A tragic, but still happy biography of Peter Leshchenko. Life story

Life path Soviet singer and dancer Pyotr Leshchenko turned out to be bright, rich, but not too long. The stingy fate gave him only 56 years, a significant part of which fell during both world wars and difficult post-war years. Despite this, Peter Leshchenko managed to become famous for his wealth creative heritage and many legends about yourself.

More questions than answers

In July 1954, a man died in the prison hospital in Targu Ocna. Fans of the work of Pyotr Leshchenko would hardly recognize in this beaten man, exhausted by torture and hunger, their idol, who was applauded by Europe for his unique performance of the songs “Black Eyes”, “My Marusechka”, “Curly-haired forelock” and others.

The exact place where the “sweet-voiced nightingale” is buried is still unknown. Also, no one knows for sure what he died from. popular artist pre-war time: from an open stomach ulcer, poisoning or beating. Together with Peter Konstantinovich, other secrets also disappeared into oblivion.

Either an Odessa resident or a Moldovan

Biographers even find it difficult to name exact location birth future star stage. All that is known for sure is that Peter spent his childhood in Chisinau. The family lived modestly, if not poorly. Petya and his half-sisters were raised by their mother and stepfather. But the street became the boy’s main teacher. Here he sang for the first time for the crowd, collecting money in a dusty hat.

He did this out of annoyance at the priest, who did not give Petya, who was guilty of something, another meager “salary” for singing in the church choir. Thanks to his soulful voice, the boy earned almost as much in a day as he did in a month in church. Leshchenko is expelled from the choir for his impudent act, but this does not bother him.

Peter already understands that his singing touches the souls and hearts of people. Friendship with gypsies, gatherings around a fire on the river bank, first guitar lessons - and gypsy romances will firmly enter the life and work of the famous chansonnier. He performed them in a particularly masterly, passionate, inspired way.

A dancer is no worse than a singer

Participation in the First World War cost the 19-year-old warrant officer Leshchenko a serious injury. The long recovery in the Chisinau hospital ended after October revolution, so Peter returned home as a citizen of Romania.

He made a living in different ways. He was a turner, sang in church and cemetery choirs, and was a soloist in a vocal quartet and opera. Composed of different variety groups Leshchenko went on tour.

Once in Paris, he did not miss the opportunity to graduate from Vera Trefilova’s ballet school. Here he met his first wife, Zinaida Zakitt. Their dancing couple performed successfully in restaurants in Europe and the Middle East until Zina became pregnant. Only son They will call me Igor, but that will happen later. Now Peter needs to decide what to do next. And he decides to sing again.

The triumph of Europe's new idol

First solo concert Leshchenko gives in Chisinau. Soon, in addition to his own, simple but charming songs, compositions from venerable authors of that time appeared in his repertoire. Tours in Paris, Berlin, London, Riga, Belgrade. Hits in Russian, Romanian, English and French. Huge circulations of records. It was a stunning success and rapid wealth.

Using his own funds, the “king of romances” opened his own restaurant, “U Leshchenko,” where he performed and where, without regret, he invested a lot of money. Even the Romanian royal couple admires the singing of the “sweet-voiced nightingale,” but little is known about it in the USSR. A successful emigrant is not written about in newspapers, and after World War II, the popularization of his work will become a criminal offense.

Despite this, already at the end of the 1930s, the performer’s romances were secretly listened to in many Soviet apartments. Leshchenko dreams of going to his homeland, and in 1942 he goes on tour to Nazi-occupied Odessa. There he will meet his last love and second wife Vera Belousova, a conservatory student who is younger famous singer for 25 years.

Traitor or spy

In Odessa, the enterprising singer not only gives concerts, but also opens another restaurant of his own. In the midst of the war, only the German occupiers can afford gourmet food and entertainment, so Leshchenko quickly earns a negative reputation among Soviet citizens and state security agencies. Almost 10 years later, for some reason he will be called a foreign spy.

