move to her dad.
“She told me: “Who are you? You are my surrogate mother, you gave birth to me, and my grandmother raised me and taught me everything,” Piekha recalled in the program “Family Secrets with Timur Eremeev.”
Because of her mother’s constant tours, Ilona Bronevitskaya felt abandoned
Edita Stanislavovna’s heart was bleeding; it took her more than one year to reach her daughter and establish a relationship with her. At school, the girl tried to hide the fact that her mother was a star, wanting to achieve everything on her own. Ilona didn’t even let her parent go to the prom. In addition, Bronevitskaya always addressed the singer by name.
Edita Piekha: “My daughter said that I am her surrogate mother”
But the influence of my beloved grandmother was not beneficial in everything. The relative did not restrict her granddaughter in anything and taught her to eat a lot. The girl gained a lot of weight, and the doctor gave her an unusual diagnosis: a “wolf” stomach, that is, an enlarged stomach. Piekha’s daughter could easily “snack” a couple of tobacco chickens, so the diet, where they gave one leg instead of a whole chicken, seemed heavy to Ilona. But soon Bronevitskaya lost weight and gained self-confidence, because it’s no wonder that the overweight teenager was tormented by complexes.
In the Morning Mail program, Bronevitskaya’s co-host was Svetlana Lazareva
Probably, by high school, the matured girl had thawed out a little, because she decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an artist. Ilona entered the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography, where she studied pop and dramatic art. After graduating from university, she worked at the Buff Theater, and then performed with Edita Piekha’s group for two years. Participation in the Yalta-88 competition was a major success for the aspiring singer, after which she began touring solo.
Ilona released three albums, and soon became famous not only as a vocalist, but also as the host of the “Wider Circle” and “Morning Mail” programs. Also on her account is the “Home” project, which was broadcast on the radio.
Being a creative person, Bronevitskaya also tried herself in the role of an actress, starring in the films “Our Calling”, “I am an Outpost Leader”, “Where-Where-Where?”. The star is also known as a successful businesswoman: she owns a company that sterilizes stray dogs in the Moscow region under government orders.
PERSONAL LIFE
Many years after the divorce, Petras Gerulis resumed communication with his son
Ilona turned out to have much more in common with her mother than she could have expected. Like her parent, Bronevitskaya tried three times to arrange her personal life. In the 80s, the girl began an affair with Lithuanian jazzman Petras Gerulis. The dreams of the singer in love were soon dashed by everyday life. The musician left the family a year after the birth of his son Stanislav. At first, the boy bore his father’s surname, but at the insistence of his grandmother, he later became known as Stas Piekha.
A cluttered apartment and homeless friends: how Stas Piekha’s father lives
After breaking up with Ilona, Petras’ life went downhill. The once sought-after artist ekes out a miserable existence in a cluttered apartment that has not been renovated for a long time. His only friends are local homeless people. A man goes to a canteen for the poor because after two heart attacks he cannot work. Gerulis's son, who has become famous, helps him with his finances.
“There was a time when there was no food at all, I survived,” admitted Petras in the program “You Won’t Believe It!” on NTV. “I went through the trash cans, looking for tomatoes, a jar of honey.”
Yuri Bystrov left his wife for Bronevitskaya
In her second marriage, Ilona Bronevitskaya had a daughter, Erica.
After the first unsuccessful attempt to start a family, Ilona Bronevitskaya again decided on a serious relationship when she got to the Buff Theater. Composer Yuri Bystrov could not resist the artist’s charm. “He was my friend’s husband, broke up with her and became my husband. But something didn’t stick together,” said Bronevitskaya.
In their marriage, the couple had a daughter, Erica. Perhaps the girl became the only one of Edita Piekha’s descendants who abandoned a stellar career: she graduated from an architectural university and got a job as an interior designer.
With Evgeny Timoshenkov, Bronevitskaya found the happiness she had dreamed of for so long
Nine years later, Ilona’s relationship with Bystrov cracked, and the couple separated. In the 90s, fate again gave the singer a chance to build a strong family: she met keyboard player Evgeniy Timoshenkov. The man conquered Bronevitskaya, easily getting along with her children.
