Oleg Akkuratov is a unique blind pianist. Oleg Akkuratov or the phenomenal pianist “if a guy doesn’t perform, why does he need an apartment?”

Oleg Akkuratov, whose biography will be described in this article, is a young pianist, virtuoso, laureate of prestigious competitions and festivals. The brilliant musician was blind from birth and was brought up in a boarding school.

Biography

Oleg Akkuratov was born in the Krasnodar region, in the village of Morevka, in 1989. He was raised by his grandparents, his mother was only fifteen years old. The pianist was born blind. Musical abilities began to appear in the boy at the age of 4 years. His grandmother took him to audition in Armavir, at the only music boarding school in Russia for visually impaired and blind children. He was accepted to study there, and the boy left home. In Armavir, Oleg learned musical notation using the Braille system. At the age of 6, he was already playing P. I. Tchaikovsky’s first concerto, which he learned by ear from a record. Then he won his first victory in the competition. In 2008, Oleg graduated from the Moscow Music College of Pop and Jazz Art and entered the Institute of Music.

Oleg has perfect pitch, excellent musical memory, and a wonderful sense of rhythm. He performs both classical and jazz. There are no difficult works for him. O. Akkuratov sings well and has a pleasant lyrical baritone.

Creative path

In 2003, while still a student, Oleg Akkuratov performed in Great Britain before the Pope. He also took part in the concert of the outstanding opera diva Montserrat Caballe.

In 2005, the young pianist performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and London. His partners were world-famous orchestras.

In 2006, Oleg proved himself to be a talented vocalist, taking 1st place in the competition of choirs and soloists.

In 2009, A. Akkuratov was the hero of A. Malakhov’s “Let Them Talk” program. Then he moved to live in Morevka, with his father and his family. He headed the Mich Band jazz orchestra in the city of Yeisk and became a soloist at the Russian Opera Theater. A concert was organized at the Moscow Conservatory in which Oleg Akkuratov was supposed to perform. The pianist planned to perform J. S. Bach's fantasy together with a combined choir of 815 people and Yuri Bashmet's orchestra. But the concert did not take place. Oleg’s father, who had previously not taken any part in his son’s fate, prevented this performance.

Due to blindness, the pianist has to spend 10 or more hours a day mastering new works. Oleg is constantly developing and improving.

Awards

The owner of a large number of diplomas is Oleg Akkuratov. The blind pianist became a laureate of a large number of competitions and festivals at the regional, all-Russian and international levels. He received his first diploma in 2002.

Competitions in which Oleg Akkuratov won

• "The starry youth of the planet."
• Competition for young jazz performers.
• “Piano in Jazz” (competition for young performers).
• Competition for young pianists named after K. Igumnov.
• "Orpheus".
• Competition of young composers of Kuban and many others.

In 2001, he became a scholarship recipient of the Gifted Children program.

Found family

Oleg Akkuratov, as mentioned above, was brought up with his grandmother, and then in a special music school for visually impaired and blind children. Parents did not take any part in the musician’s upbringing. Several years ago, Oleg found a father and stepmother. And also two brothers and a sister. Oleg now lives with them in Morevka. They control his entire life. There are rumors that his relatives forced the pianist to perform almost in restaurants so that he could earn money from them, since none of his family members worked. His apartment, which he received from the state, is put up for sale, and the money accumulated in his account has been spent. The pianist's father is going to become his concert director, because he believes that the musician does not need strangers, although he does not have the necessary experience for this.

Concert programs

Oleg Akkuratov is actively touring. He travels to different cities and also performs at prestigious venues in the capital.

Concert programs this season:

• “The Saved World Remembers” (evening in memory of composer A. Eshpai);
• festival of musical humor in Chelyabinsk;
• concert with Deborah Brown;
• "Beauty Queens";
• performance with Igor Butman and his orchestra;
• musical evenings in Aramil and Yekaterinburg;
• concert with the Russian Chamber Orchestra;
• charity marathon "Flower of Seven Flowers";
• concert with Jesse Jones and others.

