The biography of Pyotr Leshchenko, one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, known today, consists of scattered facts that often do not have documentary evidence. During the life of the singer, no one thought about how important it is to record the facts and details of his biography, besides, there was no time to do this, and no one.
Little is known for certain. In the village of Isaevo, not far from Odessa, a boy was born in a poor peasant family in 1898. Three years later, his father died. The mother remarried and moved the children to Chisinau. Petya was lucky with his stepfather, Alexei Vasilievich knew how to play musical instruments and instilled a love for this occupation in his stepson.
In Chisinau, Petr Leshchenko sang in the church chapel and helped (whatever he could) his parents. With the outbreak of war, he enrolled in the ensign school and soon became an officer in the Russian army. Then participation in military events, wound, hospital. Still not fully recovered, the future artist learned that now he is a subject of the Romanian crown. The fact is that Romania treacherously annexed the territory of Bessarabia to its lands, although it was a Russian ally.
The former front-line officer was forced to earn a living by all means available to him. However, he perceived a career as a carpenter or dishwasher as a forced occupation. The young man dreamed of singing from the stage. Performances in the cinemas "Suzanna" and "Orpheum" are the first steps towards his goal. Almost two years of this stage practice contributed to the professional development and the emergence of faith in future success.
The biography of Peter Leshchenko is connected not only with Chisinau, but also with Riga, Paris and Odessa. At the age of twenty-five, the young artist sought to improve his professional skills. He wanted to study, and therefore went to the Eternal City for this, where there was a famous ballet school, which was taught mainly by Russian emigrant dancers. Here Peter met the Latvian Zinaida Zakis, who, despite her young age (she was 19 years old), had already achieved success in They perform together, tour, performing joint choreographic numbers, sometimes Leshchenko sings. Professional cooperation could not help developing into a closer relationship, they got married.
In 1930, the biography of Peter Leshchenko takes a sharp turn. If until now he was a dancer and partner of his wife, now he is becoming a professional singer. He is 32 years old, he does not have a very strong, but pleasant voice, but this is not so important. He is popular, his vocals are wonderfully suited for recording, and his repertoire deserves special attention. Leshchenko succeeded in what no one before him could do. He combined two of the most beloved genres of the public: romance and tango. The result exceeded all expectations.
In the pre-war years, the biography of the singer Pyotr Leshchenko is quite fully illustrated by the records he made on Columbia and Bellacord. He works closely with these companies, millions of records are sold everywhere: from Buenos Aires to Tokyo. There is no time for everything that does not concern music.
Leshchenko was not interested in politics. In 1942, having arrived in Odessa, occupied by the Romanians, he gives concerts at the Russian Theater, and then opens his own cabaret in Theater Lane. The biography of Peter Leshchenko is connected with the sunny Black Sea city, not only in connection with creativity, but also on a personal level. It is to Odessa that he owes a new deep feeling that has gripped a far from young artist. He met Vera Belousova, who became the main love of his life. But his wife Zinaida did not want to give in, she wrote a letter (essentially a denunciation) to the military command, in which she recalled that her husband was a Romanian subject, and besides, he was liable for military service. The world famous singer is dressed in a bright green overcoat, an angular Romanian army cap and sent to the Crimea, where he is entrusted with the management of the officer's canteen and the organization of soldier's leisure. This tough measure proved ineffective, in 1944 the couple divorced.
After the capitulation of Romania, Leshchenko performed for eight years in front of a wide variety of audiences. He was very fond of singing for the Soviet military, these concerts were a great success. And in 1952, an employee of the Romanian counterintelligence, already communist, brought out on the cover of a cardboard folder in Latin letters the name known to the whole world: “Leshchenko Petr”. The artist's biography was replenished with another event: he was arrested.
The singer died in 1954. The circumstances of his death are unknown. Did they beat him? Apparently not. Leshchenko, most likely, was tortured by overwork and poor food. He ended up in the dungeon, probably at the request of the "Soviet comrades." What was he accused of? This, too, remains unclear. But gramophone records with a recording of his voice have been preserved, which still gives inexplicable pleasure to lovers and connoisseurs of popular music.
Leshchenko Petr Konstantinovich(June 2, 1898 - July 16, 1954) - Romanian singer of Russian origin (baritone); bandleader. One of the most popular Russian-speaking performers of the 1930s.
Petr Leshchenko was born in the village of Isaevo, Kherson province (now Mykolaiv district, Odessa region). His mother gave birth to him out of wedlock. In the metric book of the district archive there is an entry: "Maria Kalinovna Leshchenkova, the daughter of a retired soldier, gave birth to a son, Peter, on 06/02/1898." Peter was baptized on 07/03/1898, later in the documents of Peter Leshchenko it was the date of baptism - July 3, 1898. In the column "father" the entry: "illegitimate". Godparents: nobleman Alexander Ivanovich Krivosheev and noblewoman Katerina Yakovlevna Orlova.
Peter's mother had an absolute ear for music, knew many folk songs and sang well, which had a due influence on the formation of the personality of Peter, who from early childhood also showed outstanding musical abilities. The mother's family, together with 9-month-old Peter, moved to Chisinau, where, approximately nine years later, the mother married a dental technician Alexei Vasilievich Alfimov. Pyotr Leshchenko spoke Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, French and German.
Petr Leshchenko sang in the soldiers' church choir (1906). In 1917 he graduated from the ensign infantry school in Kyiv, was sent to the Romanian front. In August of the same year, he was seriously wounded, and after leaving the hospital, he served for a short time as a psalmist in the Chisinau church. In the autumn of 1919, he performed as part of a dance group at the Alagambra Theater (Bucharest). In 1920 he began work in the Romanian theater society "Stage", acting in tandem with the ballerina Rozika under the pseudonym "Martynovych". From 1923 to 1925 he studied at the Parisian ballet school, after which, together with his first wife, the ballerina Zhenya-Johanne Zakit, he prepared several song and dance numbers and went on tour in the countries of the Middle East.
The debut performance as a performer of gypsy romances took place in 1929 at the Londra restaurant (Chisinau). In 1930 he sang in Belgrade at the family celebration of King Alexander Karageorgievich. In the same year, in the Riga cafe "A.T.", accompanied by an orchestra conducted by G. Schmidt, he presented a large solo program, which included songs written specifically for Leshchenko by Oscar Strok: "Black Eyes", "Katya", " Dear Musenka" and others. Works of various genres appear in the singer's repertoire: tango, foxtrot, gypsy and everyday romances, as well as songs by unknown authors, among which Chubchik was the most popular song. Performs the songs of Mark Maryanovsky: "Tatiana", "Vanka, sing", "Marfusha" and several songs of his own composition - "You have returned again", "Horses". He writes arrangements for many songs. In the early 30s, he signed a contract with the Romanian branch of the English recording company "Columbia" (about 80 songs were recorded). In addition, the singer's records are published by "Parlophon" (Germany), "Electrecord>" (Romania), "Bellacord" (Latvia).
