The sonorous baritone Muslim Magomayev is recognized from the first notes. In the 1960s and 1970s of the last century, the singer was a real star of the USSR. His concerts were sold out in large halls, he performed at stadiums.
Magomayev's records were sold in millions of copies. He toured not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders (in France, Germany, Poland, etc.). In 1997, in tribute to the talent of the singer, one of the asteroids was named 4980 Magomaev.
The early years of Muslim Magomayev
The famous "baritone" was born on August 17, 1942. The singer's mother worked as a theater actress, and her father created the scenery. The mother of the future star was transferred to work in Vyshny Volochek. In this city of the Tver region, Muslim spent his childhood.
Here he went to school and created a puppet theater with classmates. Mom, seeing how gifted her son was, sent Magomayev to Baku, where she believed that he would have more opportunities to get a good education.
Muslim lived with his uncle Jamal. He played him "trophy" records by Titta Ruffo and Enrico Caruso.
The boy really wanted to become a famous singer. Moreover, I regularly heard the popular Azerbaijani singer Bulbul, who lived in the neighborhood, sing.
At a school with a musical bias, the future star studied with varying degrees of success. The young man succeeded in solfeggio, but in ordinary physics and chemistry, "the brain turned off."
At school, Muslim's talent was noticed by the famous professor V. Anshelevich. He taught the singer to work with his voice and further supported the young talent. In 1959, Magomayev received a diploma from a music school.
Creativity of the artist
Magomayev gave his first concert at the age of 15 and was immediately greeted with a standing ovation from the audience. The family was afraid that Muslim's voice would change with age, so they did not allow him to sing at full strength, the singer did not listen to his relatives. But age has not made significant changes in the vocal data of the maestro.
On the professional stage, the singer made his debut in 1961. After graduating from college, he was assigned to the ensemble of the military district. At a popular international festival in Finland, the song "Buchenwald alarm" was performed to the applause of the hall.
Then there was an arts festival in the Kremlin, where the musician achieved all-Union fame. The large halls of the USSR began to applaud him.
Two years later, Muslim Magomayev went on an internship at the legendary La Scala venue. The "cutting" of the star's talent took place rapidly.
His vocal abilities were noticed by the director of the Parisian Olympia, Bruno Coquatrix. He offered the musician a contract. Unfortunately, the leadership of culture of the USSR forbade the singer to sign it.
On charges of receiving an excess salary, a criminal case was opened against Magomayev. Touring Europe, Muslim could stay abroad, but returned to his homeland. The accusation against the singer was dropped, but he was forbidden to leave Azerbaijan.
Magomayev decided to continue his studies and graduated from the Baku Conservatory. KGB Chairman Andropov intervened in the case of the beloved singer, Muslim was allowed to tour outside the USSR.
In 1969, the maestro was awarded the long-awaited recognition, the singer was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR and was awarded the Golden Disc for millions of records. This happened when Muslim was only 31 years old. An unprecedented achievement for our country.
A special place in the musician's repertoire is occupied by songs to the music of Arno Babajanyan, but the musician also liked Western pop music. He first introduced the Soviet public to the songs of the Beatles.
Some compositions, such as "Ray of the Golden Sun" or "We Can't Live Without Each Other", are real hits today.
In 1998, the singer decided to leave the stage, concentrating on his favorite pastime (except singing) - painting. But the singer did not abandon his fans, regularly held web conferences on his website and answered questions from users. The last song recorded by the maestro was "Farewell, Baku" to the verses of S. Yesenin.
Since 2005, Muslim Magomayev has been a citizen of the Russian Federation. The singer headed the congress of Azerbaijanis in Russia.
Personal life
Muslim Magomayev was married twice. For the first time, the singer connected his life with classmate Ophelia Veliyeva. But marriage turned out to be a mistake of youth. From him, Magomayev had a daughter, Marina.
In 1974, Magomayev officially legalized relations with Tamara Sinyavskaya. Their romance began two years earlier. Love and a year-long separation did not interfere, when Tamara left for an internship in Italy. After the wedding, the singer was next to Muslim until the very last days of his life.
The famous baritone died on October 25, 2008. The sick heart of the singer could not stand it and stopped. Ashes of Magomayev were buried in Baku. In the fall of 2009, a monument was unveiled on his grave. It is a statue of Magomayev made of white marble.
Saying goodbye to the singer, Alla Pugacheva said that her fate was the way it was, only thanks to Magomayev. The future star heard him for the first time at the age of 14 and since then she wanted to become a singer.
Every year a vocal competition is held in Moscow, named after Magomayev. The monument to the maestro in Moscow was opened in 2011. It is installed in the park on Leontievsky Lane.
Talent and a huge contribution to the culture of our country was awarded the Order of Honor, which was presented to the singer personally by Vladimir Putin. The sonorous baritone of the singer is easy to distinguish among the voices of thousands of vocalists.
