Childhood and youth
Mikhail Shufutinsky was born in Moscow on April 13, 1948 into a Jewish family. The musician’s father, Zakhar Davidovich, was a participant in the Great Patriotic War, later worked as a doctor and devoted a lot of time to work. He turned out to be a musical person - he played the trumpet, guitar, and sang well. The future chansonnier's mother died suddenly when the boy was five years old, so the singer remembers her little.
Mikhail Shufutinsky in childhood
Due to the father’s difficult shift work, grandmother Berta Davidovna and grandfather David Yakovlevich began raising the child, who not only taught and guided Misha, but also developed the child’s taste and love for art. Noticing his grandson's craving for music, the grandfather began to teach the child to play the accordion.
At the age of seven, Mikhail entered a music school. But due to the fact that at that time the accordion was not taught in Soviet music schools, considering this instrument an echo of bourgeois culture, Misha went to the accordion class - a folk instrument somewhat similar to the one on which the boy began his musical education.
Mikhail Shufutinsky with his father
The future singer loved and appreciated classes at the music school; after a few years he was already fluent in the instrument and was a regular participant in school orchestras and ensembles. Every week, together with his grandfather, the young man organized impromptu concerts in the courtyard of the house where his family lived. Mikhail enjoyed playing the repertoire that he liked.
From the age of fifteen, Misha became seriously interested in a new direction in music - jazz, which only began to appear on Soviet stages, and very unofficially. Thus, being just a teenager, Mikhail chose his life path. Therefore, after graduating from secondary school, Shufutinsky, without hesitation, submitted documents to the Moscow Music College named after Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.
Mikhail Shufutinsky in his youth
After graduating from music school, having received the qualifications of a conductor, choirmaster, music and singing teacher, the musician and the orchestra leave for Magadan to perform at the Severny restaurant. There Shufutinsky first approached the microphone as a vocal performer, although out of necessity - replacing the main singers. Shufutinsky’s favorite authors were Alexander Vertinsky and Pyotr Leshchenko, whose songs were included in the repertoire of the aspiring artist.
Biography of Shufutinsky
Mikhail Shufutinsky was born on April 13, 1948 in Moscow. He grew up and was raised in a Jewish family. His father, Zakhar Davidovich, worked as a doctor. The head of the family knew how to play the guitar and trumpet, and also had good vocal abilities.
Childhood and youth
The first tragedy in Shufutinsky's biography occurred at the age of 5, when his mother died. After this, his grandmother Berta Davidovna and grandfather David Yakovlevich took up raising the child.
When Mikhail’s grandfather noticed his grandson’s musical abilities, he began teaching him how to play the button accordion. Soon the boy was sent to a music school, where he fully mastered playing the instrument. In this regard, he often performed at various events as part of school orchestras and ensembles.
Having received the certificate, Mikhail Shufutinsky successfully passed the exams at the local music school. At that time, he became seriously interested in jazz, which was just gaining popularity in the USSR. After graduation, he became a certified "conductor, choirmaster and singing teacher."
An interesting fact is that Alla Pugacheva herself was a classmate of the future singer.
Soon Shufutinsky began touring Moscow and Magadan with various ensembles. During the biography period 1971-1974. The guy worked at the Severny restaurant in Magadan. It was here that he tried himself as a vocalist when one of the main singers was ill or absent for any other reason.
According to Mikhail, then he liked the work of two famous artists - Alexander Vertinsky and Pyotr Leshchenko, whose songs he often performed in front of the public.
Music
Later, Mikhail Zakharovich returned to Moscow and worked in several musical groups, for example, in the then popular “Accord” and “Leisya, Song”. The last ensemble was a success: the guys recorded records at the Melodiya studio, traveled around the cities of Russia, where the musicians were warmly received by enthusiastic fans.
Mikhail Shufutinsky and VIA “Leisya, song”
Shufutinsky's conflict with the Soviet regime was growing, so in the early 80s the musician immigrated with his family and moved to New York through Austria and Italy.
At first, in the USA, the musician works as an accompanist, playing mainly the piano. Later he creates his own orchestra, “Ataman”, with which he regularly performs in the New York restaurants “Pearl”, “Paradise” and “National”
Singer Mikhail Shufutinsky
In 1983, Shufutinsky presented his first album entitled “Escape”. The album includes 13 compositions: “Taganka”, “Farewell letter”, “You are far from me”, “Winter evening” and others.