A landmark event in which Oleg Akkuratov took part was a concert " The possibilities are limited - the abilities are limitless." The pianist performed in a duet with E. Kunz. The musicians performed four hands of F. Schubert's Fantasia in F minor. The performance was bright and emotional. The musicians played superbly with each other and sounded like one person.

Great actress

Oleg Akkuratov became the prototype for the main character of the film "Motley Twilight", in which actress Lyudmila Gurchenko acted as director and composer. The film was filmed in 2009. The premiere screening took place in a Moscow cinema. Lyudmila Markovna loved the blind pianist very much, called him son and did a lot for him. She attended school in Armavir, where Oleg studied, and took part in a charity concert. The great actress and the young pianist performed songs included in the film “Motley Twilight,” which was still in the process of filming at that time. A lot of listeners came to the concert. Lyudmila Gurchenko and Oleg Akkuratov were not allowed to leave the stage for a long time. The death of the great actress was a blow for the musician.

Mikhail Okun, Oleg’s teacher, is seriously concerned about the future of his student.

For 18 years, RG has been following the fate of Oleg Akkuratov, a phenomenally gifted blind musician from the Krasnodar region.

We first talked about him when Oleg was only eight years old and he studied at the Armavir specialized music school for blind and visually impaired children. And even then they were convinced: the child’s unusual gift amazed everyone who came into contact with him. Hundreds of different people all these years nurtured the young talent and rejoiced at Oleg’s successes. And his meeting with Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko gave him a chance to become a real world star. The actress took Oleg with her to concerts, sang with him at creative meetings, and persuaded businessmen to buy an expensive concert grand piano for him. In 2008, she accompanied him to Novosibirsk for the International Piano Competition. Akkuratov’s performance was the opening of the competition - he performed on equal terms with sighted musicians and won a triumphant victory.

In the fall of next year, the stage of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory awaited him, but he never appeared on it. It turned out that at the request of his relatives, Oleg returned to the tiny village of Morevka in the Yeisk region, from where he was sent to the Armavir school at the age of six. Now, in addition to the grandparents, the second family of Oleg’s father lived in the house with three children. So he had to become the breadwinner of a large family. The jazz band "MICH-Band" was created especially for him, named after the former resident of Yerevan, Mikhail Ivanovich Chepel (hence the abbreviation). "MICH Band" became a commercial project of a capital philanthropist who undertook to patronize a blind musician. Tickets for the concerts of the hastily put together jazz group, performing under the brand of International Piano Competition laureate Oleg Akkuratov, were selling like hot cakes. Oleg abandoned his studies in Moscow and, on the advice of his new trustees, began to refuse to participate in significant cultural events, where he continued to be invited.

He also did not appear at the premiere of Lyudmila Gurchenko’s film “Motley Twilight,” filmed with his participation and dedicated to the fate of an equally gifted blind young man. The credits read: "Piano and vocals - Oleg Akkuratov." Lyudmila Markovna dreamed that she would bring her young idol onto the stage and everyone would see the one who became the prototype of the main character. But this did not happen.

"Motley Twilight" ends with a happy ending: the famous musician takes the aspiring star to continue his studies abroad. In life, everything turned out differently. Oleg’s relatives tried to cut him off from all previous contacts, even from communication with the great actress. But they brought him to Gurchenko’s funeral. In an interview with reporters, he said that he would never forget what this great woman did for him. Bowing his head, he followed the coffin, but did not have time to say the last “sorry”...

We learned about further developments from the director of the Yeisk School of Arts, Elena Ivakhnenko.

He came to us after graduating from a jazz college with the help of teachers from the Armavir Music School and the first year of a music institute in Moscow,” she explains. - They took his documents and transferred him to the Rostov Conservatory. His teacher and mentor here was piano professor Vladimir Daich. I went with him to Rostov for more than a year, for which my relatives didn’t even say thank you. At this time, Chepel took out the instruments of the jazz orchestra, allegedly donated to our House of Culture, in order to independently exploit Oleg’s talent in the future. One can only be amazed how the guy managed to graduate from the conservatory.