“Although Evgeniy is my third, I think it’s my last. This is the one I've been looking for all my life. I was waiting for the prince all the time. And she waited. It’s so easy with him, as if we were one creature,” Ilona admitted. — He was baptized, and I decided to accept the faith too. True, after a great tragedy. About 10 years ago I had an accident while on tour. Three died. I woke up - there was no glass in the car, no hood, no trunk.”
PROBLEMS WITH MY SON
Relatives did not spoil Stas Piekha with attention
For many, Stas Piekha is a brilliant artist, a graduate of the fourth “Star Factory” and a lucky man who grew up in the family of singers Ilona Bronevitskaya and Edita Piekha. However, Stas’s relatives did not indulge him with increased attention. They took him with them on tour, but the child spent most of his time on the street in the company of friends. As a teenager, he began using alcohol and drugs, which his loved ones did not suspect for years.
“When I began to actively study psychology, I realized that I had a grudge against my family. I blamed my mother for not giving me enough attention as a child, for not feeling loved and needed. What Ilona received from Edita, she then passed on to me. However, we are very weak in this family sense, we don’t have any touching traditions, we rarely gather around a big table,” the artist admitted in the “Fate of a Man” program.
Stas Piekha about the fight against addiction: “I blamed my mother for everything”
Ilona was shocked when she learned about her son’s addiction. Together with Edita Piekha, she threw all her strength into saving the heir from addictions. He was isolated from his previous social circle and sent to a specialized Moscow hospital.
“We acted tough. Oh, how he cried and tore himself out of the clinic. Then I told him: “Stas, this is death. Either you get treatment or that’s it.” And he agreed,” said Edita Stanislavovna.
Now the members of the star family have reconciled and communicate well
At first it seemed to Stas that his life without drugs had lost its meaning. The musician was angry with the whole world, hated himself, gained 17 kilograms, and stopped caring about his appearance. The artist gave up using illegal substances, the worst was behind him, but he did not consider himself absolutely healthy and free from addiction.
Edita Piekha: “Stas cried and tried to escape from the clinic”
“This is not a bad habit, but a disease. Moreover, it is chronic, progressive, and fatal. It develops even if a person does not use anything,” the singer concluded. “And if he does not receive some kind of psychological and spiritual treatment every day, then self-destruction begins. I'm still being treated. I constantly work on myself and fight temptations.”
Despite the trials, all members of the star family were able to reach a happy ending. Stas opened a drug treatment clinic to help people in a similar situation to him, Ilona Bronevitskaya became involved in animal protection and charity work and became closer to her mother, whom she had once pushed away. Relatives communicate well with each other and try not to remember past grievances, because there is nothing stronger and more valuable than blood ties.
Based on materials from KP.
Photo: Anatoliy Lomohov / Legion-Media, Maxim Ratnikov, personal archive, StarHit archive, Instagram, still from the Morning Mail program, still from the Life as a Song program on NTV
"Singing Guitars" - Revival
— The idea of reviving “Singing Guitars” was born in a TV show? — The revival began in 1997. And in 1994 there were just air tremors. This was not about our unification. We just met with friends and gave different interviews if someone was interested in something. This did not serve as an impetus for the reunion. In 1997, on April 27, there was a concert of eight songs, and then everything went from there. At this performance at the Giant Hall, I intuitively realized that there is potential, there is gunpowder in the flasks. I realized that things would go well and would not be limited to 2-3 performances.
The most difficult thing was to introduce yourself to the general public. In general, all these mercantile issues: paying for the premises, rehearsing - everything went unnoticed. I must say a big thank you to Grisha Kleimitz, who found the time and dug up the old recordings, quickly “removed” them, restored them again, brought us together again, and we rehearsed them. Many thanks to him for this.
This was done in a very short time. If it weren’t for him, everything might have dragged on for a long time and died out. Because when, they say, artists become overripe, nothing works out for them. Everything was done very mobile.
But we didn’t have any special bases. They rehearsed at his house, or at those who had the opportunity to rehearse. It wasn't a problem. The biggest problem was to remind us that we exist, that we are not dead and that we can still do something. We did this for three years.
