Alexander Gradsky is a famous singer and composer, lyricist, former mentor of the vocal show "Voice".

Family and childhood

When Alexander Gradsky was born, his family lived in Chelyabinsk region, beyond the Urals, in the city of Kopeysk. The father of the future celebrity worked as an engineer. In this small locality the head of the family was sent after graduation. Gradsky's mother was an actress, she abandoned her career in the legendary Moscow Art Theater, choosing a family and leaving for her husband.

In Kopeysk, Gradsky's mother headed one of the local amateur studios. The family managed to return to Moscow only in 1957. For some time, even before school, Alexander Gradsky lived in the capital region with his grandmother. Later, his parents moved to Moscow, where they rented a small room in the basement, but they decided not to take the child with them.

Gradsky began to live with mom and dad when he went to school. At the age of 9, the mother gave her son to music school. By the way, the future celebrity did not show much zeal for learning. In particular, he played the violin. Gradsky was literally annoyed that he had to rehearse at home for several hours. If we talk about an ordinary school, then the artist preferred humanitarian subjects. The boy really liked to read, he wrote his first poem at the age of 14. Records with modern music Gradsky could hear thanks to his uncle on his mother's side. He was an actor and often visited foreign countries, including America. From there, a relative brought something that could not be obtained in Moscow.

IN school age Alexander Gradsky has already begun to actively and quite successfully perform on a small stage. At creative evenings, the student performed with a guitar or playing the piano. In addition, he attended the acting section.

First compositions

At the age of 14, Alexander Gradsky was invited to a Polish teenage group called "Cockroaches". Then he began to take part in various concerts, being part of musical group. The first song here was " Best City Earth." When Gradsky was 15 years old, his family improved their living conditions in Moscow. Already in this teenage image, he finally decided that he would become an artist. The artist himself later said that he was very fascinated by the work of The Beatles.

Career Development

In 1965, the Slavs group was formed. Its founders were Alexander Gradsky and Mikhail Turkov. Later, other members joined the musicians. A year later, another ensemble appeared - "Skomorokhi". By the way, the songs were performed only in Russian, mainly Gradsky was their author. The composition "Blue Forest" became a landmark in the artist's life. At the same time, the singer performed as part of musical group"Scythians". Since the young artist did not have enough money to purchase new equipment, he and his friends began to earn extra money at the Philharmonic. Gradsky was very much appreciated there, the leader even invited him to go on tour around the country.

The next team was VIA Electron. For several years, Gradsky had to not sing, so as not to light up. During this time, the artist has accumulated money to purchase decent equipment.

In 1969, Gradsky entered the Gnesinka at the vocal faculty to the teacher Kotelnikova. During his studies, he regularly took part in solo concerts, where he performed with the guitar. The artist was the first who decided in rock and began to promote texts in Russian.

The best works of Gradsky

After graduating from an educational institution, Gradsky went on a large-scale tour. This time was marked by a jump in his recognition and popularity. At his concerts, the artist always collected great amount Human. It happened that the number of performances reached four per day.

In 1975, Gradsky was enrolled in the conservatory. In parallel with this, work was carried out on several films. In 1976, the artist began to write his debut suite called "Russian Songs", its second part was released two years later. At the same time, Gradsky was actively working in the field of creating rock compositions. The singer continued to tour, performing his original compositions in front of the Soviet audience.

Soon he began to try himself as a teacher. His teaching activity carried out in his native school. Gnesins. Over time, Gradsky moved to GITIS, where he headed the vocal department.

The turning point in the work of a celebrity was the 1980th year. Then he was transferred to the category of "Protestants". At that time there were dramatic inclinations in Gradsky's music. His charisma and voice were always recognizable, so any problems that arose were quickly resolved.

Gradsky went abroad for the first time in 1988. However, these were not tours, but a conference, the participants of which were artists and recognizable politicians. Soon the artist had to reduce the number of performances, as he began to work hard on his own Theater of Contemporary Music. For this project, celebrities even allocated a separate building in the center of Moscow, but it required reconstruction. Along with this, Gradsky wrote music: several discs were written in Japan.

When the Voice show started on Channel One, Gradsky was invited to take the place of a mentor. Two years in a row, his wards won the project.

Personal life

Alexander Gradsky's mother died when the boy was only 14 years old. In memory of her, the teenager took her maiden name. If we talk about the first marriage, it lasted only three months. After a divorce from Natalia Smirnova, the musician married Anastasia Vertinnskaya. By the way, the next wedding took place three years later. The couple lived together for two years, but divorced much later.

