Blanter, Matvey Isaakovich

Matvey Blanter was born on January 28 ( February 10 ), 1903 in Pochep, and was one of four children in the Jewish family of the merchant Isaac Borisovich Blanter (d. 1924) and actress Tatyana Evgenievna Vovsi, relatives of S. M. Mikhoels and M. S. Vovsi ^{[ 3] [4]} . My father had a chip plant and kerosene warehouses at the Unecha station , was engaged in grain trade ^[5] .

Even before the First World War, the family moved to Kursk , where Matvey studied at a real school , sang in the choir, participated in the drama theater orchestra ^{[6] [7]} .

In 1915-1917 he studied at the Kursk School of Music (now the Children's Art School No. 1 named after G.V. Sviridov) in piano classes with A. Daugul and violin with A. Egudkin. In the spring of 1917 he left for Moscow, where in 1917-1919 he studied at the Music and Drama School of the Moscow Philharmonic Society (now the Russian University of Theater Arts - GITIS ) in the violin class with A. Ya. Mogilevsky , in music theory with N. S. Potolovsky and N. R. Kochetova . He was engaged in composition by G.E. Konyus ( 1920 - 1921 ).

In 1920-1921, he was the head of the music department, theater composer of the pop art studio HM Forreger Workshop (Mastfor) in Moscow, and from 1926-1927, the head of the music department at the Leningrad Satire Theater (now St. Petersburg Academic Comedy Theater named after N.P. Akimova ), in 1928-1929 - the Observation Theater of the Press House (Moscow), in 1930-1931 - propaganda teams in Magnitogorsk (now the Magnitogorsk Drama Theater named after A.S. Pushkin ), in 1932 - the Mobile Theater of the Crocodile Magazine " , In 1932-1933 - Gorky Theater of Miniatures . Since 1936 - artistic director of the USSR State Jazz Orchestra .

His first works were written in the style of light dance music (including the famous foxtrot "John Gray", composed in 1923 ). His hits were staged in the cabaret “ Balaganchik ” in Petrograd (1922) with R. Zelena (“House in Batavia”), in the “Peacock Tail” in Moscow (1923) ironic “cruel” romance “Leather belt” (“He was apache , she’s an apache ”) in the future, famous drama artists V.O. Toporkov and L. Columbova performed. In the 1930s , his style changed, music can be attributed to socialist realism . While working at the Magnitogorsk Theater, he writes “Song of Magnitogorsk” and “The Boy Was Spanked in Irkutsk”, the harsh ballad “Partizan Zheleznyak” and “Song of Schors” appeared. Songs immediately entered the repertoire of L.O. Utesov , L. A. Ruslanova . Ruslanova was one of the first to sing Blanter’s masterpiece, the famous Katyusha (1938, lyrics by M. V. Isakovsky ) ^[8] .

The organic interpenetration of heroics and lyrics is being developed in the songs of the war years. One of the first “Goodbye, cities and huts” (article by M.V. Isakovsky) was written on June 23, 1941, with her recruits. At the front and in the rear, along with the pre-war Katyusha, Blanter’s songs were sung: “My Beloved” (art. E. A. Dolmatovsky , 1942), “Twinkle”, “ In the Frontline Forest ” (both on art. M. V . Isakovsky, 1943), “How a Soldier Served,” “Song of War Correspondents” (both at the station of K. M. Simonov , 1944), “Under the Stars of the Balkans” (article of M. V. Isakovsky, 1944) and many others (only about 50 songs during the Great Patriotic War). In 1945, “Enemies Burned a Native Hut” was written (article by M.V. Isakovsky), performed on the stage 15 years later by Mark Bernes (1960). “Better there isn’t that color” (1946), “Migratory birds fly” (1949) (both at the station of M. V. Isakovsky), “ In the city garden ” (1947) (article by A. I. Fatyanova ), “We will sit down , friends, before a long journey ”(1962) (art. V. A. Dykhovichny and M. Slobodsky, became a favorite song of astronauts),“ Black-eyed Cossack ”(1966) (art. I. L. Selvinsky ), a series of meditation songs to the verses of B. Sh. Okudzhava (1967) and many others gained fame in the postwar years ^[8] . He was the author of the anthem of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany .

He continued to collaborate with pop theaters: for the theater of miniatures under the supervision of A. I. Raikin wrote songs for the play "The Seasons" (1956); for the Moscow Music Hall - music for the performances "Moscow - Venus, then everywhere else" (1961), "Tick-tock, tick-tock ..." (1963) ^[8] .

He was actively engaged in creativity until 1975.

Matvey Blanter is the largest Soviet songwriter. In total, he was the author of more than 200 songs, suites for voice and orchestra, operettas, music for performances, films, radio shows. All of his songs are characterized by impulsiveness, openness, a sense of humor, optimism. The composer's tunes are bright, very individual, easy to remember. In his melodic work he inherits the traditions of M.I. Glinka , P.I. Tchaikovsky .

Member of the Union of Composers of the USSR .

Member of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet public .

He died on September 27, 1990 in Moscow . He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery (plot number 10).

Blanter’s music entered the golden fund of Soviet culture. His songs were performed by Leonid Utesov , Vladimir Bunchikov , Vladimir Nechaev , Georgy Vinogradov , Sergey Lemeshev , Joseph Kobzon , Yuri Bogatikov , Lidia Ruslanova , Mark Bernes , Leonid Kharitonov , Bulat Okudzhava , Elena Obraztsova , Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A. V. Alexandrova .