Anatoly Vasiliev
— Evgeniy Alexandrovich, what was the reason for the fact that Anatoly Vasiliev was sitting at the director’s console at your performance? — At first he participated with us. But our concert was attended by almost 12–15 people. This is everyone who was in the “Singing Guitars”. A huge team. Over time, it all settled down, and there were 8 people. Like a ball: don’t subtract, don’t add.
— Do you owe your musical profession to your brother Alexander? — I grew up under the piano. I had a folding bed underneath it. This affected me. Then there was a conducting institute, dirkhor - Krupa, as we say: the Institute of Culture named after. Krupskaya. My brother dragged me to all the concerts, he studied at the conservatory, composed music, and I heard how it all happened, felt the creative pangs. I went on tour with him, got used to the stage and became friends with the musicians. Everything is built hair by hair. Naturally, I fell in love with both the stage and music. In general, I didn’t want to be a musician. I wanted to have a stable profession, as many do, and I thought music would be a hobby. And then everything turned out the other way around: music became my profession, and scuba diving became a hobby.
— Your dad was a military man. And mom? — Our mother was a singer.
— Evgeny Alexandrovich, when did you first meet Anatoly Vasiliev? — He worked for his brother in the ensemble. And my brother dragged me on tours and concerts, where we met. I brought him records, new records, magazines. Kept him informed of what he knew. We exchanged information. And music, gossip, rumors. That's how we became friends. And when the idea of his own ensemble matured, he invited me as a like-minded person. He took people who were not very prepared, in the professional sense of the word, but like-minded people.
While we were rehearsing, there were many names. And “White Nights”, “Aurora”, “Summer Garden”, “Dawn” - so much more! Why did they call us that? We didn't make it up ourselves. People simply called us that way. And this name “Singing Guitars” stuck to us like a nickname. So she stayed.
— Was it difficult at first? — There was very strong, severe censorship back then.
And we wanted to create a new genre. Naturally, he was oriented towards the West. Therefore, they really put a spoke in our wheels, to the point that they wanted to disperse us. They took money from us so that we would only receive pennies. We only won because the public loved us. If there is people's love, that's everything. Any censorship, under any system, if the people love you, you won’t be lost if you go on stage. And if there is no mutual connection between the audience and you, then you can think about something else, another profession. What saved us was that we always had full houses. They banned us, but people came to us and were drawn to us. And we brought great material profit to the state. Without receiving anything themselves.
“Singing Guitars” will be celebrated on March 8 with a concert in St. Petersburg
The leader of the group Evgeny Bronevitsky, Valery Kocheguro (guitar, vocals), Milena Vavilova (vocals) came to the “Business Breakfast” at the North-Western branch of Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The musicians spoke about why the public loves retro, about democracy in the ensemble and how the group abandoned the soundtrack.
Your poster has changed radically. It is clear that “Singing Guitars” are legends of the USSR, the first vocal and instrumental ensemble in the country. But why did the title become so long - “Singing Guitars. VIA Bronevitsky from Leningrad"? There was a rumor that you split into two teams.
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
What to hide? Better the bitter truth than a sweet lie. Two musicians broke away from us, who did not see eye to eye with me, who stood at the origins of the ensemble, and with Valera Kocheguro, who today is in charge of our musical part. A clone of 2013’s “Singing Guitars” formed around them. Unfortunately, our director registered our brand... I invited him to join us in 1997. Then the man changed beyond recognition: the king and god, we sing wrong, we dress wrong, we stand on stage wrong, he decided who to give interviews to and who to refuse. I want execution, I want dear. We broke up and he created his “Singing Guitars”. Let them work. But they don’t call us “not real”, “impostors”!
Valery Kocheguro:
We included Bronevitsky’s name in the title so that the public would understand who will be performing. Our domain is www.Singing-guitars.rf. All members of the ensemble today are founders of the LLC.
So you went from VIA to LLC?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
Forced. Did we think that our name would be taken away from us? And how can it be taken away or appropriated? The people gave it to us. When we were created in 1966, there were so many proposals! “Summer Garden”, “Hermitage”, “Aurora”... The public stuck the name “Singing Guitars” on us, and we agreed. There was nothing like this on the Soviet stage - everyone plays instruments, and even sings...
Are you not part of the Petersburg Concert?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
Once upon a time we were part of Lenconcert. It would have been possible to cooperate with the Petersburg Concert, but it became uncomfortable there, they set us unacceptable conditions.