The third marriage of Gradsky was concluded immediately after the official rupture of the previous relationship. The chosen one of the rocker was Olga Fartysheva. The couple lived in marriage for 23 years, the wife gave her lover a son and a daughter.

In October 2018, Alexander Gradsky became a father for the fourth time. Common-law wife gave Russian artist son. For the girl herself, the child became the second in a row.

Childhood and family of Alexander Gradsky

When Alexander was born, the family lived beyond the Urals in the Chelyabinsk region. Dad was an engineer, where he was assigned after graduating from the institute. Mom was an actress, but having gone to Kopeysk for her husband, she was forced to abandon the stage and career at the Moscow Art Theater, where she, as a young actress, was invited after the theater. In Kopeisk, she directed an amateur theater at the local Palace of Culture.

Only in 1957 did the family from Kopeysk move back to the capital. For some time I had to live with my grandmother near Moscow, and later my parents moved to the city in a small room in the basement, Sasha stayed with his grandmother. Only when it was necessary to go to school, he moved to his parents. At the age of nine, mother and father took their son to a music school, where he studied without much desire, learning to play the violin. He liked music, but the fact that at home it was necessary to play every day for several hours depressed him.

Alexander Gradsky - How young we were

At school, he preferred the humanities, while the exact ones were of little interest to him. The boy read a lot and already at fourteen he wrote his first poem. My mother's brother, together with the Moiseev Theater, often toured abroad, including the United States. Thanks to these trips, my uncle got records with modern Western music, which Alexander also listened to.

As a schoolboy, Gradsky began to try his hand at school parties, where he sang to the guitar or piano. He also attended the theater club.

The first songs of Alexander Gradsky

At fourteen, a teenager with the Polish student group "Cockroaches" took part in a number of concerts. "The Best City on Earth" is the first song performed by Gradsky as part of this group.

When Alexander was fifteen, the family moved into a nice apartment. At this age, the teenager decided that he would become a musician and singer with a name - Alexander Gradsky. He himself says that the serious passion for The Beatles prompted him to decide to continue his musical education.

Alexander Gradsky and musical groups

In 1965, the group "Slavs" appeared, which was organized by Alexander together with Mikhail Turkov, later the rest of the guys who became members of the musical group joined them. A year later, the ensemble "Skomorokhi" appeared, which performed songs on mother tongue, they were mainly own songs Gradsky. The hallmark of the novice singer was his song "Blue Forest". In parallel, Alexander performed with the Scythians group, and then with Los Panchos.

There was never enough money for equipment, so the musician and his comrades began working at the Philharmonic. Having accepted the offer of David Tukhmanov, he went on tour around the country. Performances with Los Panchos continued, in addition, for some time he played solo guitar in VIA Electron. During these few years, speaking, Alexander never sang, being afraid to light up. The idea was to collect the necessary amount for decent equipment over several years of performances, and then perform in Moscow with Russian rock and roll.

Alexander Gradsky - Song about the Olympics in Sochi 2014

In 1969, Gradsky became a student at the Gnesinka solo singing department. His teacher was L. Kotelnikova. During his studies, he performed with solo concerts, where he sang with the guitar. Gradsky was among the first singers and musicians who experimented in rock with Russian-language lyrics. Around that time, the first sound recording experience appeared. The songs of "Skomorokhov" began to sound throughout the country.

The best songs of Alexander Gradsky

After graduating from the Gnessin Institute, Alexander began touring, his career quickly went up. During Gradsky's concerts there were always full houses. It happened that he gave four solo concerts a day, each of which lasted at least two hours.

In 1975, Alexander entered the conservatory, while working on several films in parallel. In 1976, the musician began working on the first part of the Russian Songs suite, and in 1978, on the second. The album with the same name was released in 1980. At the time, it was a significant work in rock music. The musician continued to tour, performing mainly with songs of his own composition. Soon he began teaching, first teaching at the Gnessin School, after a while at the Gnessin Institute, and then at GITIS, where he headed the vocal department.

The year 1980 was a turning point for Alexander's work, he moved into the category of "Protestants", his fatal music contained both tragic satire and dramatic lyrics. His talent and voice were always taken into account, so if there were any troubles, they were small, but for the first time he went abroad only in 1988. It was a conference attended by people from cinema, politics and the arts.

