In our country, perhaps, there is no such person who would not hear the song "Cranes". The music for it was written by Jan Abramovich Frenkel, an outstanding composer, talented musician, singer, arranger, people's artist of the USSR. Jan Frenkel is the author of such hits as "Someone Loses, Someone Finds", "Kalina Red", "Chase". His melodies sound in films and television plays.
Composer Biography
Yan Abramovich Frenkel was born on November 21, 1920 in Ukraine. Abram Natanovich, father of the future composer, was a hairdresser by profession. It was he who decided to teach his son to play the violin, when the boy was only 4 years old. Subsequently, the performance of Ian was heard by the teacher of the conservatory Jacob Storer and proposed to send the child to a music school, after which Frenkel began to study at the violin department at the conservatory and attended classes on composition.
The future famous composer and people's artist of the USSR graduated from the conservatory in 1941 and at the very beginning of the war became a cadet of the anti-aircraft school. As a cadet, he wrote his first song, “A Pilot Along the Lane.” In 1943, in a battle, Yan Abramovich was seriously injured and he was transferred to serve in the front-line orchestra, in which he played various musical instruments. After the end of World War II, Frenkel moved to the capital and, like many musicians, began to perform in restaurants in Moscow.
The 60s became a turning point in the fate of the composer. It was then that his song "Years" in the words of Mark Lisyansky became a real hit. Then Jan Frenkel began working with many well-known songwriters: M. Matusovsky, M. Tanich, I. Goff, I. Shaferan. The works of Jan Frenkel were performed by the great vocalists of that time, his songs were in the repertoire of Maya Kristalinskaya, Anna German, Nani Bregvadze, Lyudmila Zykina, Georg Otts, Mark Bernes and others. In addition, Yan Abramovich often traveled with concerts throughout the country, where he sang his own songs, which the whole USSR knew. The most famous hit of that period was the song "Cranes", written by Yan Abramovich to the verses of Ramsul Gamzatov in 1969. It was first performed by Mark Bernes.
In addition, Jan Abramovich Frenkel wrote music for cartoons, cinema, and dramatic television plays. The composer wrote melodies and arranged for over 60 films.
In the 70s, work began on the new musical edition of the Anthem of the Soviet Union, for which all leading composers and orchestras, including Frenkel, were involved. The commission, headed by G. Sviridov and D. Shostakovich, recognized Jan Abramovich’s option as the most perfect.
The composer passed away in Riga in 1989, and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery. During the ceremony, his music sounded, including the great song "Cranes".