We contact Oleg’s teacher, professor of the Rostov Conservatory Vladimir Samuilovich Daich.

He studied piano with me for four years,” explains the professor. - A phenomenally gifted musician, but we parted badly. I don’t know at whose instigation, but he acted dishonestly and dishonestly.

It turned out that last fall Akkuratov received second prize at one of the most prestigious music competitions in Moscow. It was agreed that Vladimir Samuilovich would prepare Oleg to participate in the Tchaikovsky Competition, but he... disappeared.

Oleg had a chance to become a world famous person, Dyche laments, but he missed it. - This is extremely offensive. I heard that he plays in restaurants and earns money. It's probably necessary. But is it really possible to hammer nails with an expensive microscope?! However, he is now studying jazz and this is probably the right choice. After all, the main thing here is not the teacher, but personal talent and the ability to improvise. That is, what he is endowed with in abundance by nature.

They had not seen the professor for almost a year. Oleg abandoned his studies at the conservatory, until one day Elena Ivakhnenko reminded him that he had to pass state exams.

In May of this year, he appeared with the question: “Can I pass the state exams,” says Professor Dyche. “I studied with him for a day, and the next day he passed the exam. That's where we parted. I have no grudge against him, only sympathy. After all, if everything had turned out differently, the world would have applauded him now. This is an amazingly gifted person. Personally, I do not lose hope that he will be able to achieve a lot, overcoming fate and prevailing circumstances. And, of course, I was very happy when I learned that Igor Butman took over Oleg’s creative patronage. Perhaps with its help he will stop hammering nails with an expensive microscope. Oleg is our common heritage. And its future should be of concern to everyone who thinks about the prestige of the country.

Meanwhile

Pianist Oleg Akkuratov took part in the filming of the program “Property of the Republic”, dedicated to Lyudmila Gurchenko. And he sang in a duet with Aslan Akhmadov so purely, touchingly and soulfully that many in the studio wanted to vote for this particular song - the famous “For three years I dreamed of you.” Of course, the composition sounded to the piano accompaniment of Oleg Akkuratov. Gurchenko’s husband, Sergei Senin, telling the story of Oleg Akkuratov’s acquaintance with Lyudmila Markovna in the program, emphasized that Gurchenko did not call the talented pianist anything other than a “miracle” and an “angel.” And Oleg once again confirmed both his talent and his purpose on television filming.

The program “PROPERTY OF THE REPUBLIC”, dedicated to Lyudmila Gurchenko, will be aired on Channel One on Saturday, November 14, at 19.00.

Oleg Akkuratov- a phenomenally gifted blind musician from the Krasnodar region. He amazed with his talent Lyudmila Gurchenko and Montserrat Caballe, and now, as a member of the Igor Butman Quartet and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, he regularly tours in various parts of the world. On Russia Day, June 12, the virtuoso pianist will perform a solo concert on the stage of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

Oleg told an AiF.ru correspondent about the large-scale concert, working with Igor Butman and love for music.

Daria Ostasheva, AiF. ru: Oleg, you are going to perform solo on the stage of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Many musicians dream about this all their lives, but how do you feel?

Oleg Akkuratov: I feel something very good. I think there will be a wonderful audience at the concert. We have prepared a rich program: the first part will feature the twenty-first sonata Beethoven, nocturne and polonaise Chopin, "June" Tchaikovsky from the series “The Seasons” and “Hungarian Rhapsody” Liszt. In the second, together with the Moscow Jazz Orchestra of Igor Butman, there will be a concert for piano and orchestra of the famous composer George Gershwin.

— You perform both classical and jazz music. Which direction do you prefer?

— I love playing classical music as much as jazz. For me these are two facets of one art. I feel equally free in both directions and do not want to part with either of them.