Valery Kocheguro: In 2010, we took the work books from there. Although if we had remained in this organization, perhaps situations such as we have now would not have arisen, “clones” and “doubles” would not have appeared. In fact, our case is not unique. “Merry Guys”, “Pesnyary” went through this... All of them have a registered community of musicians - LLC. And a unique, egregious case is the individual entrepreneur of Singing Guitars. It would be nice if Bronevitsky identified himself as one of the founders of the ensemble... But here he is an administrator. The issue is not simple, but it will be resolved.
Who in the ensemble has the deciding vote - what to sing, how to dress, what concerts to refuse?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
The guys entrusted me with the honorary position of leader. Although it is difficult to overestimate the role of Kocheguro. Everyone can have their say. We have a democracy. There is no dictate.
Milena, you are the soloist. What is it like for one beautiful woman among so many men?
Milena Vavilova:
Very good!
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
She’s great, she’s been with us for 10 years, and even now she advises us on what costumes to wear to this or that concert. By the way, we never say “soloist”. Milenochka is a member of the team. We all sing. We have always had a girl in our team, this is already a good tradition.
Your poster says “live sound.” Have you abandoned the phonogram?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
When we created Singing Guitars, we worked live. In 1997, when we returned to the stage after a 22-year break, we did not have a soundtrack. And suddenly everyone began to work “under the hood.” And so do we. Now our ensemble has abandoned this. Our principle is to work “live”. Deceiving the public and getting money for it is meanness.
Who writes new songs for you? How are they received by the public who go to the concert to listen to the good old hits?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
Valera writes new songs. We cannot stand still, using old baggage, although those songs brought us success. Exploiting that repertoire is stagnation, it leads to collapse and death. We move forward, experiment, try to perform new songs. This path is difficult and thorny. Our repertoire should be understandable to normal people who don’t want noise, noise at concerts, who are not interested in pseudo-philosophy. Why did “Singing Guitars” interest people in the 60s and 70s? With its diverse repertoire, the fact that it was understandable and close to people - music, content of songs, warmth towards the public.
When we sing new songs, a chill runs down our spine: how will they be received? If they clap out of politeness (and this is always felt) - that’s it, you need to remove it. When Valera Kocheguro sings “Motherland”, “St. Petersburg”, “After all, this is spring”, they applaud him for a long time. Time will tell whether they will become loved. It doesn’t happen that you write a song and it immediately ranks with “Twilight” and “Blue Frost”.
Is it true that the officials did not allow you to sing “Twilight”?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
In 1968, Anatoly Vasiliev wrote the song “Twilight” based on the poems of Kim Ryzhov (“Like a shadow has floated at twilight...”). When I showed it at the artistic council, everyone waved their hands: “No, no!”, Half of the “bosses” left indignant. They say, is it possible to sing with such a voice when going on stage? I didn't like my performance style. I have a timbre like many others. Not a master of bel canto, to be honest. In general, they forbade us to perform it. Vasiliev got angry. “Okay,” he says, “I won’t sing in Leningrad, but on tour we will, because they don’t know about the ban there.” And this song was such a success! I sang it three times at the concert. Then, of course, everything changed. There were local officials at the concert in Leningrad and, seeing how a huge stadium was clapping for me, not allowing me to leave the stage, they said: “Okay, let him sing.”
Don't you perform other people's songs? Only yours?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
Why not? If they coincide with our, as they say now, vibrations, they fit harmoniously into the repertoire.
Valery Kocheguro:
And then - how the people will accept it. It happens that we perform a song once or twice, see if it doesn’t work, and leave it.
The retro theme suddenly became close to our people...
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
Experts are scratching their heads over this phenomenon. Maybe it was because I wanted something “old” because the new art turned out to be worse than the one we were doing? Or do you miss that music? The feeling of a normal person is that before sugar was sweeter and cucumbers were tastier... This is natural. Well-forgotten old things always pop up.
Valery Kocheguro:
How many musicians have covered the song “For me, there is no one more beautiful than you...”, but there are new songs! Do you know her story? Yuri Antonov, leaving “Singing Guitars,” gave Evgeniy Bronevitsky a sheet of music with a sketch of the song he had just composed. Six months later, Bronevitsky made an arrangement and sang this song. It became a hit. Antonov began singing it a few years later.
