Maya Kristalinskaya - biography, creativity, personal life. Maya Kristalinskaya: biography, creativity, personal life Maya Kristalinskaya's husband
At the end of the 20s, Vladimir Kristalinsky and his wife had a girl, whom they named Maya. But the child lived only two years. The parents' grief was inconsolable, and when a girl was born again on February 24, 1932, she was also named Maya. She will become a famous singer.
Her father made a living by writing and creating puzzles and charades for various publications. His sister’s husband worked as a director in a musical theater, and it was he who gave little Maya an harmonica, which she learned to play on her own. She also loved to sing.
The girl studied well, she was good at mathematics, literature, and a foreign language. In the end, she ended up in the choir of the CDJ (Central Palace of Children of Railway Workers), which was directed by I. Dunaevsky himself. On a graduation evening in June 1950 on Manezhnaya Square, Maya decided to sing for a random audience. She sang “Friends and Fellow Soldiers”, “Blue Handkerchief” and other songs of the recent war years. Her next performances before the public took place when Maya was already studying at the Moscow Aviation Institute and, of course, actively participated in student activities.
After working at an aircraft factory in Novosibirsk after college, Maya returned to Moscow and began working at Yakovlev’s design bureau, continuing to participate in amateur performances, this time in the pop ensemble of the Central House of Artists (CDRI). And then, fortunately for the aspiring singer, the World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Moscow. Kristalinskaya's performances at the festival venues were noticed. Very supportive of colleagues and very angry with party journalism. In the article “Musical dudes”, the ensemble with which Maya performed suffered greatly. However, as they say, you cannot stop the course of history.
In 1957, the singer married one of her admirers, a young physician, Arkady Arkanov, who later became a famous satirist writer. But their marriage was short-lived - after a year they separated. Too much in her and his fate changed dramatically at that time.
Kristalinskaya was already gaining fame in musical circles, combining work in a design bureau with performances on the stage. The State Concert offered her a tour of Transcaucasia: Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan. The ardent southern public received the singer with delight. She receives an offer in the capital to become a professional artist and soon performs with the famous jazz orchestras of Oleg Lundstrem and Eddie Rosner.
Cities and audiences replaced each other, records were released one after another. The songs “Silence”, “Princess-Nesmeyana”, “Perhaps”, “It’s raining in our city”, “You have such eyes”, “Thank you, stork”, “August is coming” and dozens of others performed by Kristalinskaya were adored by the whole country. The singer was one of the first to perform Bulat Okudzhava’s song “Ah, Arbat” on stage, which had previously been heard only in tape recordings. The record with the song “Two Shores” sold 7 million copies in a country where not every home had a record player. A unique musical series about a boy and a girl from the same yard, which opened with Kobzon’s song “And in our yard” and ended with Kristalinskaya’s melancholic song “And everything came true and didn’t come true,” also became a huge success. She received wide recognition after the release of the film “Thirst”, in which she performed A. Eshpai’s song based on the poem by G. Pozhenyan “You and I are two shores”. The record with the recording of this song sold 7 million copies. In 1966, television viewers named Kristalinskaya the best singer of the year. She recorded several songs in English: Solovyov-Sedoy's Moscow Evenings, M. Fradkin's Volga Flows, in Polish A. Pakhmutova's Old Maple and A. Eshpaya's Muscovites. She collaborated with many famous composers A. Pakhmutova, A. Babajanyan, L. Lyadova, M. Tariverdiev. The song Tenderness (A. Pakhmutova, N. Dobronravov) is considered the pinnacle of Kristalinskaya’s singing art. In 1974, the singer was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
From the outside everything looked great. In fact, the life of Maya Kristalinskaya from the mid-60s, with the end of the “thaw,” became more and more difficult. Yes, there were tours abroad, the love of millions of people, records, radio and television. But after the song “It’s Raining in Our City” at the New Year’s “Blue Light,” television management accused the singer of promoting sadness, which should not happen in our sunny country. Her relationship with her new heart friend, a famous journalist, did not work out either. But the worst thing is the disease that Maya developed in the mid-60s: a tumor of the lymph glands. Performances on the stage were followed by long-term treatment in hospitals.