— Only this year you graduated from graduate school at the Rostov State Conservatory named after S.V. Rachmaninov, but you have been performing on the big stage for a long time. Tell me, what else do you dream about? What are your plans now?

— My future plans are to tour and give concerts, both solo and with an ensemble. There is no special dream, because everything comes true here and now. And the most important thing for me is to play and remain a musician.

— It really does come true, because at the age of 27 you have already managed to perform on the same stage with such stars as Montserrat Caballe, Evelyn Glennie... What meeting do you remember most and, perhaps, changed something in your life?

“These were some of the events that I remember most.” But the most fateful meeting in my life at the moment is meeting Igor Butman. Igor is an amazing saxophonist and a person with whom it is always interesting to work. It was thanks to him that I visited many countries and gained tremendous experience playing with the orchestra and its team.

— I know that over the past few years, as a member of the Igor Butman Quartet and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, you have toured in Canada, China, Israel, India, Latvia, and even made several tours in the USA. Tell us how you are received by foreign audiences.

— Both in Russia and abroad the public receives us very warmly. But in the USA, for example, where jazz is more popular, the audience even gets up from their seats, dances, sings along and applauds especially wildly.

"Music is my life"

— Lyudmila Gurchenko also noticed you and even dedicated her directorial debut to you: the film “Motley Twilight.” Tell me, were you looking for a meeting with her, or did the prima one day find you?

“She came up to me completely unexpectedly during lunch and said: “Hello, darling, hello, my dear... Let’s sing “Silence behind the Rogozhskaya outpost”?” (this was later the song we started working with her on).

Then Lyudmila Markovna decided to direct the film “Motley Twilight” about a blind musician. But it can rather be called fiction rather than documentary work, that is, I was only the prototype of the main character. For example, I am not from Voronezh, unlike the hero of the film. I didn’t study in Toronto or New Jersey, but I studied in Moscow, Armavir, and Rostov.

— In “Motley Twilight,” a hero named Oleg Akkuratov was played by professional actor Dmitry Kubasov. Didn't you want to play the main role yourself?

- No, I didn’t even have such a thought. In this film I sang songs, played musical pieces, that was my role.

— What does music mean to you? How do you feel when you play?

— Music is my language. This is my soul, this is my freedom, this is all I live, all I feel. When I play, I try to convey one or another state that the composers put into this music. Everything, of course, depends on the work: if it’s Beethoven, then it’s one character, if Tchaikovsky is completely different. My task is precisely to feel everything that is intended by the authors.

“Motley Twilight” - this is what Lyudmila Gurchenko called her film, which was recently released. The actress took as a basis the story of a Kuban nugget - from the birth of a blind pianist from the city of Yeisk Oleg Akkuratov.

His name thundered throughout the country when the boy was only five years old. His parents didn't need him - his 15-year-old mother cared only about herself. The boy was raised by his grandparents, and they showed their grandson to music teachers at a boarding school for the blind. The teachers recognized the child’s talent and took him to various competitions. Akkuratov received his first prize at the age of six, becoming a diploma winner at the II International Louis Braille Competition.

By the age of 17, Oleg not only played phenomenally, but also sang beautifully and performed with Montserrat Caballe. And at the age of 19 he won the International Piano Competition in Novosibirsk - beating his sighted peers.

The famous jazzman Mikhail Okun trained with the boy. When Oleg graduated from the Moscow Pop and Jazz School, the teacher introduced him to Lyudmila Gurchenko. The actress was so fascinated by the boy that she decided to make a film about his difficult fate. But if on the screen there is a story with a happy ending, then in life 21-year-old Oleg Akkuratov, who was applauded by the Pope himself, makes a living playing the piano in a restaurant in his native village.

INSTEAD OF A BIG SCENE - WORK IN THE HOUSE OF CULTURE

Oleg was a difficult child,” says Alexandra Kutsenko, director of a music school for blind and visually impaired children in Armavir, where Akkuratov studied. - But at the same time the most gifted in the entire history of the school. He is very different from the hero in the film. He is punchy, and our Oleg is soft.