We have many songs that do not leave our repertoire. People at the concert ask: will there be “Blue Frost”? Will you sing “Twilight?” And 50 percent new songs. There must be radio and television broadcasts. What have we started doing now? The ensemble needs to be popularized. Outside of St. Petersburg - for sure. So we start a new life.
Did The Singing Guitars lose popularity?
Valery Kocheguro:
In 2003, at our solo concert at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, the audience, as they say, was hanging from the chandeliers. Then, little by little, everything began to decline, and we came to the conclusion that a little more than a quarter of the hall was sold for the concert. Why did this happen? The ensemble played the same songs, in the same order, year after year! Moreover, there were the same announcements, jokes, movements. Well, just robots! It stopped being interesting to the audience. And now 99 percent of our concerts are corporate events (where the phonogram came from). This ruined us. “Corporates” is a normal extra income, but we turned into a “tavern” ensemble: there is “Razgulyaevo”, where artists perform while drinking vodka.
In 2012 we played our first live concert in recent years. This happened in Minsk. The audience simply groaned with delight. And we were shocked. And the revival of “Singing Guitars” began.
Evgeniy Bronevitsky: So, from the “corporates” we again go to our audience. And he forgives us for our mistakes at the concert, we are real people.
Evgeniy Aleksandrovich, a lot has been written about “Singing Guitars,” but have you thought about talking about your famous older brother? (Alexander Bronevitsky is the founder of the Druzhba ensemble. - RG). About how you grew up “under the piano.” About my colleagues, musicians with whom I met and worked. Maybe we should publish a book?
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
I have no gift for presentation. And then, it’s unlikely that my life is interesting to anyone. I really grew up under the piano that my brother played, and my little folding bed stood next to me (we lived in a communal apartment, in a cramped space, in the same room). The sounds of music did not annoy me. The brother was, of course, a master! He brought eight singers with different voices to the Druzhba ensemble, and then he fell in love with the Polish girl Edita Piekha, taught her a lot, she became a soloist, and then - a People's Artist of the USSR, a pop legend.
How was Singing Guitars born? In 1965, Anatoly Vasilyev, Leva Vildavsky, and I went to a concert of the Italian group Marino Marini. That's when we caught fire.
Tell us about the very first concert of “Singing Guitars”.
Evgeny Bronevitsky:
It was horror - the first concert in the Leningrad Voenmekh in 1966. So many people came! It was as if the Beatles were waiting. We couldn’t get into the hall, we had to get through the courtyards... We were eating, and suddenly smoke came out from somewhere. The microphones were turned off. They began to sing without them, one of us quickly went to the piano. The audience grumbles. We ask them to wait, we try to fix it. It was so scary! “That’s it,” I decided, “no “Singing Guitars”! I'm leaving." In short, the concert didn’t work out, the people dispersed... What a start!
Journalists always ask to remember funny incidents, “salty” stories. I can tell a dramatic story about how Lenin fell on me. It was in Kurgan, in 1974, I think. They performed on the stage of the Philharmonic. And there, under the ceiling, a huge bas-relief of Vladimir Ilyich hung on ropes. Let's play. Suddenly something falls behind me with a terrible roar. Lenin has fallen! Shattered my amplifier into pieces, broke through the wooden floor. But the amplifier continued to work! And I'm safe and sound. Isn't it a miracle? Some angel saved me.
Help "RG"
In 1966, Anatoly Vasiliev, Evgeny Bronevitsky, Lev Vildavsky and Sergey Lavrovsky created the VIA “Singing Guitars”. This was the first vocal and instrumental ensemble in the USSR. More than 40 musicians passed through it; Yuri Antonov and Irina Ponarovskaya worked there. In 1975, the ensemble staged the zong opera “Orpheus and Eurydice” and in the same year ceased to exist as VIA. After a 22-year pause, the Singing Guitars resumed their concert activities in 1997.