When the Ataman ensemble gained popularity in immigrant circles, Shufutinsky received an offer to perform in Los Angeles, where at that moment there was a boom in Russian songs in the chanson style. Then Shufutinsky's fame reached its peak.
Mikhail Shufutinsky - “Russian Autumn”
Shufutinsky's music was listened to and loved not only in immigration, but also in the Soviet Union, which was confirmed by the first tours in his homeland, when the audience filled even large halls and stadiums.
In the 90s, Shufutinsky returned to Russia and after that lived permanently in Moscow. In 1997, the artist published the book “And now I’m standing at the line...”, in which Mikhail introduced fans to the facts of his biography. Later, the collection “Best Songs” appeared. Lyrics and chords."
Mikhail Shufutinsky - “Left Bank of the Don”
In 2002, the musician received the first “Chanson of the Year” award in his career for the songs “Alenka”, “Nakolochka” and “Topolya”. From now on, Shufutinsky receives this award every year.
During his creative career, Mikhail Shufutinsky wrote, performed and produced many famous hits. Songs such as “Two Candles”, “Third of September”, “Palma de Mallorca”, “Night Guest” became popular, which paradoxically gained popularity under the name “Knives Not Sharpened”, “Khreshchatyk”, “Left Bank of the Don” , “Come to see us”, “Duck Hunt”, “For lovely ladies” and others.
Mikhail Shufutinsky - “The Jewish Tailor”
The song “The Third of September” is so popular that with the spread of the Internet and social networks, September 3 has become the unofficial Shufutinsky Day; flash mobs are held on this day, and groups on social networks massively post memes and quotes from this song.
Shufutinsky also shot 26 music videos for his songs, as listed on the musician’s official YouTube channel. The videos were made on the compositions “The Soul Hurts”, “Mom”, “New Year in the Airplane Cabin”, “Love Is Alive” and others. In total, during his performing biography, Shufutinsky has released twenty-eight albums and a huge variety of different collections of songs. The singer's repertoire also includes several popular duet recordings. In addition, Shufutinsky produced records of other musicians - Mikhail Gulko, Lyubov Uspenskaya, Maya Rozova, Anatoly Mogilevsky.
Mikhail Shufutinsky - “White Roses”
In addition to his main musical work, Mikhail Shufutinsky is involved in scoring animated films and has experience in filming a feature film, albeit in a cameo role.
In 2009, Mikhail Shufutinsky became a participant in the music show “Two Stars”, where he performed together with Alika Smekhova. The duet performed the songs “White Roses”, “A Drop of Warmth”, “Taganka” and other popular hits from the works of both Shufutinsky and other musicians.
Mikhail Shufutinsky and Alika Smekhova - “A Drop of Warmth”
On April 13, 2013, Mikhail Zakharovich gave a concert in Crocus City Hall in honor of his anniversary, which was called “Birthday Concert.” Shufutinsky performed popular songs of past years: “The Third of September”, “For Lovely Ladies”, “I Adore”, “Jewish Tailor”, “Marjanja”, “Nakolochka” and others.
In April 2020, Shufutinsky presented a new album, “I Just Love Slowly,” which included 14 compositions. In addition to the title song of the same name, the disc includes solo compositions “We’ll wait and see”, “Tanya, Tanechka”, “Provincial Jazz”, a duet with Eteri Beriashvili “I Treasure You”, a collaboration with Varya Demidova “Snow” and others.
Mikhail Shufutinsky - “Marjanja”
On September 27, 2020, the musician was invited to become part of the Russian Academy of Music and accept the post of academician. On December 2, 2020, Mikhail Zakharovich gave a solo concert “Chanson before Christmas” at the Moscow State Variety Theater.
By 2020, the discography of the “king of chanson” had reached 29 albums, which included collaborations with Suzanne Tepper (1989) and Irina Allegrova (2004). Shufutinsky annually won the “Chanson of the Year” award for 15 years.
Famous chansonnier Mikhail Shufutinsky
On April 8, 2020, the singer took part in the “Chanson of the Year” award ceremony in the Kremlin.