An appeal to Joseph Stalin about returning to the USSR will only aggravate the situation of Pyotr Konstantinovich and will ensure close attention to his person. Thought about visiting Soviet Union turns into a fixed idea.

In the early 1950s, Leshchenko receives approval, but does not have time to make the trip. During the next concert, Romanian police take him away for interrogation by representatives of the Soviet secret services.

Popular singer For 3 years he was taken to different prisons, from where he never returned. Not underground, but official records with songs by Pyotr Leshchenko began to appear in the USSR only during the era of perestroika. The voice of the “king of romances” sounded again in his homeland, as the talented performer once dreamed of.

Another one famous person that time - .

Leshchenko Peter Konstantinovich (1898-1954) - Romanian and Russian pop singer, performed folk dances.

Childhood

Pyotr Leshchenko was born on June 2, 1898. His place of birth was the Kherson province, the small village of Isaevo (now it is the Odessa region in Ukraine). The boy was born out of wedlock, so he bore his mother’s surname, and in the birth certificate in the line “father” they wrote “illegitimate.”

His mother, Maria Kalinovna, had an absolute ear for music, she sang wonderfully folk songs, which influenced the formation of the boy, who is already in early childhood showed extraordinary abilities in music.

When the baby was nine months old, Maria Kalinovna left for Chisinau with her little son and her parents.

Studies

Until the age of eight, the boy was raised and educated at home, and in 1906 he was accepted into the military church choir, since Petya was very capable in music and dancing. In addition to these talents, he also learned languages ​​very quickly, speaking Russian, Ukrainian, German, Romanian and French.

The choir director helped place the boy in the Chisinau parish school. And by 1915, Peter already had musical and general education.

In 1907, my mother married Alexei Vasilyevich Alfimov. The stepfather turned out to be a simple and kind man, he loved the boy. Later, Peter had sisters: Valya in 1917, Katya in 1920. Alfimov worked as a dental technician, was a little interested in music, played the guitar and harmonica.

His stepfather accepted Petya as his own son, saw that the boy was growing up talented, and as a teenager gave him his guitar.

In addition to studying at school and singing in the choir, Petya helped with the housework since childhood, worked hard and even had a small independent income.

Front

Until the end of autumn 1916, Peter was in the Don Cossack Regiment. From there he was sent to the Kyiv Infantry School of Ensigns, from which he graduated in the early spring of 1917 and received the corresponding rank.

From Kyiv, through the reserve Odessa regiment, the young man was sent to command a platoon of the Podolsk infantry regiment on the Romanian front. Less than six months later, Peter was seriously wounded and shell-shocked, and therefore he was sent for treatment. At first he was in a field hospital, later the patient was transferred to Chisinau, where he learned about the revolutionary events.

Romanian subject

In 1918, Chisinau was declared the territory of Romania and Peter left the hospital as a Romanian subject.

Former military man Pyotr Leshchenko needed to somehow earn his living. In Chisinau, his relatives gave him shelter, and the young man began to work wherever he was given the opportunity:

• turner for a private entrepreneur;
• psalm-reader in the orphanage church;
• sub-regent in the church choir at the cemetery;
• soloist in a vocal quartet;
• singer at the Chisinau Opera.

The beginning of a creative journey

In the early autumn of 1919, Peter was accepted into dance group“Elizarov”, with which he performed for four months at the Alhambra Theater in Bucharest, and then at the Orpheum and Suzanna cinemas. These were Leshchenko's first steps in his creative career.

For about five years he toured Romania with various groups as a singer and dancer.

In 1925, Peter went to Paris, where his performances in cinemas continued. He performed many numbers that were successful with the public:

• performed in the balalaika ensemble “Guslyar”;
• participated in a guitar duet;
• performed Caucasian dances with a dagger in his teeth.