The lyric song "Katyusha" , written on the verses of M. V. Isakovsky in 1938 , has become a truly popular and one of the symbols of the Great Patriotic War . Subsequently, the tune "Katyusha" became generally one of the symbols of Russia, the tune and the song itself is performed everywhere, both in Russia and in many foreign countries ^[9] .

Another famous song “Migratory birds fly” (co-authored with M. V. Isakovsky ) is of the strongest patriotic orientation. And the “Football March” is still performed before every football match in Russia and a number of former Soviet republics.

• The first wife is Nina Ernestovna Schwan, a ballerina.
  • Son - Vladimir Matveyevich Blanter, journalist (wrote under the pseudonyms Vladimir Polynin and Vladimir Dolinin ), executive secretary of the journal Nature , author of the popular science books The Prophet in His Homeland (about N. K. Koltsov ) and Mom, Dad and I". Matvei Blanter’s songs on verses by M. V. Isakovsky “Under the Stars of the Balkans” ^[10] and “Lullaby” are dedicated to him.
• The younger brother - Yakov Isaakovich Blanter, died at the front in the early days of the war .
• Uncle - Yevsey Borisovich Blanter (1882-1938), was arrested and executed on July 4, 1938 ^[11]
• A cousin - Mikhail Evseevich Blanter , Doctor of Technical Sciences (1949), metal specialist, head of the department of MT-4 of the All-Union Correspondence Engineering Institute (1951-1986), author of the textbooks “Theory of Heat Treatment”, “Metal Science and Heat Treatment”, monographs “Phase Transformations” during heat treatment of steel ”,“ Methodology for the study of metals and processing of experimental data ”.
• The cousin is Solomon G. Blanter , professor at the Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry , author of the textbooks Electrical Equipment for the Oil and Gas Industry, Radio Engineering and Electronics, Industrial Electronics, and Traction Substation Current Converters.

• Hero of Socialist Labor ( 1983 )
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR ( 1947 ) ^[12]
• People's Artist of the RSFSR ( 1965 ) ^[13]
• People's Artist of the USSR ( 1975 )
• Stalin Prize of the second degree (1946) - for the songs “Under the Stars of the Balkans”, “On the Long Path, My Beloved”, “ In the Frontline Forest ”
• Two Orders of Lenin ( 1973 , 1983 )
• Order of the Badge of Honor ( 1967 )
• Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal “For Valiant Labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin "
• Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal “In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow”

Songs

Blanter’s songs are written in the words of M. S. Golodny , V. I. Lebedev-Kumach, A. A. Kovalenkov , E. A. Dolmatovsky , K. M. Simonov , A. A. Surkov , I. L. Selvinsky , M A. Svetlova , A. I. Fatyanova , S. G. Ostrovoy , V. A. Lugovsky , M. L. Matusovsky , R. G. Gamzatov , E. A. Evtushenko , A. V. Sofronova , V. A Lifshits and other poets. More than 20 songs were created in collaboration with M.V. Isakovsky . Many of the poems were written first as independent works, but it was the song of the same name that brought glory to them ^[16] .

Operettas

• Forty Sticks (1924)
• The Nose of the President (1926)
• "On the Amur" (1938, set in 1939, Moscow Operetta )

Performance Music

• "City" directed by K. Ya. Goleizovsky (Moscow, 1924)
• "Seasons" (songs for the play, Leningrad Theater of Miniatures , 1956)
• "Moscow - Venus, then everywhere" (Moscow Music Hall, 1961)
• “Tick-tock, tick-tock ...” (Moscow Music Hall, 1963).

• 1951 - Sports honor
• 1954 - This must not be forgotten
• 1975 - Love will remain (film-play) - music of songs
• 1982 - Favorite Songs (Short) - Song Music
• 1983 - As well as the circus (documentary) - song music
• 1997 - Daily Duty (film production) - music of songs

• In Russia, on July 8, 2009, the Premier League football at its meeting decided to abandon the use of the famous “Football March” by Matvey Blanter due to a conflict over copyright between the Premier League and the Russian Copyright Society ^[17] . The situation was saved by the copyright holder - Tatyana Vladimirovna Brodskaya, Blanter’s granddaughter, who allowed to perform the “Football March” for free ^[18] .
• Blanter, who was sent by Stalin to Berlin to write a festive symphony in honor of the victory of the USSR, was at the site of a conference between Vasily Chuikov and Hans Krebs , which took place on May 1, 1945. Before it began, however, he was quickly shoved into a closet because he was wearing a civilian suit. But in the closet it became difficult for him to breathe, and before the conference ended, he fell out of it, scaring the Nazis ^[19] .

• Pages of the history of the Pochep district . By the 510th anniversary of the first mention of the town of Pochep in the Brief Volyn Chronicle (1500-2010). Publications from periodicals, local history information from books, notes by local historians, eyewitnesses and participants in the events taking place in the Pochep district . Compiled by S. M. Maslenko . - Klintsy , 2010. - Page 472.

Blanter, Matvey Isaakovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".

• Blanter's grave at the Novodevichy cemetery
• Foxtrot "John Gray"
• Matvey Blanter's Songs
• Music of the Great Patriotic War
• Portal STMEGI. Sergey Kolmanovsky: Blanter is a composer of a unique creative destiny. Essay on composer Matthew Blanter