Having moved to Bucharest in 1933, Leshchenko became a co-owner of the Our House restaurant, and in 1935 he opened the Leshchenko restaurant, in which he performed together with the Leshchenko Trio ensemble (the singer's wife and his younger sisters, Valya and Katya) and an aspiring pop singer Alla Bayanova.
The announcement of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War finds the singer in Romania. Being a Romanian citizen, Leshchenko evaded service in the ranks of the Romanian army and continued his concert activity. In the summer of 1942, accompanied by an opera orchestra, the singer performed in Nazi-occupied Odessa. In September 1944, after the liberation of Bucharest, he gives a big concert for the officers of the Soviet Army, performing his own songs: "I miss my Motherland", "Natasha", "Nadya-Nadechka", as well as songs by Soviet composers, including "Dark Night" N. Bogoslovsky.
In the concert programs of the post-war years, songs are heard: "Tell me why", "Don't leave", "Sleep, my poor heart" by O. Strok, "Everything that was" by D. Pokrass, "Petrushka" by A. Albin, "Autumn Mirage " A. Sukhanova and others. On March 26, 1951, Pyotr Leshchenko was arrested by the state security authorities of Romania during the intermission after the first part of the concert. This was followed in July 1952 by the arrest of his wife, Vera Belousova, who, like Leshchenko, was accused of treason (performances in occupied Odessa). On August 5, 1952, Belousova was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released in 1953 for lack of corpus delicti. Pyotr Leshchenko died in 1954 in a prison hospital.
During his creative life, the singer recorded over 180 gramophone discs, but until the end of the 80s, none of these recordings was reissued in the USSR.
The first disc from the series "Pyotr Leshchenko Sings" was released by the Melodiya company on the 90th anniversary of the singer's birth in 1988 and in the same year took first place in the TASS hit parade.
During his creative life, the singer recorded over 180 gramophone discs.
Petr Leshchenko about himself:
At the age of 9 months, together with her mother, as well as with her parents, they moved to live in the city of Chisinau. Until 1906, I grew up and was brought up at home, and then, as having the ability to dance and music, I was taken into the soldiers' church choir. The regent of this choir Kogan later appointed me to the 7th national parish school in Chisinau. At the same time, the regent of the bishops' choir, Berezovsky, drew attention to me and assigned me to the choir. Thus, by 1905 I received a general and musical education. In 1915, due to a change in voice, I could not participate in the choir and was left without funds, so I decided to go to the front. He got a job as a volunteer in the 7th Don Cossack Regiment and served there until November 1916. From there I was sent to the infantry ensign school in the city of Kyiv, which I graduated in March 1917, and I was awarded the rank of ensign. After graduating from the aforementioned school, through the 40th reserve regiment in Odessa, he was sent to the Romanian front and enlisted in the 55th Podolsk infantry regiment of the 14th infantry division as a platoon commander. In August 1917, on the territory of Romania, he was seriously wounded and shell-shocked - and sent to the hospital, first to the field, and then to the city of Chisinau. The revolutionary events of October 1917 found me in the same hospital. Even after the revolution, I continued to be treated until January 1918, that is, until the capture of Bessarabia by the Romanian troops.
Was born Petr Konstantinovich Leshchenko June 2, 1898 near Odessa in the village of Isaevo. The father was a small employee. Mother, Maria Konstantinovna, an illiterate woman, had an absolute ear for music, sang well, knew many Ukrainian folk songs - which, of course, had a proper influence on her son.
From early childhood, Peter showed extraordinary musical abilities. They say that already at the age of seven he spoke to the Cossacks in his village, for which he received a pot of porridge and a loaf of bread ...
At the age of three, Petya lost his father, and a few years later, in 1909, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Bessarabia, to Chisinau. Petya is placed in a parochial school, where a good voice is noticed in the boy and he is enrolled in the bishops' choir. In passing, we add that not only literacy was taught at the school, but also artistic and gymnastic dances, music, singing ...
Despite the fact that Petya went through only four years of study, he gained a lot. At the age of 17, Petya was drafted into the ensign school. A year later, he was already in the army (the First World War was going on) with the rank of ensign. In one of the battles, Peter was wounded and sent to a hospital in Chisinau. Meanwhile, Romanian troops captured Bessarabia. Leshchenko, like thousands of others, found himself cut off from his homeland, becoming "an emigrant without emigration."
It was necessary to work somewhere, earn a living: the young Leshchenko entered the Romanian theater society "Scena", performs in Chisinau, presenting dances that were fashionable at that time (among them - lezginka) between sessions at the Orpheum cinema.
In 1917, her mother, Maria Konstantinovna, gave birth to a daughter, they named her Valentina (in 1920 another sister, Ekaterina, was born) - and Peter was already performing in the Chisinau restaurant "Suzanna" ...
Later, Leshchenko toured Bessarabia, then, in 1925, came to Paris, where he performed in a guitar duet and in the Guslyar balalaika ensemble: Peter sang, played the balalaika, then appeared in a Caucasian costume with daggers in his teeth, he stuck daggers with lightning speed and deftly to the floor, then - dashing "squats" and "Arab steps". Has amazing success. Soon, wanting to improve his dance technique, he enters the best ballet school (where the famous Vera Alexandrovna Trefilova, nee Ivanova, who recently shone on the Mariinsky stage and won fame both in London and Paris) teaches.
In this school, Leshchenko meets a student from Riga, Zinaida Zakit. Having learned several original numbers, they perform in Parisian restaurants, and everywhere they are successful ... Soon the dancing couple becomes a married couple. The newlyweds make a big tour of Europe, performing in restaurants, cabarets, theater stages. Everywhere the audience enthusiastically accepts the artists.
And here is 1929. The city of Chisinau, the city of youth. They are provided with the stage of the most fashionable restaurant. The posters read: "The famous ballet dancers Zinaida Zakit and Pyotr Leshchenko, who came from Paris, perform every evening at the London restaurant."