Zinaida Zakitt

He considered his dance technique imperfect, so he entered the best French ballet school to study. Here he met the artist Zinaida Zakitt, her stage name was Zhenya. Zinaida was Latvian by origin, originally from Riga. Together with Peter, Zhenya learned several numbers, and they began performing as a couple in restaurants in Paris. Resounding success quickly came to them, and soon Peter and Zinaida got married.

Since 1926, Leshchenko and Zakitt toured Europe and the Middle East with Polish musicians for two years. They were applauded in Thessaloniki and Constantinople, in Athens and Adana, in Aleppo and Smyrna, Damascus and Beirut.

After the tour, the couple returned to Romania, where they went to work at a theater called Teatrul Nostra, which was located in Bucharest. But they did not stay in one place for long. We performed in a restaurant in Chernivtsi for about three months, then performed in cinemas in Chisinau. Later, their refuge became Riga, where Peter alone went to work at the restaurant “A. T." as a vocalist. They stopped dancing because Zinaida was pregnant. At the beginning of 1931, the couple had a son, Igor.

While working in a restaurant, Peter met the composer Oscar Strok, who later wrote many songs and romances for the singer. His musical compositions were gaining popularity, Leshchenko began collaborating with other composers and, in 1932, began recording at record companies.

In 1933, Peter, his wife and child, settled in Bucharest, from where he sometimes went on tour and for recordings. Zinaida also returned to dancing, and the couple began performing together again.

In 1935, Peter opened his own restaurant called “Leshchenko”, in which he performed himself, and the ensemble “Leshchenko Trio”, which included Zinaida and younger sisters Petra.

War

At the end of 1941, Pyotr Leshchenko received an offer from the Odessa Opera House; he was asked to come to this city and give several concerts there. The cultural and educational department of the Romanian governorate gave him permission to do this, and the singer went to Odessa in May 1942.

Here he gave concerts, and during rehearsals he met singer Vera Belousova. The girl was only 19 years old, she studied at the Odessa Conservatory. Something broke out between them whirlwind romance, and Peter went to Bucharest to divorce his wife. The wife caused a showdown and scandals, in addition to everything, Leshchenko received a notice to report to the infantry regiment to be sent to war.

In the fall of 1943, he ended up in Crimea, where he was at headquarters for six months, and then headed the officers’ canteen. Having received leave, Peter went not to his family in Bucharest, but to Odessa to see Vera Belousova, where he learned that his beloved was being prepared to be sent to Germany. He took Vera with her mother and brothers and took them to Bucharest.

In May 1944, Peter and Vera got married. Soon the Red Army entered Bucharest, Leshchenko gave many concerts for the Soviet military in garrisons and officers' clubs, and sang with his young wife in hospitals.

Arrest and death

After the war, Leshchenko performed widely in front of diverse audiences in Romania. But he really wanted to return to his homeland, he wrote repeated petitions to this effect addressed to Stalin and Kalinin, but did not receive a positive answer for a long time.

In the early spring of 1951, after another appeal to the leadership of the Soviet Union, Pyotr Konstantinovich was given the go-ahead to return, but did not have time to do so. Romanian security authorities arrested him. This happened right during the intermission, Leshchenko was giving a concert, the hall was sold out, and between the first and second parts the singer was taken straight from the dressing room.

Pyotr Konstantinovich was interrogated as a witness in the case of Vera Belousova-Leshchenko. His young wife was accused of betraying the Motherland.

Leshchenko was allowed only one short meeting with his wife. Vera could never forget what terrible black hands he had during their last date. Either he worked so hard, or he was beaten so badly - he didn’t have time to tell her, he just shouted loudly to his wife: “Vera, I’m not guilty of anything!”

On July 16, 1954, Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko died in the prison hospital; all materials on his case still remain closed. Due to such secrecy, there is no exact data, but most likely, Pyotr Leshchenko was one of the thousands of builders of the Danube Canal who remained unknown and nameless. Until now, no one knows where the singer’s grave is.