Golden hits of “Singing Guitars”
“Song of cyclists”, “People meet”, “For me there is no one more beautiful than you”, “Carlson”, “Twilight”, “Blue frost”, “Inconspicuous beauty”, “If you come out to meet me”, “Sunday”, “Gypsy girl” "
Alexander Fedorov
— Tell us about your duet with Alexander Fedorov. How was it formed? — When I was young, I went to different cafes with girls. Drank port wine. In one of the cafes there was an underground group - “Forest Brothers”. I liked the way they sounded, the way they performed various English hits of those times. That's where I met him. He had a voice that I loved, a pop-English manner. And when we created “Singing Guitars,” I invited him several times to come to us. He refused without violating the high principles of asceticism. He agreed when he went on tour with us to Moscow, received a fee, drank good, expensive cognac, and lived in a luxury hotel. "I like. I guess I’ll work with you.”
He loved The Beatles, I loved them. And together we did something similar, like Lennon and McCartney. It was the desire to sing the Beatles. He left his office, but he succeeded with me. He and I performed 7 or 8 songs in “Singing Guitars”. And then it was terribly fashionable. It was impossible, but we sang.
By her own
In 1986, Ilona Bronevitskaya became a backing vocalist in Edita Piekha’s band. Together with her, Ilona goes on tour again. In 1988, she decides to pursue a solo career. But first he goes to the All-Union competition “Yalta”. His results were impressive - third place among the finalists. From this period, Ilona prepared her own program and began concert activities.
The first big performance took place in 1989 in Irkutsk. The singer still calls traveling her favorite pastime, but then, having set out on a free “swimming”, she was not afraid to go to Afghanistan, where military events were unfolding. She also became one of the first domestic performers to go to Finland with concerts. The performer's repertoire included several original songs, as well as re-covers of famous compositions. The full-length album “Dancing for Breakfast” was released only in 1995.
Yuri Antonov
— Can we say that Yuri Antonov began with the songs of “Singing Guitars”? “For him it was a springboard, a very powerful incentive, a push to work further. Before this, there was no special need for it. And after the song “You are no more beautiful,” he felt better. He left us due to special circumstances. When he left, he left a piece of music paper with this song on it. He said: “Zhenya, it seems to me that this song will be performed by you.” I marinated it for six months, forgot about it, then came across it and literally overnight I wrote out who should play what. That's how it turned out.
— In the song “You are no more beautiful,” you missed one verse. What was this connected with? “It seemed to us that she was a long sausage.” And we made do with three verses and inserted a guitar solo. It was very fashionable then. Since it was created, it has remained that way.
— Did you meet Yuri Antonov on tour in Kyiv? - In Minsk. He was at the concert and said that he liked it and would like to work with us. “No problem,” we say, “come on!”
— Evgeniy Alexandrovich, are there any songs that you like to perform? And is there anything that determines the success of a song? - Everyone loves the songs. We probably need some kind of catchy melody. Naturally, a good text should have some zest. The personality of the performer is also important. Everything plays a role together. Not individually, but when everything is put together, it’s beautiful. That's when success happens.
FAMILY BONDS
— Did “Singing Guitars” have any troubles with the Soviet regime?
— We tried to imitate English bands, we wanted to be closer to rock and roll. There were complaints about our appearance, and they cut our hair and combed our hair. They forced me. Otherwise, you could lose your job.
We had to comply with strict standards established by ideologists. It happened that some songs were forbidden to us, and the English language was not allowed, so we sang English songs in Russian. They have already become ours, family, both “Fat Carlson” and “Blue Frost” - we made them ours, and no one had any complaints against us.
— Edita Piekha is older than you and is also still performing!
- She's great! They say about it that it is not even two-core, but three-core. I went through so much, there were so many situations, both good and bad, like a sine wave - up and down, sometimes you fall, sometimes you fly. But she knew how to get up when she got hit. She left her mark on the stage, she is remembered and, I think, will be remembered for a long time. And the concert at the end of July, on her birthday, will probably be sold out. She already called and invited us.
Edita Stanislavovna and I are practically related, she is like a sister to me and has done a lot of good things for me.
“Didn’t you envy your older brother that he grabbed such a beauty for himself?”
- I really liked her! I was still a boy, when my brother got married, I thought: she’s so beautiful, I wish I had one like her. Legs are straight, narrow waist, high, hips, chest, face - everything is beautiful. I developed this ideal image, and since then I have liked large women. Impressed! (laughs). But then, unfortunately, they broke up. It was like a dagger to the heart.
