The country’s pop elite will pay tribute to Muslim Magomayev, the “Soviet Frank Sinatra” who one of the most popular singers the country has ever had, with a huge concert Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of his death.
Iosif Kobzon, Dima Bilan and Igor Butman will be among the dozens of singers who will pay tribute to Magomayev at the event, where pop music will play alongside classical in a tribute to the way Magomayev performed a wide range of songs.
Born in Baku, Magomayev came from an artistic family and studied at the region’s music conservatory. But it was a performance at a youth festival in Helsinki at the age of 19, and another a year later at the Kremlin in 1962, that made him famous. He became a favorite among the Kremlin elite under Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Andropov, and his unique baritone was admired by several generations of listeners.
“Magomayev was a unique artist with a unique voice, a symbol of the 1960s,” music critic Sergei Sosedov said.
As his popularity grew, his concerts filled stadiums and he sold millions of records.
“He was different because of the high quality of his vocals,” Sosedov said. “Soviet popular singers did not have high-quality vocals. They used to sing with their souls, Muslim was one of the few ‘voice’ singers.”
For many, he was a pop star, but Magomayev had a huge repertoire and could sing opera and jazz, as well as traditional Russian songs.
Winning official approval so early in his career meant that unlike most Soviet citizens, he was able to travel and work abroad. He went to study in Italy at the La Scala opera house in Milan and then at the Olympia Theater in Paris before returning to Moscow. According to one story, he was called back because those in the Kremlin missed hearing him sing.
If you miss Sunday’s event, another tribute concert, “There is No Song Without You,” will take place at the Moscow International House of Music on Nov. 1. The concert, featuring the group Tenors of the XXI Century, is dedicated to Magomayev and Armenian composer Arno Babadzhanyan. The duo who had almost 50 hit songs together.
An Evening of Remembrance for Muslim Magomayev is on Oct. 25 at Crocus City Hall at 6 p.m. 66 kilometer MKAD. Metro Tushinskaya and then the 631 or 640 bus to the Ulitsa Isakovskogo stop.
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