When she was not allowed to sing, Kristalinskaya wrote wonderful articles in “Evening Moscow” and translated Marlene Dietrich’s book “Reflections” into Russian. A loving husband, architect Edward Barclay, appeared. And suddenly everything came to an abrupt end. In the summer of 1984, Barclay died suddenly. Maya’s speech deteriorated, and her arms and legs began to fail. In the spring of 1985, her speech completely disappeared; she could only cry. Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya died in the hospital on June 19, 1985. There is an epitaph on her grave: “You didn’t leave, you just left, you’ll come back and sing again.” To this day, the singer’s work is widely in demand, and her name is forever included in the pantheon of the brightest stars of our stage.
The singer did not immediately arrange her personal life - Maya Kristalinskaya’s first husband, writer Arkady Arkanov, proposed to her in 1958, they signed secretly from their parents and only then reported the fact, but they still decided to have a wedding.
Arkanov’s relatives, who came to the celebration from Ukraine, did not come to the court of Maya’s Moscow relatives, and the wedding did not turn out to be very fun. Later, Arkady Arkanov admitted that he met Kristalinskaya, who was then gaining popularity, through an argument with a friend, so there could be no talk of any serious feelings. They lived together for only a year, and officially divorced only in 1962. Throughout their short family life, Arkanov constantly reminded Maya that she did not have a special musical education, and that only the voice and hearing that nature had endowed her with were not enough for a singer, and she was very sensitive to this criticism.
In the photo - the singer with her husband
Then her personal life did not work out for a long time - at one time she dated a journalist from Ogonyok, but he drank heavily, and the singer broke off all relations with him. Maya Vladimirovna met her true love and the man of her life later - at a dinner party held in the house of the famous doctor Vishnevsky, Kristalinskaya met the architect Eduard Maksimovich Barclay. They lived together for almost twenty years - until Barclay's death, and these years became the happiest in the singer's life. He surrounded Maya Vladimirovna with care, prepared delicious dishes for her, and never tired of repeating how beautiful and talented she was. Unfortunately, doctors discovered that Eduard Maksimovich had diabetes, and from then on he himself also required constant treatment. One day they had a small feast to celebrate their departure on vacation, after which Barclay felt ill. The doctors who arrived on call could not do anything - the singer’s husband died.
The death of her beloved husband crippled Maya Vladimirovna, who suffered from cancer. When Maya Kristalinskaya’s husband was next to her, he monitored her well-being, forced her to take medications, and after he left, the singer lost interest in life and completely stopped monitoring her health. In 1985, she underwent another radiation session, which led to Kristalinskaya’s speech deteriorating and her leg and arm moving poorly. When she went back to the hospital, the doctors could no longer help - she fell into a coma and soon died. She was fifty-three years old.
She began singing as a child - first in the children's choir at the Folk Song and Dance Ensemble of the Central House of Children of Railway Workers under the direction of Semyon Dunaevsky. When I became a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute, I was a participant in amateur performances. As part of the amateur ensemble “First Steps,” Maya Kristalinskaya performed at the Moscow International Festival of Youth and Students.
A year later, she took a leave of absence from the Yakovlev Design Bureau, where she worked after college, and went on tour in Transcaucasia, after which she decided to devote her life to the stage. Maya Kristalinskaya was diagnosed with a terrible disease in the early sixties, she underwent a course of radiation, after which ugly marks were left on her neck - from then on, the singer went on stage only wearing a tied neck scarf, and everyone took this for her stage style. Since that time, she was constantly being treated - she went to the hospital, and on tour she took with her a bunch of all kinds of pills. The illness did not break her spirit - Kristalinskaya continued to perform, go on tour and became the favorite singer of millions of Soviet citizens.
Biography and episodes of life Maya Kristalinskaya. When born and died Maya Kristalinskaya, memorable places and dates of important events in her life. Singer quotes, Photo and video.
Years of life of Maya Kristalinskaya:
born February 24, 1932, died June 19, 1985
Epitaph
“You didn’t leave, you just went out, you’ll come back and sing again.”
Inscription on the grave of M. Kristalinskaya
"In the life of Maya
wasn't special
was not an idol.
She just sang.
At the table
and at their own concerts
I sang as best I could.
And how she could.
Unglorified and unspoiled,
went from song to song,
like milestones...
Echo
of our youth she was.
Quiet echo.
A good, kind echo."
From a poem by Robert Rozhdestvensky for the funeral of M. Kristalinskaya
Biography
Maya Kristalinskaya, a favorite singer of the 1960s, performer of the famous “Tenderness,” has been singing since childhood. At school she was in the choir, and she just sang - everywhere, always, with pleasure. Few people knew about her tragedy, about the pain with which the song was closely connected for her.