“He has perfect pitch and a fantastic memory,” says Lyudmila Gurchenko about her ward. “Talented people like him are born once every hundred years.”

When Akkuratov turned 18, his own parents unexpectedly remembered him (by that time they were already divorced and his father married for the second time). Although why be surprised - the child was such a success! At first, the mother wanted to see Oleg, but her ex-husband beat her to it, taking the boy from the boarding school.

I haven’t been able to reach Oleg on the phone for a year now,” sighs Alexandra Kutsenko. - The people around him don’t want him to win competitions like before. This is understandable: it’s enough to just give concerts and collect dividends. Now the guy plays in a local recreation center and doesn’t want to go anywhere.

However, acquaintances of the Akkuratov family disagree:

Oleg is helped by a philanthropist who has set up a fund to support a blind musician. And don’t think that he is rotting in the swamp of the province! Yes, Yeysk is not Moscow, but world-class stars also come here.

“IF A GUY DOESN’T PERFORM, WHY DOES HE HAVE AN APARTMENT?”

When we got through to Oleg’s stepmother, it turned out that the story was more complicated than it seemed at first.

Everything the school principal says is nonsense! - Marina Akkuratova raised her voice. - We are going to an international competition in Rostov soon! Let her tell you better about the apartment, the keys to which Oleg was given in 2007 (after a charity event, Oleg was given three rubles from caring Armavir residents. - Author's note). He couldn't get into it for three years! They told us: well, if a guy doesn’t live in Armavir and doesn’t perform, why does he need an apartment? Then we wrote a statement to the prosecutor's office, and ten days later the issue was resolved in our favor.

However, his former mentor does not agree with what the musician’s stepmother says.

Oleg did not use the apartment only because it was more convenient for him to live in a boarding school: there was no furniture in the apartment, explains Alexandra Kirillovna. - He gave the keys to his home to me so that I and the employees of the cultural department would keep order there. And in 2009, when we bought furniture, we celebrated a housewarming party.

And what about the pianist himself? Is he happy with how his fate turned out?

I’m offended that this happened, but it seems that Alexandra Kirillovna and I will no longer have the same relationship,” says Oleg. - She was always too strict with me. Now I have a new life, a new repertoire.

It looks like Oleg is really happy with what he has. Perhaps the performer has outgrown his genius and become like thousands of other musicians who deftly pluck the keys? The boy grew up and we didn’t even notice...

If you still don't know the name, , then now you can get to know him better and just be proud that such rare talents are born in our country.

Why a phenomenal pianist?

The fact is that Oleg was born a blind child and was, so to speak, “deprived” of all the sensations associated with the visual perception of the world. However, instead of vision, he received absolute pitch, musical memory and an excellent sense of rhythm. Since childhood, he showed a special love for music and already at the age of four he played the melodies he heard on the piano for the first time. This is where his confident rise to the Olympus of fame began.

By the age of six, Oleg was taken to a specialized music school for blind and visually impaired children. However, she was at the boarding school, where he moved. There he was taught to read music using the Braille system.

Today, Oleg Akkuratov is considered a virtuoso in his field. He became a laureate of many competitions, both state and international. He even performed on the same stage with Monserat Caballe, at the residence of the Pope. And he showed himself on many other musical projects. Today his name is more commonly referred to as a jazz star.

But I still think it’s his completely different qualities that make him stand out. Although he has many abilities that he most likely developed in past incarnations, what distinguishes him most of all is his great desire to “be and live.” Perseverance and endurance, willpower and confidence, firmness and discipline - made him what he is now. Namely, a famous pianist, albeit blind, from this his talent and skill only increases.

His example shows us that, despite physical and external circumstances (he actually grew up with his grandparents), you can remain not just a Man with a capital P, but also strive and achieve your goal. He boldly walked forward towards his dream. He took advantage of all the opportunities that the Universe gave him and showed that