In April and May 2020, the musician toured the country and gave solo concerts in Moscow, Sevastopol, Korolev, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Kolomna, St. Petersburg and other cities.
Star Trek in chanson by Mikhail Shufutinsky
After graduating from college, Mikhail Shufutinsky began performing in various bars and restaurants. During this period, such establishments as the Warsaw restaurant and Metropol became his permanent place of work. Here for some time the artist acted as an accompanist with various musical groups. However, some time later, he decided to change the situation somewhat and, together with other musician friends, moved to Magadan. In this place he first began not only to play musical instruments, but also to sing. Most of his repertoire at that time consisted of songs written in the genre of “thieves’ chanson”. Some time later, songs of this kind made up almost his entire repertoire.
Mikhail Shufutinsky's songs are popular in both hemispheres
Returning from Magadan in 1974, Mikhail Shufutinsky again began to earn money by performing in restaurants as a pianist. In the next few years, he often appeared on stage with the group “Accord”, as well as the vocal and instrumental ensemble “Leisya Song”. It is very noteworthy that as part of the last of the named groups, our today's hero even became a laureate of the All-Russian competition of pop song performers in Sochi.
Three years after this success, Mikhail Shufutinsky moved to the USA, where he began working as before as a “restaurant” singer and musician. However, oddly enough, it was in the United States of America that the artist became very popular. In the period from 1982 to 1990, our today's hero recorded ten studio albums at once, which were released literally one after another. Performing in the Arbat, Moscow Nights and some other restaurants, Mikhail Zakharovich found his audience and very soon established himself as the highest paid singer among Russian emigrants.
In 1990, already as a famous artist, Shufutinsky came to give concerts in the USSR. Since then, the singer has regularly appeared with performances in Russia and other former countries of the Soviet Union. For some time, the popular musician actually lived in two cities, constantly visiting Moscow and Los Angeles. However, in 2003, Mikhail Zakharovich decided to finally leave the United States and move back to Russia.
In total, during his long singing career, Shufutinsky has released about thirty studio albums, as well as a huge number of different collections. His repertoire includes songs by such famous songwriters as Igor Krutoy, Oleg Mityaev, Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Karen Kavaleryan, Oleg Gazmanov and many, many others. Having established himself as one of the most famous chansonniers on the Russian and American stage, Mikhail Zakharovich often collaborated with many famous performers, with whom he recorded duet songs.
M. Shufutinsky - Palma de Mallorca Having recorded a huge number of touching and soulful songs, Shufutinsky became a real “folk” singer in Russia and Ukraine. For his contribution to the art of music, the famous chansonnier was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia.
Concluding the conversation about the work of Mikhail Zakharovich, it is worth noting the fact that his track record also includes two autobiographies, written and published by him in 1997 and 2004.
In addition, as an interesting and extraordinary moment in the musician’s work, one can also highlight his work on voicing one of the heroes of the famous Hollywood cartoon “Brave” and filming in the film “Moscow on the Hudson”, in which he played a cameo role.
Mikhail Shufutinsky with his wife Margarita
Personal life
A stately, impressive man (Mikhail’s height is 187 cm, weight is 100 kg) has always attracted the attention of the opposite sex. But unlike many public people, Mikhail Shufutinsky is an excellent family man. The musician was married only once. In 1971, he married Margarita Mikhailovna, whom he had known for several years. In this marriage, Shufutinsky had two sons - David, born in 1972, and Anton, who was born two years later.
Family of Mikhail Shufutinsky
Now the brothers are separated by an ocean. Anton lives with his wife and four children in Philadelphia, where he teaches at a local university and is writing his doctoral dissertation. David, his wife and three children permanently live in Moscow, engaged in production activities.
To be closer to Anton, Shufutinsky bought a house not far from him. Together with his wife, Mikhail started renovations in the mansion, which took a long time. It was assumed that the couple would live there together, visiting relatives. But the intention could not be realized.
Mikhail Shufutinsky with his wife Margarita in his youth and now
At the beginning of 2020, grief happened in the singer’s family - Shufutinsky buried his faithful life partner Margarita, who died in America while visiting the family of her youngest son. The cause of Margarita’s death was heart failure, which the woman suffered from for many years.