In the evenings, Mikhail Vainshtein's jazz orchestra sounded in the restaurant, and at night he went out singing gypsy songs to the accompaniment of a guitar (given by his stepfather), Petr Leshchenko, in a gypsy shirt with wide sleeves. After that, the beautiful Zinaida appeared. The dance numbers began. All evenings were a great success.
“In the spring of 1930,” recalls Konstantin Tarasovich Sokolsky, “posters appeared in Riga announcing the concert of the dance duet Zinaida Zakit and Petr Leshchenko, in the premises of the Dailes Theater on Romanovskaya Street N37. I was not at this concert, but after a while I saw their performance in the divertissement program at the Palladium cinema They and the singer Lilian Ferne filled out the entire divertissement program - 35-40 minutes.
Zakit shone with perfection of movements and characteristic performance of Russian dance figures. And Leshchenko - with dashing "squats" and Arab steps, making shifts without touching the floor with his hands. Then there was a lezginka, in which Leshchenko temperamentally threw daggers ... But Zakit left a special impression in solo characteristic and comic dances, some of which she danced on pointe shoes. And here, in order to give his partner the opportunity to change clothes for the next solo number, Leshchenko went out in a gypsy costume, with a guitar and sang songs.
His voice had a small range, a light timbre, without "metal", on a short breath (like a dancer's) and therefore he was not able to cover the huge cinema room with his voice (there were no microphones at that time). But in this case it was not decisive, because the audience looked at him not as a singer, but as a dancer. But in general, his performance left a good impression ... The program ended with a couple more dances.
In general, I liked their performance as a dance couple - I felt the professionalism of the performance, the special working out of each movement, I also liked their colorful costumes.
The partner was especially impressed with her charme and feminine charm - such were her temperament, some kind of bewitching inner burning. Leshchenko also left the impression of a wonderful gentleman ...
Soon we had the opportunity to perform in the same program and get to know each other. They turned out to be pleasant, sociable people. Zina turned out to be our Rigan, a Latvian, as she said, "the daughter of the landlord at 27 Gertrudes Street." And Peter is from Bessarabia, from Chisinau, where his whole family lived: mother, stepfather and two younger sisters - Valya and Katya.
Here it must be said that after the First World War, Bessarabia went to Romania, and thus the entire Leshchenko family mechanically turned into Romanian subjects.
Soon the dance duet was out of work. Zina was pregnant, and Peter, left to some extent without work, began to look for opportunities to use his voice data and therefore came to the directorate of the Riga musical house "Youth and Feyerabend" (these are the names of the directors of the company), which represented the interests of the German gramophone company "Parlofon" and offered his services as a singer...
Subsequently, I think in 1933, the Youth and Feyerabend firm in Riga founded their own recording studio called Bonofon, on which, in 1934, after my first return from abroad, I sang for the first time "Heart", "Ha- cha-cha", "Charaban-apple", and a comic song "Antoshka on the harmonica".
The management took Leshchenko's visit indifferently, saying that they did not know such a singer. After repeated visits by Peter to this company, they agreed that Leshchenko would go to Germany at his own expense and sing ten trial songs at Parlofon, which Peter did.
In Germany, the company "Parlofon" released five discs of ten works, three of which - on the words and music of Leshchenko himself: "From Bessarabia to Riga", "Have fun, soul", "Boy".
Our patrons in Riga sometimes arranged parties to which popular artists were invited. On one of these evenings at the “doctor of the ear, throat and nose” Solomir (I don’t remember his name, I just called him “doctor”), where I had repeatedly visited with the composer Oscar Davydovich Strok, we took Petr Leshchenko with us. He came with a guitar...
By the way, at Solomir's office walls were hung with photographs of our opera and concert singers and even guest performers, such as Nadezhda Plevitskaya, Lev Sibiryakov, Dmitry Smirnov, Leonid Sobinov and Fyodor Chaliapin, with touching autographs: "Thank you for saving the concert", "The Miracle Worker who returned my voice in time "... Solomir himself had a pleasant tenor timbre. We always sang duets at such evenings with him. So it was that evening.
Then Oskar Strok called Peter over, agreed on something with him and sat down at the piano, and Petya took the guitar. The first thing he sang (as I remember) was the song "Hey guitar friend". He carried himself boldly, confidently, his voice flowed calmly. Then he sang a couple more romances, for which he was awarded a friendly applause. Petya himself was delighted, went up to O. Strok and kissed him ...
To be honest, I really liked him that evening. There was nothing like when he sang in cinemas. There were huge halls, but here, in a small drawing room, everything was different; and, of course, the great musician Oscar Strok played a huge role. The music enriched the vocals. And one more thing, which I consider one of the main points: for singers, the basis-basics - to sing only on diaphragmatic, deep breathing. If in performances in a dance duet Leshchenko sang on a short breath, agitated after dancing, now some support of the sound was felt, and hence the characteristic softness of the timbre of the voice ...
At some similar family evening we met again. Everyone liked Peter's singing again. Oskar Strok became interested in Peter and included him in the concert program, with which we went to the city of Liepaja, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. But here again the history of acting in the cinema was repeated. The large hall of the Marine Club, where we performed, did not give Peter the opportunity to show himself.
The same thing happened in Riga, in the cafe "Barberina", where other conditions were unfavorable for the singer, and it was not clear to me why Peter agreed to perform there. I was invited there repeatedly, offered a good fee, but, cherishing my prestige as a singer, I always refused.
In old Riga, on Izmailovskaya street, there was a small cozy cafe called "A.T." What those two letters meant I don't know, probably they were the owner's initials. A small orchestra was playing in the cafe, conducted by the excellent violinist Herbert Schmidt. Sometimes there was a small program, singers performed, and especially often - a brilliant, witty storyteller-entertainer, artist of the Russian Drama Theater, Vsevolod Orlov, brother of the world-famous pianist Nikolai Orlov.
Once we were sitting at a table in this cafe: Dr. Solomir, lawyer Elyashev, Oscar Strok, Vsevolod Orlov and our local impresario Isaac Teitlbaum. Someone suggested: "What if Leshchenko performs in this cafe? After all, he could be successful here - the room is small, and the acoustics, apparently, are not bad here."
During the break, when the orchestra paused, Herbert Schmidt came up to our table. Oskar Strok, Elyashev and Solomir started talking to him about something - we, who were sitting at the other end of the table, did not pay attention at first. Then, at the request of Teitlbaum, the cafe manager approached, and it all ended with Solomir and Elyashev "interesting" Herbert Schmidt to work with Leshchenko, and Oscar undertook to help him with the repertoire.