Soon the musician reduced the number of tours and concerts. His desire was to create a Theater of Contemporary Music, for which he was given a building in the center of the capital, which required reconstruction. Gradsky often traveled abroad and worked on joint projects with Chris Christophersson, Sammy Davis, Liza Minnelli and others. He released a number of CDs in Russia and two CDs were released in Japan.

On Channel One, the show "Voice" was released, where Gradsky was one of the mentors. In both 2012 and 2013, a member of his team won. The wards of the musician were such contestants as Sharip Umkhanov, Sergey Volchkov, Yazilya Mukhametova and others.

Personal life of Alexander Gradsky

Alexander was left without a mother early. She died when he was only fourteen years old. In memory of her, he took his mother's surname and became Alexander Gradsky.

Gradsky's first marriage lasted only three months. Natalya Smirnova became his chosen one. The second official wife was Anastasia Vertinskaya. The wedding took place three years after the first marriage. Together they lived for only two years, although the divorce was issued only after four years. Immediately after the divorce, a third marriage followed. Alexander married Olga Fartysheva. The marriage lasted twenty-three years. They had a son and a daughter.

Alexander Gradsky at present

Now Gradsky has been living in a civil marriage for more than ten years with model Marina Kotashenko, who is more than thirty years younger than him. The relationship of today's wife Gradsky with his adult children can be called even.

In 1964, Gradsky, having learned that for the movie "The Elusive Avengers" they were looking for a guy who was good at playing the guitar, went to audition. They didn't take him.

There he met Misha Turkov, who also unsuccessfully participated in the tests. They talked and after some time decided to create a group "Slavs".

It is known that after graduating from school, Gradsky worked for some time at Mosfilm as a loader, then worked in the same position at a cardboard factory and even worked as a laboratory assistant, where his father arranged him.

The future star was born in the small town of Kopeysk, near Chelyabinsk, in November 1949. From childhood, the boy felt a craving for creativity, and his parents gave him the opportunity to develop in this direction. Dad Boris Fradkin was an ordinary factory engineer, but mom Tamara Gradskaya graduated from GITIS and was a director and actress. To develop the boy's talents after moving to Moscow little Sasha immediately sent to a music school.

In the capital, they huddled with their parents and grandmother in an 8-meter basement on Frunzenskaya Embankment with nine more families. But this only tempered the young talent and gave the goal - to arrange life so that those close to them would not need anything. And in 1964 he managed to move into a normal comfortable apartment.

Creation

He is a graduate of the Musical and Pedagogical Institute. Gnesins. Then there was the Conservatory. And there were performances as part of the ensemble of Poles "Cockroaches". After that, his own rock group "Slavs" was born. In 1966, the ensemble "Skomorokhi" rang all over the country, it was he who received the Grand Prix of the All-Union Festival.

Gradsky and the group were talked about on Moscow radio and Voice of America. Glory thundered all over the world. The songs began to be included in the radio charts, he began to travel with concerts in the cities of the Soviet Union.

An amazing feature: being the author of compositions and poems, the musician also recorded his performances by overlaying several voices. For example, the work “Only you believe me” from beginning to end was born by him alone in multiple faces - Alexander Borisovich performed all the parts, both voice and instrumental.

Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky invited the singer to help shoot the film "Romance of Lovers", and he wrote and performed several songs for him and created the entire arrangement for the movie.

Then a solo disc was recorded with melodies from the film - this is how Gradsky became the "Star of the Year", wrote the editors of the Billboard edition, making a colossal contribution to the global musical history.

The discography of the singer and musician includes more than 40 albums with rock music, film music and songs. In 2003, a unique disc "Chrestomathy" was released, on which there are melodies of popular instrumentalists.

Gradsky was invited to write music for dozens of films. Among them are the classics "Connoisseurs are investigating", animated films "Pass". For many films, he personally recorded songs. There were also live musical films - the well-known "Anti-Perestroika Blues" and "We Live in Russia".

Popular recognition

At the beginning of the third millennium, Gradsky received the People's Artist of Russia and was awarded the title of laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation.

He is so versatile and talented that he even staged his own opera The Master and Margarita, personally performing the arias of four characters. Andrei Makarevich, Oleg Tabakov, Valery Zolotukhin, Gennady Khazanov, Alexander Rosenbaum and other very famous musicians and actors. The opera was published in the format of an old book, inside which four discs with musical recordings are luxuriously decorated.