In the summer of 1952, Vera was also arrested for marrying a foreign national, which was classified as treason, and also for taking part in concerts in occupied Odessa. The court appointed her death penalty, but then the punishment was changed to 25 years in prison. And in 1954, Vera was released, her criminal record was cleared and she was sent to Odessa. She died in Moscow in 2009.

Memory

In the post-war period, Leshchenko’s songs were very popular in the Soviet Union; people recognized them from the records that Red Army soldiers brought from liberated Europe as trophies. But the work of Pyotr Konstantinovich in the USSR was under the strictest ban. It was believed that his songs promoted “tavern spree.”

They stopped prohibiting listening to Leshchenko only in the late 80s. His songs were heard on the radio, publications about him began to be published in print media, then several programs about the singer were broadcast on television.

In 1988, the Melodiya record company released the album “Pyotr Leshchenko Sings.”

She was a real sensation, because, initially occupying 73rd position in the domestic hit parade, she came out on top in two or three weeks. Peter Leshchenko was officially and completely legally recognized for the first time best singer in the homeland.

His songs are still listened to by grateful connoisseurs of great art:

• “Oh, those black eyes”;
• “Vanka - darling”;
• “Tell me why?”;
• "Marfusha";
• "All that has gone before";
• “My Marusechka”;
• “Curly forelock”;
• “At the samovar, me and my Masha”;
• “Nastya is a berry.”

In 2013 at Russian TV screens a biographical film about the singer’s life “Peter Leshchenko” was released. All that has gone before…"

Main role performed by Konstantin Khabensky, script written by Eduard Volodarsky.
In Chisinau, a street and an alley are named after Peter Leshchenko. That's all the memory of the king of romances and tango...

On May 22, 2017, Channel One aired an eight-episode television film directed by Vladimir Kott “Peter Leshchenko. Everything that happened...", filmed back in 2013. The main role - singer Pyotr Leshchenko (1898-1954) - was played by actor Konstantin Khabensky. First episode historical drama aroused enormous interest among the audience.

The plot of the biographical series tells about almost the entire life of the most popular Russian songwriter, whose fate was tragic: about his youth, battles in the First World War, career, love and death in a Romanian prison.

The portal 7days.ru decided to introduce readers to the most interesting facts from the life of Peter Leshchenko.

1. Born out of wedlock

Pyotr Leshchenko was born on June 14, 1898 in the village of Isaevo, Kherson province. According to archival records, his mother’s name was Maria Kalinovna Leshchenkova, and in the “father” column there was an entry: “illegitimate.” When the future singer was nine months old, the family moved to Chisinau, where the mother entered into a second marriage with dental technician Alexei Vasilyevich Alfimov.

2. Showed extraordinary musical abilities since childhood

Peter's mother had an absolute ear for music and sang beautifully. From childhood, she instilled in her son a love of music and taught him folk songs. For his extraordinary abilities in the field of vocals and dancing, the talented boy was first accepted into the soldiers' church choir, and then enrolled in the 7th People's Parish School in Chisinau.

3. Left the choir for the front due to a change in voice

Having received the general and musical education, Peter dreamed of staying in the choir, but his voice began to break, the timbre changed - and the 17-year-old boy was left without a livelihood. He went to the front and got a job as a volunteer in the 7th Don Cossack Regiment. However, on the territory of Romania, Leshchenko was seriously wounded and spent almost six months in the hospital.

4. Began his career as a dancer and singer as part of various artistic groups

After being discharged from the hospital, Peter got a job as a turner, then served as a psalm-reader in the church at the Olginsky shelter. He began performing as a dancer and singer in various artistic groups that toured Romania.

Leshchenko constantly improved his dancing skills, and, having moved to Paris in 1925, he entered the famous Trefilova ballet school. There he met the Latvian artist Zheni Zakitt, who became not only his performance partner, but also his wife.