Peter, when he found out about this, was very happy. Rehearsals have begun. Oskar Strok and Herbert Schmidt did their job and two weeks later the first performance took place.
Already the first two songs were successful, but when it was announced that "My Last Tango" would be performed, the audience, seeing that the author himself, Oscar Strok, was in the hall, began to applaud, turning to him. Strok went up to the stage, sat down at the piano - this inspired Peter and after the performance of the tango the hall erupted into a storm of applause. In general, the first performance was a triumph. After that, I repeatedly listened to the singer - and everywhere the audience accepted his introductions well.
It was at the end of 1930, which can be considered the year when Petr Leshchenko's singing career began.
Zina, Peter's wife, gave birth to a son, who, at the request of his father, was named Igor (although Zina's relatives, Latvians, assumed a different, Latvian name).
In the spring of 1931, I was with the troupe of the Bonzo Theater of Miniatures, directed by the comedian A.N. Werner went abroad. Peter stayed in Riga, performing at the cafe "A.T." At that time, in the same place, in Riga, the owner of a large book publishing house "Gramatu Drauge" Helmars Rudzitis opens the company "Bellacord Electro". In this company, Leshchenko records several records: "My last tango", "Tell me why" and others ...
The directorate really liked the first recordings, the voice turned out to be very phonogenic, and this was the beginning of Petr Leshchenko's career as a recording singer. During his stay in Riga, Peter also sang on "Bellacord" in addition to the songs of O. Strok and the songs of our other, also from Riga, composer Mark Iosifovich Maryanovsky "Tatiana", "Marfush", "Caucasus", "Pancakes" and others. [In 1944, Maryanovsky died in Buchenwald]. The company paid a good fee for singing, i.e. Leshchenko finally got the opportunity to have a good income ...
Approximately in 1932 in Yugoslavia, in Belgrade, in the Russian Family cabaret, owned by Serb Mark Ivanovich Garapich, our Riga dance quartet Four Smaltsevs, which had European fame, performed with great success. The leader of this number, Ivan Smaltsev, heard P. Leshchenko's performance in Riga, in the A.T. cafe, he liked his singing, and therefore he suggested Garapich to engage Peter. The contract was drawn up on brilliant terms for Leshchenko - $ 15 for an evening in two performances (for example, I will say that in Riga you could buy a good suit for fifteen dollars).
But fate again did not smile at Peter. The hall turned out to be narrow, large, and even before his arrival, a singer from Estonia Voskresenskaya, the owner of an extensive, beautiful timbre of a dramatic soprano, performed there. Petya did not justify the hopes of the management, he got lost - and although the contract was concluded with him for a month, but twelve days later (of course, having paid in full according to the contract), they parted with him. I think that Peter drew a conclusion from this.
In 1932 or 33, the company of Gerutsky, Cavura and Leshchenko opened in Bucharest, on Brezolyanu Street, 7 a small cafe-restaurant called "Casuta nostra" ("our house"). The capital was invested by the imposing-looking Gerutsky, who met the guests-visitors, the experienced chef Kavura was in charge of the kitchen, and Petya with a guitar created the mood in the hall. Petya's stepfather and mother took the clothes of visitors to the wardrobe (it was at this time that the entire Leshchenko family from Chisinau moved to live in Bucharest, and their son Igor continued to live and be brought up in Riga, with Zina's relatives, and therefore the first language he began to speak - Latvian).
At the end of 1933 I arrived in Riga. He sang in the Russian Drama Theater all musical reviews, traveled to neighboring Lithuania and Estonia.
Petya repeatedly came to Riga to visit his son. When they went for a walk, I always acted as an interpreter, because Petya did not know the Latvian language. Soon Peter took Igor to Bucharest.
Things went well at the Casutsa Nostra, tables were taken, as they said, with a fight, and it became necessary to change the premises. When in the fall of 1936, under a contract, I again arrived in Bucharest, there was already a new, large restaurant on the main street of Calea Victoria (N1), which was called Leshchenko.
In general, Peter was very popular in Bucharest. He was fluent in Romanian and sang in two languages. The restaurant was visited by an exquisite Russian and Romanian society.
A wonderful orchestra played. Zina turned the sisters Peter, Valya and Katya, into good dancers, they performed together, but, of course, Peter himself was already the highlight of the program.
Having comprehended all the secrets of singing on records in Riga, Petya agreed with the branch of the American Columbia company in Bucharest and sang many records there ... His voice in those recordings has a wonderful timbre, expressive in performance. After all, this is the truth: the less metal in the timbre of the voice of the performer of intimate songs, the better he will sound on gramophone records (some called Peter a "record singer": Peter did not have voice material corresponding to the scene, while performing intimate songs on gramophone records, tango , foxtrot, etc. I consider him one of the best Russian singers that I have ever heard, when I sang songs in the rhythm of tango, or foxtrot, requiring softness and sincerity of the voice timbre, I always tried, singing records, also to sing with a light sound, completely removing metal from the timbre of the voice, which, on the contrary, is necessary on the big stage).
In 1936 I was in Bucharest. My impresario, S.Ya. Bisker somehow tells me: soon here, in Bucharest, there will be a concert by F.I. Chaliapin, and after the concert, the Bucharest public arranges a banquet in honor of his arrival at the Continental restaurant (where the Romanian virtuoso violinist Grigorash Nicu played).
Chaliapin's concert was arranged by S. Ya. Bisker, and of course a place for the concert and for the banquet was provided for me ...
But soon Peter came to my hotel and said: "I invite you to a banquet in honor of Chaliapin, which will be held in my restaurant!" Indeed, the banquet took place in his restaurant. It turned out that Peter managed to negotiate with Chaliapin's administrator, managed to "interest" him, and the banquet from the "Continental" was transferred to the "Lescenco" restaurant.
I sat fourth from F. I. Chaliapin: Chaliapin, Bisker, critic Zolotorev and myself. I was all the attention, all the time listening to what Chaliapin was saying to those sitting next to him.
Speaking in the program of the evening, Peter was in a good mood, while singing he tried to turn to the table at which Chaliapin was sitting. After Peter's performances, Bisker asked Chaliapin: "What do you think, Fedor (they were on you), Leshchenko sings well?" Chaliapin smiled, looked in the direction of Peter and said: "Yes, stupid songs, he sings well."