Alexander Gradsky boasts performances with Liza Minnelli, Cindy Peters, Charles Aznavour, Kris Christophersson, Diana Warwick and others.

Now he runs his own theater in Moscow, Gradsky Hall, which is unofficially called the Gradsky Theater. It hosts musical evenings, award ceremonies and various concerts.

Personal life

The musician does not like to talk publicly about his life. But from the biography it is known that he created a family three times. The second wife of Gradsky was the actress Anastasia Vertinskaya. In the third marriage, in 1981 and 1986, his son Daniel and daughter Maria were born.

Despite his age, he fell in love again. This time in a young attractive model Marina Kotashenko. Beloved master is 31 years younger than him. It was she who in 2014 gave birth to his son Alexander.

This blue-eyed slender blonde immediately won the heart of the music guru. At the time of her acquaintance, she worked in one of the modeling agencies of the capital and fully supported herself. For 10 years of marriage, Marina graduated from VGIK, began to play in TV shows, and trained as a lawyer.

Their marriage is not registered, but they tell reporters that they live in perfect harmony. For the third time, Gradsky became a father at the age of 64.

“Look around, unfamiliar passerby. Your incorruptible look is familiar to me ”- this composition is known to every Soviet person. And, listening to her, many see Alexander Gradsky with their own eyes. The song is very popular, and covered by many performers - Iosif Kobzon, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Edita Piekha. The best performance of this hit was nevertheless awarded to Gradsky. Of course, this person can be called a cult personality in our show business. He is a composer, and a singer, and the founder of Russian rock and roll, and an artist of theater and cinema. Despite his age, the talented performer continues to amaze his fans. His participation in the jury in the show project "Voice" was appreciated by many viewers.

https://youtu.be/wQLuANXglXE

Childhood and youthful life of Alexander Gradsky

The future rock star was born on a November day in 1949 in a small town near Chelyabinsk. In 2018, the artist will turn 69 years old. Despite his advanced years, he is full of enthusiasm, actively engaged in creativity, raising children and devoting a lot of time to his family.

Alexander grew up in an intelligent family. His mother, the famous actress Tamara Gradskaya, his father is a mechanic. Despite the misalliance in the professional sphere, the family lived together. WITH early childhood parents tried to instill in the boy a love of music. At the age of 8, he already began attending a music school in Moscow, where the family moved in 1957. Playing the violin at first disgusted the boy, he was more interested in literature and the humanities. But, as a guy, he grew up purposeful and stubborn, and therefore did not give up music lessons.

Pioneer drummer Gradsky

At the age of 14, having become fascinated by the Beatles, a turning point came in his life, and he completely decided to tie his future life with a career as a musician. After graduating from school, Gradsky enters the Gnessin School, and subsequently graduates with honors. In 1965, the young man became the vocalist of the pop group "Cockroaches". The first popular track was recorded by him as part of this group. In addition to their compositions, the group became famous for singing Elvis Presley songs.

Alexander Gradsky in his youth

Personal life of Alexander Gradsky

As for the personal life of a talented composer, he has a very stormy and rich one. Only in an official marriage, he managed to visit 3 times, and now he lives in a civil marriage. True, he is not very lucky with his chosen ones, his marriage ended too hastily. family life. But that was before, and now Alexander Gradsky and his wife Marina Kotashenko have been married for more than 10 years, and this marriage is thought to be the last. He also has children - sons Daniel, Alexander and daughter Maria.

Gradsky with his daughter Maria

Wives of Gradsky

The first official marriage of the performer lasted only three days. Alexander married Natalya Smirnova. Unable to withstand his quarrelsome nature, a couple of days after the wedding celebration, she went to a friend of the performer Gleb May, with whom she lives to this day.

The second time, by marriage, Alexander was combined with Anastasia Vertinskaya, a famous actress.

In her interviews, she calls ex-husband none other than "Gadsky".

Their marriage lasted only 4 months.

Gradsky with his second wife Vertinskaya

In 1980, Gradsky marries again. This time, Olga Fartysheva became his chosen one. The singer often calls this marriage a guest marriage, and therefore the longest.

Throughout the family union, and it lasted 20 years, the couple lived in different apartments. In a marriage with Olga, Alexander had two children - Daniel and Maria. In 2004, Gradsky again changes his life partner. This time it is a young model - Marina Kotashenko. He is happy with her even now.

Gradsky and his wife Marina Kotashenko.