5. He became famous for performing romances by composer Oscar Stroke

The couple's performances quickly gained popularity, but when Zhenya became pregnant, they dance duet fell apart. To earn money, Peter began singing in restaurants and cafes. And soon he made a fateful acquaintance with the composer Oscar Stroke, the creator of the most popular tangos, romances, foxtrots and songs.

Leshchenko performed many compositions that became legendary over time: “Black Eyes”, “Blue Rhapsody”, “Tell me Why” and other tangos and romances. However, most often the singer was asked to perform the composition “Chubchik”.

6. In the USSR, he was contemptuously called the “tavern singer” and considered a “traitor to the Motherland”

Leshchenko’s colossal popularity among emigrants did not go unnoticed. And when he continued to give concerts in Nazi-occupied Odessa, Soviet propaganda characterized him: “The most vulgar and unprincipled white émigré tavern singer, who has stained himself by collaborating with the Nazi occupiers.” His second wife Vera Belousova, whom he married in 1944, also received the label of “traitor to the Motherland.”

7. The artist’s burial place is still unknown

On March 26, 1951, Leshchenko was arrested by the Romanian state security authorities right during the concert, and a year later his wife was also arrested. Belousova was accused of treason and was sentenced to death, but then this sentence was commuted to 25 years in prison.

Two years later she was released with her criminal record cleared. Last days The outstanding singer spent his life in the Romanian prison hospital Tirgu Ocna. He died on July 16, 1954. The materials on Leshchenko’s case are still closed.

Are Pyotr Leshchenko and Lev Leshchenko relatives or namesakes? As often happens, talented people, working in the same direction, and having the same surnames, many associate with kinship. Take, for example, Peter and Lev Leshchenko. Singer Pyotr Leshchenko was famous long before his namesake, Lev, appeared on the stage.

Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko (1898-1954) is known as a Romanian and Russian pop singer who also performed folk dances. At first I was a military man. Creative career started with a dance group. Later, the vocal talent of this artist clearly manifested itself. Lev Valerianovich Leshchenko (born in 1942) – Soviet and Russian singer variety shows and operettas. Since 1983 he has the title People's Artist RSFSR. Pyotr Leshchenko first saw the light of day on June 2, 1898. A native of the Kherson province, the small village of Isaevo (now Odessa region in Ukraine). The boy was born out of wedlock, so he bore his mother’s surname, and in the birth certificate in the line “father” they wrote “illegitimate.” His mother, Maria Kalinovna, had an absolute ear for music; she sang folk songs wonderfully, which influenced the formation of the boy, who already in early childhood showed extraordinary abilities in music. When the baby was nine months old, Maria Kalinovna left for Chisinau with her little son and her parents.

Until the age of eight, the boy was raised and educated at home, and in 1906 he was accepted into the soldiers’ church choir, since Petya was very capable in music and dancing. In addition to these talents, he also very quickly learned languages, spoke Russian, Ukrainian, German, Romanian and French. The choir director helped place the boy in the Chisinau parish school, informs ftimes.ru. And by 1915, Peter already had a musical and general education. In 1907, his mother married Alexei Vasilyevich Alfimov. The stepfather turned out to be a simple and kind man, he loved the boy. Later, Peter had sisters: Valya in 1917, Katya in 1920. Alfimov worked as a dental technician, was a little interested in music, played the guitar and harmonica. His stepfather accepted Petya as his own son, saw that the boy was growing up talented and in adolescence gave him his guitar. In addition to studying at school and singing in the choir, Petya from childhood He helped with the housework, worked a lot and even had a small independent income. At the age of 17, the young man’s voice changed, and he could no longer sing in the church choir. Having lost his salary, he decided to go to the front. Until the end of autumn 1916, Peter was in the Don Cossack Regiment. From there he was sent to the Kyiv Infantry School of Ensigns, from which he graduated in the early spring of 1917 and received the corresponding rank. From Kyiv, through the reserve Odessa regiment, the young man was sent to command a platoon of the Podolsk infantry regiment on the Romanian front. Less than six months later, Peter was seriously wounded and shell-shocked, and therefore he was sent for treatment. At first he was in a field hospital, later the patient was transferred to Chisinau, where he learned about the revolutionary events.