At the time of her departure, Mikhail was on tour in Israel. There were no signs of tragedy. When the woman stopped answering her husband’s calls, he did not attach any importance to it, because the difference in time zones was significant. After a while, the sons also noticed their mother’s disappearance. They were able to enter the apartment only with the help of the police.
Mikhail Shufutinsky with his wife
Mikhail considers the death of his wife the most difficult loss in his life; for the singer, Margarita forever remained the keeper of the hearth and his personal guardian angel. The couple lived happily together for 44 years.
Notes[ | ]
- ↑ 12
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin dated April 22, 2013 No. 401 “On awarding state awards of the Russian Federation.” Legal reference system "ConsultantPlus" // base.consultant.ru - ↑ 1 2 3 4 Natalya Bobrova
. Family album of Mikhail Shufutinsky. “Museum of Chanson” // shansonprofi.ru - Mikhail Shufutinsky - Concert tickets. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. // 5koncertov.ru
- ↑ 1234
Creative biography of Mikhail Shufutinsky. Archived copy dated February 20, 2020 on the Wayback Machine // shufutinsky.ru - Mikhail Shufutinsky said that he is connected with Alla Pugacheva
- Mikhail SHUFUTINSKY: “I never depended on any group, I didn’t ask anyone for anything and I didn’t turn to anyone for help, even if I needed it. So no one told me: “You know, Mishanya, let us protect you.”
- https://7days.ru/caravan/2019/9/mikhail-shufutinskiy-nikogda-ne-boyalsya-odinochestva/2.htm
- Official website of Mikhail Shufutinsky. Press. // shufutinsky.net
- Mikhail Shufutinsky's tour was interrupted due to the sudden death of the chansonnier's wife
- Alone with everyone - Mikhail Shufutinsky 08/27/2015
- Mikhail Shufutinsky gave birth to a granddaughter, Hannah Renee. Newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” // mk.ru (September 14, 2012)
- Where does Mikhail Shufutinsky live June 2020 DOMzaMKAD.ru
- Visiting a star
- 2nd “Silver Galosh” 1997 - detailed release. Radio station “Silver Rain” // silver.ru (October 20, 1997)
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Mikhail Shufutinsky now
2018 turned out to be an anniversary year for the artist - in April Mikhail Shufutinsky celebrated his 70th birthday. The artist celebrated the beginning of the year with a performance at the “Chanson of the Year” concert with the song “She Was Just a Girl” and a duet with Anastasia Spiridonova “Peter-Moscow”. Thanks to these compositions, the singer again became a laureate of the prestigious award.
Anastasia Spiridonova and Mikhail Shufutinsky - “Peter-Moscow”
On the eve of the celebration, the singer visited the studio of the humorous program “Evening Urgant”, became a guest of Boris Korchevnikov’s show “The Fate of a Man” and the release of the “Once Upon a Time” program on the NTV channel. For the anniversary concert, Mikhail Shufutinsky gathered fans in the Crocus City Hall. Stas Mikhailov and Elena Vorobey took the stage that evening. Shufutinsky’s longtime friend, Vyacheslav Dobrynin, also arrived at the celebration.
In May, the singer visited the filming of the “Tonight” program, which was called “Legends of Chanson.” Guests of the Channel One studio also included Igor Krutoy, Vladimir Vinokur, Alexander Rosenbaum, Lyubov Uspenskaya and others. Now Mikhail Shufutinsky plans to visit Israel on a tour, and in the fall he will continue touring Russia.
Mikhail Shufutinsky and Svetlana Urazova
On the eve of the anniversary, changes arose in the personal life of Mikhail Shufutinsky. In the spring, the artist introduced his beloved dancer Svetlana Urazova to the public, who turned out to be 30 years younger than the singer. This age difference does not prevent Mikhail and Svetlana from being happy, but when asked about the wedding, the singer jokes that he is still too young to get married. The couple has already appeared in public, as evidenced by joint photos of lovers in the media.
The beginning of the creative path of Mikhail Shufutinsky
Having received a certificate of education, the future artist goes to enroll in college to acquire a profession. His choice falls on a music school in Moscow. Here Shufutinsky receives prestigious musical degrees that will be useful in his future work. Immediately after receiving his diploma, the future artist leaves for the northeast of Russia, where he begins performing in restaurants and bars. It is in these institutions that Mikhail Zakharovich performs some songs solo for the first time. At that time, young musicians took the repertoire of other artists who were popular and performed their compositions.
