Valery Leontiev

Valery Yakovlevich Leontiev (Russian: Валерий Яковлевич Леонтьев; born 19 March 1949 in Ust-Usa, Komi ASSR, RSFSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian pop singer whose popularity peaked in the early 1980s. He was titled a People's Artist of Russia in 1996. He is known as one of the most prominent artists of Russian music. Over the course of his decades-long career, he has recorded more than 30 albums, many of which sold millions of copies.

Biography and Stage Career

Prior to becoming such a well known singer, he faced a hard childhood and struggle with his parents. His original dream was to pursue a career in oceanography, unfortunately, it was not realised as he failed to pass the entry exams to a college. However, he didn’t let that stop him as he eventually was able to go to Syktyvkar and pursue a singing career. Before he knew it, he became a member of the Republican Philharmonic ensemble called Echo.

He began performing at historical landmarks such as the concert hall Oktyabrskiy Big Concert Hall in St. Petersburg. Then he joined the Gorky Philharmonic and his career began to take off. As the public began to recognize his style and singing, they became immersed in his music and he was on his was to ultimate Russian stardom. From here on he began traveling all over the country, then Europe, and then the world. In 1987, he graduated from the Institute of Culture and also received the Merited Artist of Ukraine title. He became a well recognized figure as he was nominated and won numerous world music awards. Not only is he well known for his fun and talented singing, but his concerts feature spectacular lighting and short performances that make the show remarkable and everlasting.

Valery Leontiev in First Union pop-rock festival, held in Yerevan 1981

Immediately after the festival in the foreign press has good articles, one of them appeared in Time [1]

«Valeri Leontiev, 32, a booted, bolero-suited dancing rocker whose performance falls somewhere between those of Mick Jagger and Mikhail Baryshnikov».

On the stage

• 1972 first solo concert was in Palace of Culture Miners. (Vorkuta)
• 1980 first solo concert in Moscow (Luzhniki Stadium, the Theater of Variety, TSDKZH, the Olympic Village)
• 1981 First solo concerts in Oktyabrskiy Big Concert Hall , Leningrad
• 1981 First participation in the finale of the festival "Song of the Year "
• 1981 participated in the competition - festival "Yerevan - 81.
• 1983 concert program, "I'm just a singer" (18 sold-out concerts in Leningrad)
• 1984 concert program, "I run for life"

• 1985 concert program, "Alone with all", which became a cult. Because queues for tickets on a few central streets of Leningrad stopped traffic. 10 concerts
• 1986 concert program "Star story"
• 1987 concert program "Favorites"
• 1988 June - 1989 November - rock opera "Giordano", more than 50 concerts in Moscow and Leningrad. Leontiev plays 3 main roles (out of 4!) - Giordano Bruno, a clown and Satan.
• 1988 show "A matter of taste, tour of India
• 1988-1989 grand tour of cities of the USSR. For example, only one Novosibirsk in 1988 Leont'ev gives a series of 27 recitals.
• 1990 show "It seems to me that I have not lived" in the Olympic Stadium. Concerts in the USA, India, Germany , Israel
• 1993 show "Full Moon" - first super-show in Russia
• 1994 show "Beauty and Casanova" - the first concert of pop star with a symphony orchestra in Russia. With the participation of the sex symbol of the 1960 Gina Lollobrigida
• 1996 show "On the road to Hollywood" , touring in the U.S., Germany, Israel, Canada
• 1998 Concert on the Square of Stars, a solo concert at the 50 th anniversary of the State of Israel (Tel Aviv, 14 May 1998), a tour in Germany, the United States and the United Arab Emirates
• 1999 super-show "Photographer of Dreams", a tour to Russia, Ukraine, Israel, United States, Canada, Germany, Baltic states
• 2001 super-show "Unnamed Planet", a tour to Russia, Ukraine, Baltic States, the United States, Germany
• 2003 concert tour of "The Sixth Life" (Russia, Ukraine, United States, Germany, Israel)
• 2004, 11–14 March - solo concerts in Oktyabrskiy Big Concert Hall.
• 2004, 12 March - The 300th solo concert in St. Petersburg.
• 2005 concert program, "Valery Leontiev presents ..." (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus)
• 2006-2008 - a tour to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Israel
• 2009 - an anniversary show of "I love you, miss you, I'm waiting. Tour of the U.S., Israel
• 2010 - tours in Australia

Discography

Valery Leontiev albums

• 1983 "Muse"
• 1984 "Dialogue"
• 1984 "Premiere"
• 1986 "Disco club 16 B"
• 1986 "Velvet season"
• 1987 «Valeri LEONTJEV»
• 1988 "I am - just a singer"
• 1990 "A matter of taste"
• 1990 "Wicked Way"
• 1993 "Night"
• 1993 "Last night"
• 1993 "Full Moon"
• 1994 "Touch"
• 1994 "At the gate of the Lord"
• 1995 "On the road to Hollywood"
• 1997 "Santa Barbara"
• 1999 "rope-dancer"
• 1999 "Everyone wants to love"
• 2001 "Augustine"
• 2003 "Maple Leaf"
• 2004 "Night Call"
• 2005 "I fall into the heavens"
• 2008 "in Recital Concert Hall" (DVD)
• 2009 "The years of wandering"