Petya at first, when he found out about these words of Chaliapin, was offended, and then I hardly explained to him: “You can only be proud of such a remark. After all, what you and I sing, various fashion hits, romances and tangos, are really stupid songs compared with the classical repertoire. But you were praised, they said that you sing these songs well. And who said it - Chaliapin himself! This is the biggest compliment from the great actor."
Fedor Ivanovich was in a great mood that evening, he did not skimp on autographs.
In 1932, the Leshchenkos returned from Riga to Chisinau. Leshchenko gives two concerts in the Diocesan Hall, which had exceptional acoustics, the building of which was the most beautiful in the city.
The newspaper wrote: "On January 16 and 17, the famous performer of gypsy songs and romances, Pyotr Leshchenko, who enjoys tremendous success in the capitals of Europe, will perform in the Diocesan Hall." After the performances, the following messages appeared: "Pyotr Leshchenko's concert was an exceptional success. Sincere performance and a successful selection of romances delighted the audience."
Then Leshchenko and Zinaida Zakit perform at the Syuzanna restaurant, after which they again travel to different cities and countries.
In 1933 Leshchenko is in Austria. In Vienna, at the company "Columbia" he recorded on records. Unfortunately, this best and largest company in the world (whose branches were in almost all countries) recorded far from all the works that Petr Leshchenko performed: the owners of the companies in those years needed works in rhythms that were fashionable at that time: tango, foxtrot and they paid for them several times more than for romances or folk songs.
Thanks to the records released in millions of copies, Leshchenko is gaining extraordinary popularity, the most famous composers of that time willingly work with Peter: Boris Fomin, Oscar Strok, Mark Maryanovsky, Claude Romano, Efim Sklyarov, Hera Vilnov, Sasha Vladi, Arthur Gold, Ernst Nonigsberg and others. He was accompanied by the best European orchestras: the Genigsberg brothers, the Albin brothers, Herbert Schmidt, Nikolai Chereshnya (who toured Moscow and other cities of the USSR in 1962), Frank Fox's Columbia, and Bellacord-Electro. About half of the works of Petr Leshchenko's repertoire belong to him and almost all of them to his musical arrangement.
It is interesting that if Leshchenko experienced difficulties when his voice “disappeared” in large halls, then his voice was recorded perfectly on the records (Chaliapin even once called Leshchenko a “record singer”), while such stage masters as Chaliapin and Morfessi, who sang freely in large theater and concert halls, were always dissatisfied with their records, according to K. Sokolsky, which transmitted only a fraction of their voices ...
In 1935 Leshchenko came to England, performed in restaurants, he was invited to the radio. In 1938 Leshchenko with Zinaida in Riga. An evening was held in the Kemeri Kurhaus, at which Leshchenko, with the orchestra of the famous violinist and conductor Herbert Schmidt, gave his last concert in Latvia.
And in 1940 there were last concerts in Paris: and in 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Romania occupied Odessa. Leshchenko receives a call to the regiment to which he is assigned. He refuses to go to war against his people, he is judged by an officer's court, but he, as a popular singer, is released. In May 1942 he performed at the Odessa Russian Drama Theatre. At the request of the Romanian command, all concerts had to begin with a song in Romanian. And only then the famous "My Marusichka", "Two Guitars", "Tatiana" sounded. The concerts ended with "Chubchik".
Vera Georgievna Belousova (Leshchenko) says: "I lived then in Odessa. I graduated from a music school, I was then 19 years old. I performed in concerts, played the accordion, sang ... Somehow I see a poster: "The famous, inimitable Russian performer is performing and gypsy songs Petr Leshchenko." And at the rehearsal of one of the concerts (where I was supposed to perform), a man of short stature comes up to me, introduces himself: Petr Leshchenko, invites me to his concert. I sit in the hall, listen, and he looks sings to me:
You are nineteen years old, you have your own way.
You can laugh and joke.
And I have no return, I've been through so much...
So we met and soon got married. We arrived in Bucharest, Zinaida agreed to a divorce only when Peter left a restaurant and an apartment for her ...
We settled with his mother. In August 1944 Russian troops entered the city. Leshchenko began to offer his performances. The first concerts were received very coldly, Peter was very worried, it turned out that an order was given: "Leshchenko should not be applauded." Only when he gave a concert in front of the commanding staff, everything changed at once. We both began to perform in hospitals, in units, in halls. The command gave us an apartment...
So ten years flew by like one day. Peter kept trying to get permission to return to his homeland, and one day he received this permission. He gives the last concert - the first part passed with triumph, the second begins ... but he does not come out. I went into the dressing room: there was a suit, a guitar, two people in civilian clothes approached me and said that Pyotr Konstantinovich was taken away for a conversation, "clarifications are needed."
Nine months later, they gave me a meeting address and a list of things I needed. I arrived there. They measured six meters from the barbed wire, ordered not to approach. They brought Peter: neither speak nor touch. Parting, he folded his hands, raised them to the sky and said: "God knows, I have no guilt before anyone."
Soon I was also arrested, "for treason", for marrying a foreign citizen. Brought to Dnepropetrovsk. Sentenced to death, then replaced with twenty-five years - sent to a camp. Released in 1954. I learned that Peter Konstantinovich was no longer among the living.
I began to perform, to travel around the country. In Moscow, she met with Kolya Chereshnya (he was a violinist in the Leshchenko orchestra). Kolya said that in 1954 Leshchenko died in prison, allegedly poisoned by canned food. They also say that they imprisoned him because, having gathered his friends for a farewell dinner, he raised his glass and said: “Friends! I am happy that I am returning to my homeland! My dream has come true. I am leaving, but my heart remains with you. "
The last words were ruined. In March 1951, Leshchenko was arrested ... The voice of "the favorite of the European public, Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko," ceased to sound.
Vera Georgievna Leshchenko performed on many stages of the country as a singer, as an accordionist and pianist, she sang in Moscow, in the Hermitage. In the mid-eighties she went on a well-deserved rest, just before our meeting (in October 1985) she returned with her husband, pianist Eduard Vilgelmovich, to Moscow from the city where her best years had passed - from the beautiful Odessa. Our meetings took place in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere...
Pyotr Leshchenko's sister, Valentna, once saw her brother when the convoy was leading him down the street to dig ditches. Peter also saw his sister and cried... Valentina still lives in Bucharest.
Another sister, Catherine, lives in Italy. The son, Igor, was a magnificent choreographer of the Bucharest theater, died at the age of forty-seven...