After these events, Mikhail Shufutinsky returns to Moscow, where he works in several musical groups. One of these was called “Leisya, song” and recorded his own songs in a recording studio, and even toured concerts around the country, which were attended by crowds of listeners.
Mikhail Shufutinsky: biography, personal (family) life
From a young age, the talented musician was popular with girls. Some saw him as a subtle and vulnerable soul, while others looked at him as an idol. Mikhail often had affairs with beautiful girls. But they did not develop into a serious relationship. It's very simple: the feelings faded away as quickly as they flared up.
When did Mikhail Shufutinsky meet his true love? The biography indicates that this happened in the early 1970s. The beautiful Margarita conquered his heart and deprived him of peace. After a long and persistent courtship, the girl agreed to become Mikhail’s other half.
In January 1971, the marriage of Mikhail and Margarita Shufutinsky was registered in one of the capital's registry offices. Then the celebration “moved” to the restaurant. The guests at the celebration were close friends and relatives of the bride and groom.
A loving husband, a caring dad and an exemplary family man - all this is Mikhail Shufutinsky. The singer’s biography in August 1972 was replenished with another joyful event - his first child was born. The son was named David. The young father could not stop looking at the heir. He himself bathed him, swaddled him and put him in his crib. Mikhail even tried to sing a lullaby to his son. But because his voice was too low, he was unable to do this.
In December 1974, another addition occurred to the Shufutinsky family. His beloved wife gave the singer a second son. The boy received a common Russian name - Anton.
Today, the children of Mikhail Shufutinsky are adults and accomplished people. David is married to Angela Petrosyan. They have three children - two sons and a daughter. The family lives in Moscow. The singer hoped that his eldest son would follow in his footsteps. But David is far from show business. He is producing.
The youngest son (Anton) lives in the USA. He married an African American woman named Brandi. They had 4 children. A few years ago, Anton worked as a medic at a US naval base, and now he teaches at one of the universities in Philadelphia.
Mikhail Shufutinsky and his life today
In the spring of 2020, Shufutinsky celebrated his anniversary - the artist turned 70 years old. The celebration created a large-scale and loud sensation, which was talked about not only throughout Moscow, but throughout the country. He performed at the “Chanson of the Year” award and also sang together with Anastasia Spiridona. It was their joint composition that was again awarded the highest awards. Also guests of the evening were artists who began their activities together with Shufutinsky, and who began giving concerts at the same time.
Activities on television began to gain momentum for Mikhail Zakharovich. He attended Ivan Urgant's show, visited a show on Russia 1 and was a participant in a TV show on the NTV channel. In May 2020, the musician’s name was noted in Andrei Malakhov’s television program, which Shufutinsky also visited and began to bear the name of the legendary chanson performer. The singer’s summer plans have become connected with creativity; Shufutinsky plans to go to Israel on tour, and in the autumn to return to Russia and also continue performing. The musician’s activity continues to gain momentum, his compositions do not stop at many concerts and events of various sizes, and the name of the creative figure is known to all fans of chanson. Information about all concerts is available on the official ticket sales platforms.
Boris Torkhin for Blatata.Com
Discography of numbered albums
1982 - Escape 1983 - Ataman 1984 - Gulliver 1984 - Ataman - 2 (not published in the USSR) 1985 - Amnesty 1986 - Ataman-3 1987 - White Stork 1988 - No problem 1989 - You are my only one (together with Suzanne Tepper) 1990 - Evenings near Moscow 1991 - My life 1992 - Quiet Don 1993 - Kisa-kisa 1994 - Walk, soul 1995 - Oh, Women 1996 - Good evening, gentlemen 1998 - Once upon a time in America (songs by Igor Krutoy) 1999 - Well, for God's sake 2001 - Me born in Moscow 2002 - Nakolochka 2003 - Boom-Boom 2004 - In half (together with Irina Allegrova) 2005 - Solo 2006 - Duets of different years 2007 - Moscow-Vladivostok 2009 - Brato 2010 - Duets of different years 2 2013 - Love Story 2020 - I'm just love slowly