In 1918, Chisinau was declared the territory of Romania and Peter left the hospital as a Romanian subject. Start creative path. In the early autumn of 1919, Peter was accepted into the Elizarov dance group, with which he performed for four months at the Alhambra Theater in Bucharest, and then at the Orpheum and Suzanna cinemas. These were Leshchenko's first steps in his creative career. For about five years he toured Romania as part of various groups as a singer and dancer. In 1925, Peter went to Paris, where his performances in cinemas continued. He performed many numbers that were successful with the public: he performed in the balalaika ensemble “Guslyar”; participated in a guitar duet; performed Caucasian dances with a dagger in his teeth. He considered his dance technique imperfect, so he entered the best French ballet school to study. Here he met the artist Zinaida Zakitt, her stage name was Zhenya. Zinaida was Latvian by origin, originally from Riga. Together with Peter, Zhenya learned several numbers, and they began performing together in Paris restaurants, reports ftimes.ru. Resounding success quickly came to them, and soon Peter and Zinaida got married. Since 1926, Leshchenko and Zakitt toured Europe and the Middle East with Polish musicians for two years. They were applauded in Thessaloniki and Constantinople, in Athens and Adana, in Aleppo and Smyrna, Damascus and Beirut. After the tour, the couple returned to Romania, where they went to work at a theater called Teatrul Nostra, which was located in Bucharest. But they did not stay in one place for long. We performed in a restaurant in Chernivtsi for about three months, then performed in cinemas in Chisinau. Later, their refuge became Riga, where Peter alone went to work at the restaurant “A. T." as a vocalist. They stopped dancing because Zinaida was pregnant. At the beginning of 1931, the couple had a son, Igor. While working in a restaurant, Peter met the composer Oscar Strok, who later wrote many songs and romances for the singer. His musical compositions were gaining popularity, Leshchenko began collaborating with other composers and in 1932 began recording at record companies. In 1933, Peter, his wife and child, settled in Bucharest, from where he sometimes went on tour and for recordings. Zinaida also returned to dancing, and the couple began performing together again. In 1935, Peter opened his own restaurant called “Leshchenko”, in which he performed himself, and the ensemble “Leshchenko Trio”, which included Zinaida and Peter’s younger sisters, was extremely popular.

After the war, Leshchenko spoke a lot to a diverse audience in Romania. But he really wanted to return to his homeland, he wrote repeated petitions to this effect addressed to Stalin and Kalinin, but did not receive a positive answer for a long time. In the early spring of 1951, after another appeal to the leadership of the Soviet Union, Pyotr Konstantinovich was given the go-ahead to return, but did not have time to do so. Romanian security authorities arrested him. This happened right during the intermission, Leshchenko was giving a concert, the hall was sold out, and between the first and second parts the singer was taken straight from the dressing room. Pyotr Konstantinovich was interrogated as a witness in the case of Vera Belousova-Leshchenko. His young wife was accused of betraying the Motherland. On July 16, 1954, Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko died in the prison hospital; all materials on his case still remain closed. Due to such secrecy, there is no exact data, but most likely, Pyotr Leshchenko was one of the thousands of builders of the Danube Canal who remained unknown and nameless. Until now, no one knows where the singer’s grave is. In the summer of 1952, Vera was also arrested for marrying a foreign national, which was classified as treason, and also for taking part in concerts in occupied Odessa. The court sentenced her to death, but then the punishment was commuted to 25 years in prison. And in 1954, Vera was released, her criminal record was cleared and she was sent to Odessa. She died in Moscow in 2009.