“And “Friendship” fell apart because of this.
“The team was great, this will never happen again.” These handsome men, this orchestra... And Edita came out - beautiful, tastefully dressed, wonderful songs. Diamond in a setting. It was something. I thought that “Friendship” would last a long time. I worked with them for one year, and then Edita left, I stayed with my brother. Although she invited me with her, I couldn’t leave my brother. Edita is not even two, but three-wire!
Song "Twilight"
— How did the song “Twilight” appear in your repertoire? — Tolya Vasiliev wrote it and invited me to sing it. We rehearsed it. The audience received her warmly. That's why it became our hit. It happens that the song that is born is attractive. And sometimes a beautiful, chic song does not become a hit, does not become long-lived. And the reason is simple. Both in music and in words. They are somewhat uncomplicated. Everything that is ingenious is simple, but not everything that is simple is genius. — Another calling card of the group is the requiem song “Salaspils.” How long did it take to work on it? — We tried to make shifts towards more serious music. Timid attempts. She turned out like this. It was suggested by Eduard Kuziner, our keyboard player and composer. He worked for us then. And during the period when he was with us, he wrote it. We performed it in his presence. We had the task of singing civil songs as well. We replaced the panegyrics of the party and the government, the love of the Motherland, which is forced to be loved, with our opposite step, also a civil masterpiece.
And the children in the song died in the war. All this touched the audience, and we were pleased to perform this piece. It was also solved in the English style, the chorus was very similar, it sounded fresh on stage. Nobody did such arrangements then. And we rehearsed on it for a long time. Very meticulous work went on on it.
Irina Ponarovskaya
— You have always had female vocals. For many years you sang with Irina Ponarovskaya. “We just have this format: men and there should be one woman.” Whether this is right or wrong, this has been the case “from time immemorial.” And Irina Ponarovskaya came to us as a “green” girl. And then something came out of her... There’s nothing special about it. That's what our leader wanted. Nowadays there are many ensembles that are purely male. And before, almost all VIA were with girls. With rare exceptions: “Ariel”, “Orera”. It was like a stamp, a cliché.
— How did you select the material for the performance? And how did Russian folk songs appear in your repertoire? - We don’t have them now. Previously, there were two songs: “Steppe and steppe all around” and “Thin Rowan”. Now we don't perform them because we mostly work in clubs. Restaurant and dance music. We will restore them when we have more concerts, in a theatrical atmosphere. With a hall, a curtain, a ramp. In the meantime, we have forgotten them, and it will be necessary to restore them. As for the material, there was no principle of selection. If you liked the song, they tried to make it, if you didn’t like it, they stepped aside. We took what appealed to us. And we hoped that our audience would like it. There were no mathematical or philosophical laws. We brought to life what we wanted.
— Evgeniy Alexandrovich, how was your music different during the formation of “Singing Guitars”? — We had our own sound, our own appearance. Image, as they say now. It had its own face. Everything worked out somehow by itself. It is what it is, it is what it is. And the more natural, the better for the stage. When there are no artificial attacks on your appearance, tastes, moral principles. Natural - always harmonious.
— How much time did it take to prepare the song? — When we didn’t know the notes, it took a long time. Then, when we learned over the years, things went faster. The process of memorizing, honing. You kind of get the general picture. Next comes a conversation about the nuances: where it is quieter, where it is louder, what to throw away and what to add. There were changes on the fly. And in the process of running in, rolling out, it is refined and improved. Vasiliev, our director, arranged the songs. He started teaching us semi-literate people. When we learned, I began to write, Yura Antonov wrote, he started with us, Grisha Kleimits, after the reunion, was our artistic director. Now we have a guitarist and I write.
— Do you have goals today and difficulties that need to be overcome? — The difficulties are such that the market is overflowing with musical information. For every taste, in any performance. There is no point in doing someone else's work. Everyone comes to us. Reinventing your wheel is also the other extreme. The challenge is finding a song that suits us. As Mayakovsky said, you have to shovel tons of verbal ore to find one hole. That's how we have to do it. They offer us, they offer us. We are looking for something... It is difficult to find exactly our song. Not written by us, but our own. So that it matches our energy. To be in unison with our hearts, souls - something like that. Your song is so successful that it penetrates the soul of the audience, the audience, a song that we can convey. And such songs are not born very often. And the plan is to work, work and work. If you are in demand, work harder and better. Otherwise we will disappear and die of hunger. This is our main line.