Maya was not even 30 years old when she was diagnosed with lymphogranulomatosis, a malignant tumor of the lymph glands. Doctors warned that Maya’s condition could worsen from singing, but she could no longer leave the stage. By that time, the girl, who had worked as an engineer by profession, was noticed by the famous Oleg Lundstrem, and she was already performing with his orchestra.
Maya's voice was weak, chesty, and her manner was restrained. And yet, she won the hearts of listeners with the depth of feeling that sounded in her songs. “Old Maple”, “Top-Top”, “Today is a holiday for the girls”, “This will never happen again” - these songs sounded not only in radios, but also in hearts.
At the “New Year’s Light” Maya performed the song “It’s Raining in Our City,” and this became the official reason for the ban on her appearances on television. Kristalinskaya was accused of “promoting sadness.” During this difficult period, Maya was supported only by the love and care of her second husband; The singer had no children, and she took it hard. When Maya's husband passed away, her illness worsened.
A year before her death, Kristalinskaya, who felt increasingly worse, agreed to try a new treatment method. But it did not bring positive results, on the contrary: Maya completely lost her voice and moved poorly. Several friends remained nearby, but it probably seemed to the singer that there was no need to hold on to life anymore. She was only 56 years old when she left.
Life line
February 24, 1932 Date of birth of Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya.
1950 Admission to the Moscow Aviation Institute.
1957 Kristalinskaya becomes a laureate of the Moscow International Festival of Youth and Students. Marriage to writer Arkady Arkanov.
1959-1960 Work as a soloist in O. Lundstrem's orchestra.
1960 Recording of Masha's song from the film "Thirst".
1962 Meeting her second husband, E. Barclay.
1966 Recording of the song “Tenderness” from the film “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”. Recognition of her as the best pop singer of the year.
1970 Banned from appearing on television due to new anti-Semitic policy.
1974 Title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
1984 Exacerbation of the disease.
June 19, 1985 Date of death of Maya Kristalinskaya.
Memorable places
1. Moscow Aviation Institute, which Maya Kristalinskaya graduated from.
2. Novosibirsk, where Kristalinskaya ended up after being transferred from university.
3. Design Bureau of A. Yakovlev, where Maya Kristalinskaya worked.
4. Poland, where M. Kristalinskaya was on tour with Mark Bernes in 1964.
5. New Don Cemetery in Moscow, where Maya Kristalinskaya is buried.
Episodes of life
Maya Kristalinskaya performed songs that were heard in more than 20 films, including “Silence”, “Dima Gorin’s Career”, “Man Follows the Sun”, “Girls”, etc.
At performances, Maya Kristalinskaya always wore a neck scarf. The singer had to hide her burns from radiation therapy.
Kristalinskaya's first marriage to A. Arkanov lasted less than a year. The singer lived in perfect harmony with her second common-law husband for more than 20 years. They died on the same day, only a year apart.
Kristalinskaya's favorite actress was Marlene Dietrich. Maya independently translated her book “Reflections” and contacted Dietrich, who lived in Paris. The book was published only after Maya's death.
Maya Kristalinskaya performs the song “Tenderness”
Covenant
“It’s better to kill me right away, without a scene I will die slowly, day by day.”
Condolences
“Her voice did not burst into houses and apartments, as raid songs burst into today. Her voice gently poured into your home and your soul forever. It is not for nothing that Pakhmutov’s “Tenderness” became the pinnacle of her work. An honestly lived life is not so little. A life lived in spite of all deaths, and even with a song, a crystal May song, is already a feat.”
Oleg Anofriev, singer.
“She always sang, as long as I remember her: at school, at the institute, and at the design bureau. During the lunch break I managed to sing through the entire repertoire of Lolita Torres... I often went to her concerts and, looking at her, so beautiful and cheerful, I thought: “Is she really so seriously ill?!” Are you kidding!"".
Valentina Kotelkina, the singer's best friend
She sang about love, but was lonely for many years. She sang about maternal feelings, but she never became a mother herself. She sang about “Tenderness,” but she was accused of “promoting sadness.” In the only moment of national fame and success in her life, doctors gave her a fatal diagnosis, but even with this Maya Kristalinskaya found it easier to come to terms with than with the loss of her loved one.
Smart, beautiful and singer
Since childhood, Maya was easily given everything, no matter what she took on: studying at school, learning foreign languages, singing and musical instruments. When her uncle gave her a harmonica, Maya mastered it in five minutes, greatly surprising her relative. It is not surprising that she always combined school and college with singing in the choir, where Kristalinskaya was highly valued for her ability to sing to any accompaniment without rehearsals. 