People's History www.peoples.ru
CHUBCHIK
Petr Konstantinovich Leshchenko - pop singer (baritone). Born July 3, 1898 in the village of Isaevo near Odessa.
“Mother - Maria Konstantinovna - was a poor, illiterate peasant woman. The only thing known about the father is that he died when his son was three years old. It is possible that Peter was the fruit of extramarital love. His father was replaced by his stepfather Alexei Vasilyevich Alfimov - a simple, kind person, who, moreover, was not devoid of love for music and knew how to play the harmonica and guitar. Much later, Peter's sisters were born in the family of Maria Konstantinovna and Alexei Vasilyevich: Valentina - in 1917 and Katerina - in 1920.
From an early age, Petr Leshchenko lived like many children from poor rural families: studying at a rural school, singing in a church choir, joining in work and independent earnings. He was lucky that his stepfather Alexei Vasilyevich saw in the boy, whom he fell in love with as his own son, artistic inclinations and gave him his guitar.
In the summer of 1914, the First World War began. Leshchenko, under the influence of patriotic sentiments, ends up in the Chisinau school of ensigns. And when Romania, which fought on the side of the Entente, began to suffer one defeat after another, Peter Konstantinovich, as part of the Russian troops mobilized to help the Romanian army, was sent to the front ahead of schedule.
The October Revolution found Ensign Leshchenko in a military hospital, where he ended up after a severe wound received in battle. Meanwhile, the political situation in the region has changed. From a recent ally, the new, already Soviet, Russia has become an implacable enemy of Romania. In a difficult situation, when many international treaties of tsarist Russia lost their legal significance, Romania, without unnecessary diplomatic red tape, unilaterally resolved the long-standing territorial dispute in its favor - in January 1918, it occupied Bessarabia, tearing it away from Russia.
Leshchenko suddenly, against his will and desire, became an emigrant.
“The decisive thing was Leshchenko's acquaintance at one of the evenings with Oscar Strok (in Riga, in the homeland of Leshchenko's first wife, dancer Zinaida Zakis - V.K.). Strok, leaving for Liepaja, included it in the concert program. But in the large concert hall, Leshchenko's voice was lost.
Success came to him after performing in a small cozy cafe called A.T. A small orchestra was playing in the cafe, conducted by the excellent violinist Herbert Schmidt. During one of the pauses in the playing of the orchestra, Schmidt went up to the table where Strok and Solomir were sitting. They persuaded him to work with Leshchenko, and Strok undertook to help with the repertoire. Peter, having learned about this, of course, was very happy.
Rehearsals began, and two weeks later the first performance of the singer took place. It was at the end of 1930, which can be considered the beginning of Petr Leshchenko's singing career as a solo artist.
The first two songs he sang were a success, but when they announced that the tango of Oscar Strok would be performed, the audience, seeing the author himself in the hall, began to applaud him. Strok went up to the stage and sat down at the piano. This inspired Peter, and he heartily performed the composer's new work "My Last Tango". The hall erupted in stormy applause, the tango had to be encore...
Zinaida gave birth to a son, who, at the request of his father, was named Igor, although Zakis' relatives wanted to give him a Latvian name.
Yes, Leshchenko's finest hour has struck in Riga. Peter began to perform regularly at the A.T. cafe. At the Bellacord company, Leshchenko recorded sixty-one works. Among them are works by various authors, or music, or both. But fame was brought to him mainly by tango and foxtrots by Oscar Strok and Mark Maryanovsky.
Strok opened the way for Leshchenko to the world of recording, made him the king of records, and the singer, in turn, immortalized Oscar Strok's wonderful tangos.
But the most popular song of Leshchenko was Maryanovsky's tango "Tatiana". In the USSR, she got it as a "masterpiece of vulgarity", probably more than all other similar works combined. Which, probably, only contributed to the popular popularity of Tatiana. They knew her by heart, copied from tape recorder to tape recorder and listened, listened, listened ...
Tatyana, do you remember the golden days,
Lilac bushes and the moon in the silence of the alley?
Tatyana, do you remember the dreams of the past?
I loved you, we can’t return our young days.
Braids fell, fragrant, thick,
You bowed your head to me, not your chest.
Tatyana, do you remember the golden days?
We cannot bring back the past spring.
In 1932, Peter Konstantinovich performed in Maiori, in a summer restaurant, of which there are many on the Riga seaside. Two Englishmen liked his singing so much that they invited the artist to their boarding house, where he stirred their souls with his melodious voice. Obviously, he met business people, because, on their advice, a certain English company organized Leshchenko's voyage across the English Channel to foggy Albion to participate in an entertainment program at a social event. Leshchenko's performance caused a sensation, followed by an invitation to English radio. Later, the singer made a second trip to London and performed for a month in the respectable restaurants Trocadero, Savoy, Palladium.
In the first half of the thirties, Leshchenko moved permanently to Bucharest. Having settled in a new place, Leshchenko moved all his relatives from Chisinau there, buying a small house for this purpose. For some time he sang in the cafe "Lafayette Gallery" with a well-equipped stage and a novelty - a hanging microphone, nullifying all the flaws in the acoustics.
In 1933, Gerutsky, Kavura and Leshchenko opened a small restaurant "Our House" in Bucharest. The capital was invested by the representative-looking Gerutsky, who met the guests. The experienced chef Kavura was in charge of the kitchen, and Leshchenko with a guitar created the mood in the hall. Leshchenko's stepfather and mother received visitors in the cloakroom.
Things went well in Our House: the visitors poured in, the tables were taken, as they say, from the battle, and it became necessary to change the premises.
In the autumn of 1936, or maybe even earlier, on the main street of Bucharest, Victoria, a new restaurant was opened, which was called Leshchenko. Since Peter Konstantinovich was very popular in the city, the restaurant was visited by an exquisite Russian and Romanian society. A wonderful orchestra played. Zinaida made good dancers out of Peter's sisters - Valya and Katya. They all performed together, but the highlight of the program was, of course, Leshchenko himself ... It is interesting that the later famous Alla Boyanova also performed in the restaurant.
Leshchenko's discs, which were sold in fantastic circulations, were played on the radio, at parties, and in restaurants. The songs performed by him were, if I may say so, the everyday musical background in the Russian-speaking colonies abroad.
“The records of Pyotr Leshchenko penetrated into the Soviet Union in the thirties, but especially a lot of them appeared on the black markets and bazaars of Bessarabia and the Baltic states, which were included in 1940 as part of the USSR. On the radio, as before, they did not sound - after all, Leshchenko lived in Bucharest and was considered an emigrant.