Distant Beginning
Leningrad in Soviet times was called the cultural capital of the country.
It was after the collapse of the Soviet Union that the city of labor glory turned into gangster Petersburg. Evgeny Bronevitsky was born on June 30, 1945 into an elite family. Parents lived in the city on the Neva. Father, naval sailor, sea captain. His mother, a singer, performed in the Leningrad Chapel. The boy had an older brother, who is known as the first husband of the popular singer Edita Piekha. Following family traditions, Evgeniy, after graduating from school, decided to get a military education and entered the famous Military Mechanical Institute. However, the disciplines that had to be mastered during the learning process were given to the student with great difficulty. Even at school, the future guitarist did not like exact sciences. The refined nature did not accept theorems, formulas and other mathematical categories. After some hesitation, he interrupted his studies and “got free.”
Personal life
- Evgeniy Alexandrovich, a few words about your brother... - Everything was bright with him - both bad and good. In every way. As happens in life. There is not just one thing. He was a cheerful, talented person. A Renaissance man who knew how to draw, swim, joke and play roles... It was very interesting to be with him. But there were moments when it was difficult with him. That's how life works. There is nothing that I wanted to leave, and the rest I wanted to cross out.
— Was there swimming or sports in your life? — I was scuba diving. I spent my entire childhood riding a bicycle and participated in athletics at a sports school for four years. I didn’t become a professional, I just love sports. I played table tennis - I really liked it. Oddly enough, I don’t like football. Some kind of little world.
— Did scuba diving determine your initial choice of institute? - Yes. I studied at the Faculty of Oceanology. I left him and felt sorry for him. I couldn’t combine “Singing Guitars” and oceanology. I should have quit The Singing Guitars and become an oceanographer or vice versa... Which is what I did.
— Your wishes to all lovers of Russian songs and good music? — It’s very difficult for me to talk about Russian song, because I’m not an expert. What can you wish for lovers of Russian songs? This is a whole ocean, a niche, a whole direction that was not born today and will probably never die. The fact is that there are examples of good and unworthy products, as in any type of human activity. I would like there to be more worthy examples - that’s all. There are things that touch me, and there are things that I hate to listen to. I wish this art never fades away. So that it is fueled by young talents. Because it’s impossible to live on Zykina alone. It is necessary for Russian song to develop, progress in the performing sense, and interface with other forms of art. My wish is a natural desire for good. Although it is endless and unattainable.
Ilona Bronevitskaya: biography, personal life
Our heroine, like her famous mother, got married three times. Her first husband was Lithuanian musician and director Petras Grulis. In this marriage (in 1980) a son, Stanislav, was born. At the request of his grandmother Edita, the boy was registered with the last name Piekha. Unfortunately, family happiness turned out to be fragile. In 1981, Ilona and Petras officially divorced.
The man promised to provide financial assistance to his son and kept his word. Stas Piekha has grown up a long time ago. This handsome and talented guy was able to find his niche on the Russian stage.
Ilona met her second husband, composer Yuri Bystrov, within the walls of the Buff Theater. Bronevitskaya stole this man from her friend. A couple of months later, the newly-made couple began living under the same roof. Then they went to the registry office. In May 1986, Ilona gave her husband a tiny daughter. The baby was named a beautiful and rare name in our country - Erica. This marital union lasted 9 years. Unlike her brother Stas, Erica did not connect her destiny with music and the stage. The girl received a higher education with a degree in architecture.
Is Ilona Bronevitskaya free today? Her personal life is quite happy. She is married (for the third time) to keyboardist Evgeniy Timoshenkov. At one time he worked in the team of performer Svetlana Lazareva.
Happy grandmother – this proud title has recently been borne by Ilona Bronevitskaya. The children gave her charming grandchildren. And in 2013, Erika Bystrova gave birth to a daughter, Vasilisa. And Stas Piekha is growing an heir and his small copy - son Petya, born in 2014.