When the time came for sixteen-year-old Maya to get a passport, she made her first mistake. Russian by mother, in the “nationality” column she listed herself as Jewish, like her father. After many years, this would actually put an end to her singing career. Kristalinskaya went to study as an engineer, but fate still overtook her. Having got a job in a design bureau, after work she ran to the Central House of Artists, where she participated in amateur performances. Here the owner of a unique voice was noticed by jazzman Oleg Lundstrem and invited to tour with his orchestra. Maya spent only three years as an engineer.
Success and loneliness
Moscow fell in love with Kristalinskaya after the International Festival of Youth and Students, where she performed with Yuri Saulsky’s orchestra. The rest of the country learned about the singer after the release of the film “Thirst”: the record with the song “You and I Are Two Shores” sold 7 million copies. It was played on the radio every day, and Maya literally heard her voice from every window. Kristalinskaya’s first husband, a medical school graduate and aspiring writer Arkady Arkanov, was jealous of his wife’s successes. They met after a fateful festival for her and got married without even kissing. Arkanov was known as a womanizer, and Maya was captivated by his audacity and perseverance.
But the relatives of the young couple were hostile to the marriage: deathly silence reigned at the wedding table. Maya's father tried to defuse the situation: he distributed puzzles of his own composition to all the guests. “For about thirty minutes, Maya and I’s relatives silently, without drinking, solved puzzles. The scene turned out funny…” Arkanov recalled. He left her less than a year later. Kristalinskaya tried to distract herself with work, but suddenly fell ill.
Cancer
Her close friend Valya Kotelkina recalled that it all started like an ordinary sore throat: her tonsils became inflamed and her temperature rose. But when small balls appeared on her neck, Maya sought more serious medical advice. The diagnosis put an end to both her life and her career: cancer of the lymph nodes. Kristalinskaya was only 29 years old at the time. 
Doctors forbade straining the ligaments - this greatly worsened the artist’s condition. But Kristalinskaya responded to this: “It’s better to kill me right away, without a scene I will die slowly, day by day.” Heavy treatment with chemotherapy allowed the disease to go into remission. It was then that Maya Kristalinskaya began to appear on stage with a constant scarf around her neck. The public chalked it up to fashion, but the reason was more serious: the scarf covered traces of burns from radiation.
Late love
More than anything else, Kristalinskaya dreamed of loving and giving her love to her husband and children. She sang poignantly and tenderly about this feeling. It is no coincidence that she recorded her main hit, “Tenderness” by Pakhmutova, with tears in her eyes. 
After an unsuccessful first marriage, the singer tried to build a relationship with a certain journalist who treated her like a trophy and was not indifferent to the bottle. This love only worsened her already unreliable reputation among her superiors. When Sergei Lapin headed Gosteleradio, the times of Khrushchev’s “thaw” for artists ended. According to rumors, he was an ardent anti-Semite - and that same “nationality” column in the passport immediately played against Kristalinskaya. She was officially removed from the air for “promoting sadness.” Lapin believed that she “doesn’t sing, but whines.”
Then the spacious halls of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities of the country became inaccessible to her. The famous Maya Kristalinskaya traveled to the regions and performed in rural clubs so as not to be left without work. It was during this difficult period of her life that she met her longtime admirer, the architect Edward Barclay. After each concert, he sent her a bouquet of red roses backstage. When they finally met in person, Maya reciprocated his feelings.
The singer’s relatives said that only Edik’s care helped prolong Maya’s life. He got her medicine, monitored her intake, forbade her to do housework, and complimented her tirelessly. And at the same time he was slowly fading away from diabetes.
In June 1984, they were getting ready to go on vacation when Barclay suddenly became ill. The ambulance that arrived could not do anything - he died in Maya’s arms. From that very moment she lost interest and will to live. All Kristalinskaya wanted was to “reunite with Edik” as soon as possible. She died exactly a year after his funeral - June 19, 1985. The words from the song “Tenderness” became prophetic for her.
“The Earth is empty without you. How can I survive for a few hours? The leaves also fall in the gardens, And taxis are still rushing somewhere... It’s just empty on Earth alone without you, and you, You are flying and you They give stars Your tenderness..."
Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya was born on February 24, 1932 in Moscow. She was named after her older sister, who died at the age of two.