In his interview, Gradsky says that the secret of such a long relationship with Marina lies in understanding each other perfectly. According to the horoscope, both Scorpios are in love, they “bite” violently and quickly reconcile.

Children of Gradsky

The family of Alexander Gradsky today is his wife Marina and son Alexander. However, the performer also communicates closely with children from a previous marriage. Maria, his daughter, was seen by many in the Voice project. She is a successful art manager and TV presenter.

The eldest son of the composer Danil is a businessman with an economic education. In addition to doing business, he is fond of extrasensory perception and is a fan of Vita Mano, an American psychic who took part in the Battle of Psychics.

Gradsky with his third wife Olga and children

The youngest son of the performer is still small, now he is 3 years old. Pictured in in social networks you can often see the happy Gradsky with his young wife and young son.

Alexander Gradsky is one of the few Soviet artists who had the opportunity to work with such stellar idols as Liza Minnelli and Charles Aznavour.

https://youtu.be/OEfYOKsrg94

The artist's discography includes hundreds of songs, the most popular viewers consider:

• "How young we were";
• "How beautiful this world is";
• "We can't live without each other";
• "The Bird of Happiness";
• "Closing the circle".

In the past few years, the public has not been silent about the courts and gossip around the great artist - Alexander Gradsky. The reason for everything was his marriage to a young lady. That's what the crowd of respectable fans did not expect then. But the marriage lasts to this day - today the couple has a son.

Artist biography

Wikipedia about Alexander Gradsky gives the following information:

• People's Artist of Russia;
• Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation;
• Honored Art Worker of Russia;
• People's Artist of the Pridnestrovian People's Republic.

The above titles were awarded to the singer, composer, poet, multi-instrumentalist, one of the founders of Russian rock Alexander Borisovich Gradsky.
Biography of this amazing person began in the city of Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk Region, where Alexander Gradsky was born in November 1949. My father worked as a mechanical engineer in Kopeysk at a distribution plant, and my mother was a professional actress. Only in 1957 did they return to Moscow, where Sasha went to school. At the age of 9, his parents sent the artist to a music school, where he learned to play the violin. While studying at school, Alexander Gradsky takes part in concerts, a theater group, sings with a guitar, and at the age of 14 he writes his first poem.

Inspired by the hits he listened to by some Western bands, Alexander Gradsky decides to become a singer and musician. He graduated from the Gnessin Institute and toured the country as an ensemble soloist. Alexander Gradsky is multi-talented, in addition to many performed songs, romances, opera parts, he has several rock operas, ballets, films, where he proved himself as a composer.

The personal life of the singer and composer

The personal life of the singer and composer is as rich as his career. The artist was officially married three times:

All the wives and girlfriends of Gradsky were very beautiful, his taste in this regard is excellent.

The real personal life of the singer

From 2003 to the present, he has been living in a civil marriage with Marina Kotashenko. In September 2014, the last wife gave birth to Gradsky's son Alexander. She gave birth in America. The son appeared several weeks ahead of schedule, but this did not affect the well-being of the mother and the baby. The wife of Alexander Gradsky is 31 years younger than him. Tall and slender blonde came from Kyiv, graduated from VGIK, now works in a Moscow modeling agency, starred in several films.

Alexander Gradsky and his wife met on the street - the man really liked the girl, he drove up to her in a car. However, the beauty did not recognize him, but she took the proposed phone number. And she called him two weeks later. The girl did not care about the age difference, she saw in Gradsky a man with whom no one can compare.

They have been together since 2003, Marina Kotashenko made friends with her husband's adult children, which not every wife of a famous person can do. Only at the age of 33 did Marina become a mother, and now she and Gradsky real family.

Rumors and gossip

Recently, the entire Internet was covered with a photo where Alexander Gradsky and his wife are on the beach. Whatever unflattering epithets sounded in their address, "beauty and the beast" envious hissed, losers gloated. Gradsky himself believes that Marina, with her appearance, would have found a younger mate, and he was just lucky that this wonderful woman was next to him. Wife Marina is quite happy next to the "grandfather of Russian rock" and does not give rise to gossip with her stormy romances.

It doesn’t matter how old Alexander Gradsky is, he is in demand and loved, and his young wife is making a career in cinema on her own. They have a little son growing up, older children delight with their successes. For more than 10 years, Alexander and his wife have not been living side by side - they are a family, held together by reliable feelings, kind and trusting relationships. Gradsky's speeches can be viewed on the video.