In October 1941, “... German-Romanian troops occupied Odessa. In the same month, Leshchenko received a summons to appear in his unit. Pyotr Konstantinovich ignored the challenge. He was warned a second time about the appearance in the regiment. Again, no reaction from the singer. The third challenge ... Leshchenko stubbornly does not want to go into the army, and even more so to fight against his people.
In the end, he was tried by the so-called officer's court of honor and left alone for a while - he was still a prominent figure in the artistic environment of Bucharest.
In May 1942, Leshchenko arrived in Odessa. His concert was scheduled at the Russian Drama Theatre. A real rush began in the city: queues for tickets lined up from early morning...
The day of the concert was a real triumph for Peter Konstantinovich. The small theater hall was full to overflowing, many were standing in the aisles. The singer was upset at first: he suddenly began to sing the first things ... in Romanian - it turned out, at the request of the authorities. Then the already well-known, beloved by many tangos, foxtrots, romances sounded, and each piece was accompanied by frantic applause from the audience. The concert ended with a genuine ovation ... "
“In July 1942, Pyotr Konstantinovich unexpectedly received a call to the 13th division to work as an interpreter (he spoke several languages). It seemed to him that they had given up on him as a potential soldier for a long time, but no, they remembered him. And again Leshchenko, as if following an old tradition, was in no hurry to obey the order. For almost a year, Leshchenko, by hook or by crook, managed to evade wearing a military uniform. Familiar doctors even performed a fictitious operation on him, and the artist spent some time in the hospital, but he did not succeed in finally getting a commission. In October 1943, Peter Konstantinovich was nevertheless called up and sent to the Crimea, where he worked as the head of the officer's canteen.
His entire “service” from October 1943 to March 1944 took place at military food stations in the Crimea - not with a rifle or an army scoop, but with an inseparable guitar, with which he - in an order, of course, pampered the sleek officers of the occupying forces.
“Leshchenko is already over fifty. In accordance with his age, his repertoire changes - the singer becomes more sentimental. Tempo hits, such as "My Marusichka" and "Nastenka", leave the programs, a taste for lyrics, romances, colored with melancholy and sadness, appears. Even in his plate recordings, made in 1944-1945, by no means joyful tonality dominates: "Tramp", "Bell", "Mother's Heart", "Evening Bells", "Don't Leave".
Pyotr Konstantinovich continues to investigate the possibility of returning to the Soviet Union, appealed to the "competent authorities", wrote letters to Stalin and Kalinin. It would be better if he did not do this - maybe then he would be able to live the rest of his life in peace.
In March 1951, Peter Konstantinovich was arrested. It happened at a concert in Brasov. Many years later, his wife found out that Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko died in the camp on July 16, 1954, either from a stomach ulcer or from poisoning ... ”Samin D.K. The most famous emigrants of Russia. - M.: Veche, 2000, p. 352.
I am supplementing (GL). Kolya said that in 1954 Leshchenko died in prison, allegedly poisoned by canned food. They also say that they imprisoned him because, having gathered his friends for a farewell dinner, he raised his glass and said: “Friends! I am happy that I am returning to my homeland! My dream has come true. I am leaving, but my heart remains with you. " The last words are ruined.
Klaass songs, retro well, they take it for the soul !!
Film company "Central Partnership" completed shooting
Eight-episode historical drama "Pyotr Leshchenko"
The first artistic picture that tells about life
One of the most popular domestic chansonniers of the first half of the 20th century.
The script for Pyotr Leshchenko was written by Eduard Volodarsky, directed by Vladimir Kott and produced by Denis Frolov.
The film starred Konstantin Khabensky and Ivan Stebunov,
Elena Lotova, Victoria Isakova, Miriam Sekhon, Alexandra Cherkasova,
Andrey Merzlikin, Boris Kamorzin, Alexey Kravchenko.
=========================================
I watch the film, very good game of Konstantin Khabensky and Ivan Stebunov,
HOW ARE YOU??
Vera and Petr Leshchenko.
Russian viewers finally saw the series “Pyotr Leshchenko. Everything that was ... ”, created back in 2013.
In reports from the set of this series, more than once, citing authoritative sources, it was argued that there was no distortion of historical truth in it. And this despite the fact that the screenwriter of "All that was ..." Eduard Volodarsky did not hide: he composed the fate of Leshchenko. Starting, of course, from undeniable biographical collisions.
Although Pyotr Leshchenko was a rather open person and, at least in a narrow circle of friends, he liked to tell various fascinating stories from his life, in particular, about serving in the White Army, little is known about him. These stories were probably not written down or retold.
The biography of Petr Leshchenko, which roams with slight variations on numerous sites, is based on a 17-page protocol from one of the interrogations of the artist, who was arrested by the Romanian State Security Service. The interrogation was conducted by a Soviet investigator, the protocol was in Russian.
Another popular source of information about the singer is the book by his widow, Vera Belousova-Leshchenko, “Tell me why?”. Vera Georgievna took up her work at the age of 85, but claimed that she began to make the first notes about her famous husband much earlier. Belousova did not live to see the start of filming. Why the role of Leshchenko (in adulthood) was played by Konstantin Khabensky was already told by her friend Olga Petukhova, who became a consultant for the series.
Why Khabensky?
About which of the artists could play Pyotr Leshchenko on the screen, Vera Belousova thought even when this series was not even in the project. After all, the idea to make a picture of her famous husband fascinated Eldar Ryazanov. Vera Georgievna watched various films on TV, but she did not meet the one who would remind her of Pyotr Leshchenko.
And suddenly one day she called Petukhova and told her friend to turn on the TV. Khabensky was shown on TV. “He has delicacy, restraint, and the strength of character is felt. That’s what Petenka was like!” Petukhova heard.
The director of the series, Vladimir Kott, went to the choice of the artist for the main role in his own way. He laid out photographs of Leshchenko in front of him, and the more he peered at them, the more clearly Khabensky's face appeared before him. According to Kott, in Khabensky there is the same intelligence with a clear tendency to hooliganism, the same nervousness.
As a result, Khabensky was approved without casting, and after that they began to look for a young artist similar to him - for the role of Leshchenko in his youth.
The biggest disappointment of many viewers was the director's decision not to include songs performed by Petr Leshchenko himself in the series. Khabensky, who also sings in the film, does it well, but this is not Leshchenko at all, from whose voice especially sensitive ladies choked with delight and were ready for madness. However, in the words of Kott that Leshchenko was a phenomenon of his time and would not have made such an impression on the public today, there is also a bitter truth.