Pyotr Leshchenko and Lev Leshchenko: biography and life path Lev Valerianovich. Lev Valerianovich was born in the Moscow Sokolniki district on February 1, 1942. There stood an old, merchant-built, two-story wooden house in which the Leshchenko family lived. It was there, and not in the maternity hospital, that the boy was born. There was a war going on, there were especially fierce battles near Moscow, but despite this, the life of the Leshchenko family in those years could not be called difficult. Their house was almost fully equipped, which was an extreme luxury for that time; they only had to light the stove themselves. Although my father was at the front, he served in a special-purpose regiment located in Bogorodskoye, not far from Sokolniki. Therefore, he was able to often visit his family and bring food from his dry rations. The Leshchenko family lived in one of three rooms communal apartment, where in the other two neighbors lived ─ Aunt Nadya and Baba Zhenya, who took Lev’s newly born child into her arms. Leshchenko’s family consisted of his mother, a newborn boy and his older sister Yulia, and of course, his father, when he managed to visit his relatives. Lev Valerianovich is now perplexed as to how they could have housed the whole family in a small room back then. That February day, in honor of the birth of his son, the father came home and a whole feast was arranged. Dad brought half a loaf of bread, a quarter of alcohol and some more food from his ration. On this occasion, the stove was well heated with wood, and the house became warm. The father of the future singer, Valerian Andreevich, graduated from the Kursk gymnasium before the war and began his career on a state farm. In 1931, he was sent to the capital to the Krasnopresnensky vitamin plant, where he worked as an accountant. Participated in Soviet-Finnish war, returning from which he went to serve in the NKVD. From the beginning to the victorious end he passed the Great Patriotic War, awarded many orders and medals, after the war and until his retirement he served in the MGB. Dad Lev Leshchenko can be considered a long-livers; he died at 99 years old. The singer’s mother, Klavdia Petrovna, died very early, when the boy was only one year old, and by that time she herself was barely 28 years old. After mom's death little Leo raised by grandparents. And 5 years later, in 1948, the father married for the second time, reports ftimes.ru. Lev Valerianovich remembers his stepmother Marina Mikhailovna with respect and warmth; according to him, she always treated him like her own son, the boy did not experience a lack of love and attention. And in 1949, Lev’s little sister Valya was born. In his earliest childhood, his father often took little Lev with him to the military unit; the soldiers jokingly nicknamed him “son of the regiment.” Since the boy grew up very playful and active, it was difficult to keep track of him, so the father assigned Sergeant Major Andrei Fesenko to the child. The boy had lunch with the soldiers in the canteen, went to the cinema with them in formation, at the age of four he had already been to the shooting range and wore a military uniform. Sergeant Major Fesenko also taught the kid how to ski in winter, which were three times longer than the boy himself. And little Leo had a chance to encounter music in early childhood. He often visited his grandfather Andrei Vasilyevich Leshchenko. He worked at a sugar factory as an accountant and in his free time in the factory string quartet played the violin, and before the revolution sang in the church choir. Grandfather was a very gifted man in terms of music and little by little he taught little Leo to this art: he played the violin and taught him to sing. Leshchenko spent his childhood in Sokolniki, and then the family moved to the Voykovsky district, where the boy began studying at high school No. 201. Besides school curriculum, he became a soloist in the choir at the House of Pioneers, was fond of swimming in the pool, and studied in a club artistic word and a brass band. Soon, the choir teachers advised Lev to abandon all other hobbies and clubs, focusing only on singing. And the boy himself had already firmly decided to connect his future with creativity, but had not yet decided who he would like to become more - an artist or a singer. Therefore, I left myself two classes - in the choir and drama club. And at home he listened to records with Utesov’s songs, adored his style of performance, and imitated the great singer. After some time, the loud-voiced boy performed Utesov’s songs at everyone school events, and then at city competitions. Army and college After school, an attempt to enter the theater university turned out to be unsuccessful. Leo went to work as a stagehand Bolshoi Theater, he worked during the day, and in the evenings he watched performances from the gallery. Then he tried himself as a fitter at a measuring instruments factory. In 1961, Lev Leshchenko was drafted into the ranks Soviet army. At the military registration and enlistment office, the young man said that he would really like to serve at sea, but all his plans were corrected by his father, registering his son in the tank Soviet troops, which were located in the GDR. But already from the first months of service, the army leadership sent Lev to the song and dance ensemble, where he soon established himself as the main soloist. In addition to solo performances of songs, Lev recited poetry and was the presenter concert programs, participated in a quartet ensemble. It is service in the army that Lev Valerianovich considers the beginning of his musical career and a long successful creative journey. Every free moment he had in the army, he prepared to enter the Theatre Institute. And in 1964, after finishing his military service, Leshchenko entered GITIS. In 1969, at the Moscow Operetta Theater, Lev was already a full member of the troupe; he had many roles to his credit, but something was missing. He wanted great job on the stage. At the beginning of 1970, he successfully passed the competition and became a soloist of the USSR State Television and Radio. Following this, he won the All-Union Variety Artists Competition. His popularity grew at a frantic pace, and it was rare that a concert on radio or television could do without the participation of Lev Leshchenko. In 1972, Leshchenko was a laureate of two prestigious music competitions: Bulgarian “Golden Orpheus” and Polish “Sopot”. The victory in Sopot made him famous throughout the country, and a fashion for Leshchenko began in the Soviet Union. One after another he received awards and prizes: the Moscow Komsomol Prize (1973); title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1977); Lenin Komsomol Prize (1978); Order of Friendship of Peoples (1980); title of People's Artist of the RSFSR (1983); Order of the Badge of Honor (1985).