Maya's father, Vladimir Grigorievich Kristalinsky, was a mathematician. He made his living by composing all kinds of puzzles and charades, which were published in various periodicals.
An atmosphere of creativity reigned in the Kristalinsky family. Her uncle worked as a director in a musical theater, and Aunt Lilia was an actress and singer in the theater. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. Thanks to such relatives, Maya began to show interest in the acting profession from a very early age. One day, an uncle gave his little niece an accordion. Maya learned to play it on her own.
Later, Maya began singing in a children's choir under the direction of Isaac Dunaevsky, and performed in school amateur performances. True, Maya herself never wanted to connect her future life with the profession of a singer. After graduating from school, she entered the Moscow Aviation Institute.
While studying at the institute, Kristalinskaya takes an active part in amateur performances. Meanwhile, the World Festival of Youth and Students begins in Moscow. Maya's performances at this international forum attracted the attention of professionals. They started talking about her in musical circles, although the ensemble in which she performed at that time was harshly criticized in the Soviet press.
After graduating from the institute, Kristalinskaya tries to combine work in a design bureau and performing on stage. Soon she receives an offer to start a professional singing career. Maya Vladimirovna begins working in the legendary jazz orchestras led by Eddie Rosner and Oleg Lundstrem.
The audience immediately fell in love with this bright and talented young singer. Literally the whole country sang her songs. The album with the composition “Two Shores”, released in 1960, made Kristalinskaya a truly popular favorite - 7 million copies were sold.
In 1966, television viewers named Kristalinskaya the best singer of the year. Her repertoire included many soulful and beautiful songs that simply could not leave the listener indifferent. She collaborated with many famous composers of that time: A. Babajanyan, A. Pakhmutova, M. Tariverdiev.
The song “Tenderness” became the pinnacle of creativity for Maya Kristalinskaya. In 1974, she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
She had everything that an artist could dream of: popular love and recognition, numerous tours and a magnificent repertoire. However, her song “It’s Raining in Our City,” which was performed on the New Year’s “Blue Light” in the late 60s, did not please anyone from the television management.
At that time, S. Lapin was appointed chairman of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. He decided to completely change the repertoire of songs that were to be broadcast. Thanks to his efforts, many famous performers were removed from filming on television at that time. Among them was Maya Kristalinskaya.
Now Kristalinskaya’s concerts took place in rural clubs and cultural centers. The singer tried not to lose heart. During her forced creative downtime, she began publishing her articles in the newspaper “Evening Moscow” and made the book “Reflections” by Marlene Dietrich.
Despite the lack of performances, in 1974 Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the USSR
Personal life
Kristalinskaya got married for the first time in 1958. Arkady Arkanov became her chosen one. They met at an evening at the Polytechnic Museum, and literally a few days later they submitted an application to the registry office. This hasty marriage lasted less than a year. After 10 months they divorced. The official divorce took place in 1962.
Then Kristalinskaya had a long relationship with a famous journalist from the popular magazine Ogonyok. This novel became a great test for the singer. Her chosen one was distinguished by a scandalous character and a tendency towards alcoholism. Beatings and constant showdowns ultimately led to a breakup.
In 1961, fate prepared another test for Kristalinskaya. She was given a terrible diagnosis - lymphogranulomatosis. The singer was lucky with her doctors. Hematologists Kassirsky and Vorobiev did everything possible to prolong Maya Vladimirovna’s life. They managed to do something incredible: Kristalinskaya lived for another 25 years.
Grueling chemotherapy courses were followed by concerts. Kristalinskaya did not want to give up and continued to perform. To hide traces of the disease from the audience, she had to speak in public with a scarf around her neck. There were many rumors among the people regarding this detail of her wardrobe.
The main man in Kristalinskaya’s life was the famous architect Eduard Barclay, whom they met while visiting mutual friends. The marriage of Barclay and Kristalinskaya lasted almost twenty years.
Maya Kristalinskaya could not have children, but she and Edward Barclay lived very friendly and interesting. In 1984, they were planning to go on vacation together, but Maya Vladimirovna’s husband suddenly became ill and died suddenly.
Heartbroken, Kristalinskaya decides to stop treatment. Maya Kristalinskaya died on June 19, 1985, outliving her husband by exactly a year.
Maya Kristalinskaya was buried at the Donskoye Cemetery. A touching epitaph is written on her grave: “You didn’t leave, you just left, you’ll come back and sing again.”