To spite the Chekists?
Reading the protocol of the interrogation of Leshchenko suggests that some episodes of the film were made to spite the Chekists. In mockery of them. The investigator is interested in Leshchenko's foreign acquaintances, and here you are, in the series, an episode of the singer's meeting with a friend of his youth - a Russian underground worker. That is, for the Romanian citizen Leshchenko - with a foreigner. The singer agrees to carry out the most dangerous task - to escort a suitcase with explosives to occupied Odessa to be handed over to local anti-fascists.
Did the investigator point out that, by joining her life with Leshchenko, Vera Belousova had betrayed her Motherland? And here's another episode about Vera. After all, she, a young singer from a restaurant, turns out to be a liaison who must pass the explosives further along the underground chain ...
If Pyotr Leshchenko and Vera were somehow connected with the partisan underground, Belousova would undoubtedly talk about it in her book. But she only remembers that shortly before the occupation of her native Odessa, she performed as part of a concert brigade in Soviet military units. It was difficult to expect otherwise in that situation from a student at the conservatory, a Komsomol member, the daughter of an NKVD officer who volunteered for the front. And Pyotr Leshchenko, according to her testimony, more than once helped the Jews she knew to cross to a safe territory for them and avoid extermination.
There are two documentary versions of the first meeting between Petr Leshchenko and Vera Belousova. One can be found out by reading the protocol of interrogation of Leshchenko, the other by reading the book of Belousova's memoirs.
Leshchenko told the investigator that, having arrived in Odessa with a concert, he heard about a young singer who sings to her own accompaniment on the accordion in one of the restaurants, and wanted to hear her. This was Vera. He really liked her and her songs. He invited Vera to perform at his concert.
And Vera Georgievna writes about how she dreamed of attending a Leshchenko concert, but there was no money for a ticket. Fortunately, she met a good friend, a musician who was supposed to play at this concert in the orchestra. He could not take Vera to the celebrity concert, but please, to the rehearsal of the concert. He even introduced her to Leshchenko. Pyotr Konstantinovich asked Vera to sing something. She sang Tabachnikov's song "Mom", and tears welled up in Leshchenko's eyes. This is where it all started for them.
Has memory let one of the spouses down? Perhaps Leshchenko simply invented his story of meeting Vera so that the young musician who introduced them did not appear in the case.
There is a romantic version that Leshchenko died because he refused to betray his wife. From the moment the Soviet troops entered Bucharest, Leshchenko and his wife performed flawlessly wherever they were invited by the Soviet military officials and the new local authorities. The Soviet military often asked if Leshchenko was thinking of returning to his homeland, and he replied that he had always dreamed about it.
Once, a similar dialogue took place in the presence of Vera Georgievna, and a certain Soviet military rank suggested that he realize his dream without delay, and Belousova bluntly said: "We'll have to cut down the forest for a year or two." And then he cheated. For what they were going to accuse her of, it was impossible to get off for a year or two. The military tribunal sentenced Leshchenko's wife to capital punishment.
Leshchenko did not even want to think about returning to his homeland without Vera. However, even if he had made up his mind, he still would not have escaped arrest. Vera Georgievna recalled that the investigator asked her why she married this renegade and White Guard?
"The White Guard and the Renegade". So he was and remained in the eyes of the then authorities.
What then?
According to the official version, Petr Leshchenko died in a prison hospital after an unsuccessful operation for a stomach ulcer. His case has not been declassified to this day, where the remains are buried is unknown.
Vera Belousova was replaced with 25 years in the camps, but she was released two years after her arrest: Stalin died, a wave of rehabilitation began. Belousova was released with the removal of a criminal record.
She worked in the regional philharmonics, married twice and again remained a widow. Both of her spouses, even before meeting her, were sincerely interested in the work of Peter Leshchenko.
In the last years of her life, Vera Georgievna complained that although Pyotr Leshchenko returned to the cultural landscape of Russia, his image is often distorted, he is given thievish features, but he never was like that and did not sing thieves' songs. On Sundays he went to church and sang during services in the choir. Once, Vera Georgievna thought to please Leshchenko with an observation: the parishioners listened to his singing!
“My dear child,” Peter Konstantinovich answered his young wife, “they don’t sing in the church for parishioners. I don't sing, I talk to God.
Leshchenko Pyotr Konstantinovich - Romanian and Russian pop song performer, dancer of folk and characteristic types of dance, restaurateur. He was born in the small village of Isaevo, which is located near Odessa. The singer's mother was Maria Kalinovna Leshchenkova, who gave birth to a son without a legal spouse. Leshchenko never knew his own father. He also had half sisters.
The early years of life Leshchenko P.K.
Oh those black eyes
I've been captured
I can't forget them
They burn before me.
Oh those black eyes
I was loved.
Where have you disappeared to now?
Who is close to you?
Leshchenko Petr Konstantinovich
For eight years, little Peter was trained at home. His mother, grandmother and mother's husband, who worked as a dentist, were engaged in his upbringing. Maria Kalinovna was a very gifted woman, she sang folk songs and boasted an excellent ear. The future singer was also gifted with musical abilities, taking part in the choir at the church. Six weeks later, he becomes a student at the parochial school of the city of Chisinau.
At the age of seventeen, Pyotr Leshchenko graduated from music and general education schools and went to war. He joins the Cossack regiment, then takes the position of ensign and platoon commander. In August 1917, he received a concussion and a serious wound, and was treated in a hospital in Chisinau. When the performer finally recovered, he became a citizen of Romania. This happened after the famous revolution that took place in October.
Life in the post-war years and the beginning of a vocal career
After military service, Leshchenko worked in various fields - he was a church employee, a member of a quartet, performed folk dances and was a singer at the Chisinau Opera House. In 1919, he completely immersed himself in variety activities. The singer goes on tour, taking part in various musical groups, a guitar duet, and also performs solo songs.
The year 1926 of the singer began with a tour of European cities and Middle Eastern countries. In 1931, fate brings him together with Oscar Strok, a composer. He offers Leshchenko to sign up for the studio and he agrees. Soon there will be records with the singer's romances - "Black Eyes", "Blue Rhapsody", "Tatiana", "Nastya the Berry" and others.
These songs become so famous that the record company contacts the performer and offers to sign a contract. He agrees and writes about one hundred and eighty records. Peter begins to tour Europe and gives concerts in Odessa, which is occupied by Romanian soldiers.
