Maya Kristalinskaya is a famous Soviet artist, pop song singer. In 1974 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
Maya Kristalinskaya: The Early Years
The singer has been a native Muscovite all her life. She was born on February 24, 1932 and lived in Moscow all her life. The father of the future singer was an employee of the All-Russian Society of the Blind. Her main job was to create various games and crossword puzzles. All of them were published in the Pionerskaya Pravda publication in the middle of the last century.
The girl had an early predisposition to vocals. Even in school days, she began to study in the local choir. In 1950, the girl graduated from high school and entered the Aviation University (in Moscow). Despite the technical profession, she put a lot of effort into amateur performances at the institute.
In the Soviet Union, everyone who received a higher education had to work for some time, according to the distribution, where they were assigned by the state. Kristalinskaya was sent to the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant. Chkalov.
Upon returning to Moscow (for a number of reasons, this happened ahead of schedule), the girl got a job at the design bureau of A. S. Yakovlev. Here she worked for some time, combining work and amateur performances. The girl often performed at various competitions.
In 1957, she performed at the International Youth Festival, which took place in Moscow. The performance was successful, and Maya became the laureate of the festival. After some time she got married. Her chosen one was Arkady Arkanov, a famous Russian satirist. However, the couple divorced very quickly.
The beginning of an active creative activity
Participating in various competitions, Kristalinskaya gradually became famous in certain circles. In early 1960, she was asked to record a song for the film Thirst. The composition was included in the film and was called "Two Shores" and became popular. Interestingly, it was originally performed by another singer - the first version sounded in the film for some time. However, later the creators decided to re-record the song with a new vocalist and entered her name in the final credits.
After the song became popular, the young performer received many tour offers. Various ensembles invited her to join as a guest vocalist. The girl accepted several proposals. In particular, she performed for a long time in the orchestra of E. Rozner and the ensemble of E. Rokhlin.
At the same time, there were studio recordings on which Maya Vladimirovna performed songs by various authors. Records were released on the territory of the Soviet Union and sold well. Maya has become a real celebrity.
One of the best examples of visualizing success was the song “We met by chance in life” (it was written by the head of the ensemble in which Kristalinskaya performed for a long time, E. Rokhlin). The composition became very popular and was played on the radio every day. Music has become popular. In the mid-1980s, an album of the same name was released.
In 1961, a 29-year-old girl developed a tumor (lymphatic glands). A difficult course of treatment allowed her to perform further. But from that moment on, an indispensable attribute in her clothes was a scarf, which hid the mark on her neck resulting from radiation treatment.
In the mid-1960s, Alexandra Pakhmutova wrote the song "Tenderness", which later became legendary. It was later performed by many famous artists, but it was Kristalinskaya who became the first in 1966. As the music editor Chermen Kasaev, who was present during the recording, later reported, the singer had tears in her eyes during the first listening to the recorded material.
In the same year, a survey of viewers in the USSR was conducted. According to its results, most people named Maya the best pop singer.
The further fate of Maya Kristalinskaya
The 1960s were marked for the performer by significant success in her work. However, the next decade was a turning point. After the change of leadership at the State Television and Radio Broadcasting, many musicians ended up on the so-called "black list".
Their work was banned. Distribution of records with songs, as well as performances in front of the general public, became a punishable crime.
Maya Vladimirovna was included in the list. From now on, the path to radio and television was closed. The career did not stop there - famous composers invited a woman to perform at their concerts. But this was not enough to fully engage in creativity.
From that moment on, I had to perform only in small regional centers (it was necessary to obtain permission) and in rural clubs. So the last years of the singer's life passed. She died in the summer of 1985 due to a severe exacerbation of the disease. A year earlier, her beloved person, Edward Barclay, also died (the cause was diabetes).
The singer is often remembered today at various creative evenings, her most famous songs are performed. The artist is called a real symbol of the era.