Recognition

• 1979 Valery was given the 1st Award at the All-Union Contest in Yalta for the best performance of the songs of the Soviet nations.
• First prize of the XVI International Festival "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria (1980).
• "ZD Awards 1980" - singer of the year
• "Performer of the Year 1981" according to the contest, "Estrada-81" (Komsomolskaya Pravda 02/05/1982)
• "Singer of the Year 1983" according to a poll of readers of the newspaper "Smena" (1983)
• "Singer of the Year 1984" according to a poll of readers of the newspaper "Smena" (1984)
• "Singer of the Year 1985" according to a poll of readers of the newspaper "Smena" (1985)
• "ZD Awards 1985" - singer of the year
• "ZD Awards 1986" - singer of the year
• "The best song of 1987" on the basis of open voting ITAR-TASS in the USSR, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and others - megahit "White Crow"
• "The best singer of 1988" on the basis of open voting ITAR-TASS
• "Best Performer 1990" according to the All-Union charts TASS
• "Best song of 1990" according to the All-Union charts TASS "Wicked Way"
• World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, the prize Golden treble clef for "Best-selling soviet recording-artist of the year" (1991)
• "Profi - 1991". Prize - singer of the year
• "Ovation (award) 1993. Prize - "for nondecreasing artistry" (created specifically for Valery Leontiev)
• "ZD Awards 1996" for best show of the year - "On the road to Hollywood..."
• "Ovation 1996" for best show, the spectacle ( "On the road to Hollywood")
• "Ovation 1996" in nomination "Singer of the Year
• Song of the Year 1997 - awarded a special prize for a great contribution to the development of Russian pop music.
• "Ovation 1998", the prize is "Living Legend"
• "Stopudoviy hit 1998" - award from the radio station Hit FM for the song "Nine chrysanthemums"
• 28 March 1998 - the inception of a star on the Star Square (Moscow, Red Square).
• "ZD Awards 1999" for best show of the year - "Photographer of Dreams"
• "Ovation 1999" for best show, the spectacle ( "Photographer of Dreams")
• "Golden Gramophone 1999" for the hit "Everybody wants to love"
• "Stopudoviy Hit 1999" award from the radio station Hit FM for the song "Everyone wants to love"
• "Stopudoviy Hit 2000" award from the radio station Hit FM for the song "Augustine"
• "Golden Gramophone 2000" for the hits "Augustine" and "If you go"
• "ZD Awards 2001" for best show of the year - "super show Nameless Planet
• "Muz-TV 2003" ( "The first national music television award in the field of popular music"), a nomination - "For achievements in the development of popular music".
• Valery Leontiev listed in the Russian Encyclopedia (2005).^[1]
• "Golden Gramophone 2005" for the song "Berry"
• "Golden Gramophone 2008 " for the song "Dove"
• "God of the Ether 2009" in nomination "Radiorekord" (for the record number of rotations)
• "Slavic Bazaar 2009" Through Art - to Peace and Understanding
• "ZD Awards 2009" - Special prize "Legend"

Awards

• Lenin Komsomol Prize (1985) - for the promotion of Soviet pop songs of youth and high performance skills
• Merited Artist of Ukrainian SSR (1987)
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (9 March 1996)
• Prize of the Moscow Government in the field of literature and the arts for 1996 - for the super show "Full Moon" and "On the way to Hollywood"
• Order "For the rebirth of Russia. XXI Century " (2003)
• Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th class (19 March 2005) - for his great contribution to the development of music
• Order of Mikhail Lomonosov (2007)
• Order of Peter the Great, 1st class (2007)
• Order of Honor (2009) - for great contribution to the development of national music art and many years of creative activity
• People's Artist of the Republic of Komi (2009)
• Slavic Bazaar - A medal art - for peace and understanding in 2009
• Medal "For Faith and Good" (2010).

Immovables

• Apartment in the club house in the historic center of Moscow. Purchased in 1993
• Villa in Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, USA (neighbors - Sylvester Stallone and Madonna). Purchased in 1996
• Apartment on Collins Avenue, Miami, FL, USA. Purchased in 2002
• Apartment in Hallandale Beach, Florida, USA. Purchased in 2005
• Villa in Alicante, Spain (neighbors - Mikhail Gorbachev, Victoria Beckham). Purchased in 2008

References

• On account of Valery Leontiev there is even a duet with Vladimir Putin: in August 2006 in Sochi, a concert for the heads of the CIS, which Leont'ev worked for a program of four songs. In the final speech, when the artist was called for an encore, he decided to perform the song "Hope." Suddenly, he was joined by Vladimir Putin, at that time president of Russia - Leontiev handed him a microphone. Star duo snatched the applause, as the leaders of CIS countries, as well as fellow artists. [2]

References

External links

• Official website
• Valery Leontiev at the Internet Movie Database
• Fan club Unnamed Planet
• Fan club Deltaplan
• Fan club Augustine