Leshchenko Peter Konstantinovich - Romanian and Russian pop singer, folk and folk dancer characteristic species dance, restaurateur. He was born in the small village of Isaevo, which is located near Odessa. The singer’s mother was Leshchenkova Maria Kalinovna, who gave birth to a son without having a legal spouse. Leshchenko never knew his own father. He also had half-sisters.

The early years of life of Leshchenko P.K.

Oh those black eyes
I was captivated
I can't forget them,
They are burning in front of me.
Oh those black eyes
I was loved.
Where have you disappeared to now?
Who else is close to you?

Leshchenko Pyotr Konstantinovich

For eight years, little Peter studied at home environment. His mother, grandmother and mother’s husband, who worked as a dentist, were involved in his upbringing. Maria Kalinovna was a very gifted woman, she sang folk songs and could boast of excellent hearing. The future singer was also gifted musical abilities taking part in the choir at the church. Six weeks later he becomes a student at the national parish school of the city of Chisinau.

At the age of seventeen, Pyotr Leshchenko graduated from music and secondary school and goes to war. He joins a Cossack regiment, then takes the position of warrant officer and platoon commander. In August 1917, he received a shell shock and was seriously wounded, and was treated in a hospital in Chisinau. When the performer finally recovered, he became a subject of Romania. This happened after the famous revolution that happened in October.

Life in the post-war years and the beginning of a vocal career

After army service, Leshchenko worked in various fields- was a church official, a member of a quartet, performed folk dances and was a singer at opera house city ​​of Chisinau. In 1919 he completely immersed himself in variety activities. The singer goes on tour, taking part in various musical groups, a guitar duet, and also performs solo songs.

The singer's year 1926 began with a tour of European cities and Middle Eastern countries. In 1931, fate brought him together with Oscar Stroke, a composer. He invites Leshchenko to sign up at the studio and he agrees. Soon records will be released with the singer’s romances - “Black Eyes”, “Blue Rhapsody”, “Tatyana”, “Nastya the Berry” and others.

These songs become so famous that a recording company contacts the artist and offers to sign a contract. He agrees and records about one hundred and eighty records. Peter begins to tour Europe and gives concerts in Odessa, which is under occupation by Romanian soldiers.