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- He worked as an intensive care specialist and wrote songs between calls: how Alexander Rosenbaum became a famous artist
He worked as an intensive care specialist and wrote songs between calls: how Alexander Rosenbaum became a famous artist
Alexander Rosenbaum received a medical degree and worked as an emergency room doctor for several years. The meetings with patients and the human destinies that he observed in his work were later reflected in his work. Over the decades of his musical career, he has written more than 800 songs and poems, in which St. Petersburg, the military theme, love, friendship and personal experiences occupy a special place. On September 13, the artist turns 75 years old. About how the intensive care doctor became one of the most famous Russian authors and performers and why his songs still do not lose their relevance, is in the "Izvestia" material.
Childhood in a family of doctors, music school and the first songs
The musician was born on September 13, 1951 in Leningrad. His parents, Yakov Rosenbaum and Sofya Milyaeva, were fellow students at the First Medical Institute. Later, both linked their lives with medicine. His father became a urologist, and his mother worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist, which later largely determined Alexander's choice of profession.
In 1956, the family's youngest son, Vladimir, was born. The early years of the future artist were spent in Altai, where his parents went on assignment, then he returned to Leningrad.
By his own admission, the artist was no different from his peers and came from an ordinary Soviet intelligent family. Alexander Rosenbaum graduated from school No. 209 in Leningrad. The educational institution was located in the historical building of the former Pavlovsky Institute of Noble Maidens. His parents also studied there.
At the same time, he studied piano at a music school, and later at an evening music school in a jazz arrangement class. At the same time, the artist himself recalled that music lessons were not a priority for him as a child. He was much more interested in friends, the yard, and sports. As a teenager, he became interested in boxing and even reached the level of a candidate for master of sports.
Singer Alexander Rosenbaum
The turning point was the acquaintance with the famous guitarist Mikhail Minin, grandmother's neighbor in a communal apartment, who showed the young Alexander the basic chords. Since then, the boy has not parted from the guitar for a single day. He began composing his first poems and songs at the age of 16.
Grandmother Anna Arturovna is one of the few who supported Alexander's passion for music, believing in the exclusivity of her grandson. His parents treated music lessons more as an important part of his general education, without connecting his son's professional future with them.
Why Alexander Rosenbaum became a doctor
After school, Rosenbaum decided to follow in his parents' footsteps and enrolled in the First Medical Institute in Leningrad, now the First Pavlov St. Petersburg State Medical University (Pavlov Moscow State Medical University).
"I was born in a white coat, in a family of students at a medical institute, which I later graduated from myself... All my family and friends are "narrow" specialists from different fields of medicine: urologist, gynecologist, intensive care physician, therapist, radiologist, dentist. A complete set," the musician recalled.
In an interview, the artist noted that he initially did not plan to be a doctor, as he was attracted to nature and travel, but his legs led him to a medical university.
"Since I grew up among doctors, my legs carried me to the medical center. I went there and passed all the exams for "A's", he said.
Studying, however, was not easy. In his second year, he was expelled for failing grades. A year later, he recovered and continued his studies, having previously worked as an orderly. In 1974, Rosenbaum graduated from the university and received a diploma as a general practitioner specializing in anesthesiology and intensive care.
At the same time, music has not disappeared from his life. Rosenbaum actively participated in student skits and amateur performances. In his first year, one of his compositions was awarded the audience award at the Kiev Author's Song Festival.
How did night shifts and the fate of patients affect the future artist
After receiving his diploma, Alexander got a job at the 1st ambulance substation, where he spent almost six years. It was a high-tempo job with constant responsibility: challenges, difficult patients, emergency decisions, and the need to act quickly.
He had to deliver difficult babies at the Finlyandsky railway station, pump out the parents of a boy who fell into a flight of stairs from the 6th floor, and rescue a crane operator who fell out of a cabin and got stuck at a height of 46 m - about the level of a ten—story building. Rosenbaum climbed onto the crane himself and spent several more hours at the top, waiting for rescuers to lower him to the ground. All this happened in winter, and the only clothes were a medical gown.
According to the artist, the medical profession gave him the opportunity to deal with real human problems every day. He repeatedly stressed that it was thanks to medical practice that he received the vital material, which was then reflected in poems and songs.
"My humanity is always a huge number of sick people with difficult fates. Without medicine, as a singer-songwriter, nothing would have worked out," Rosenbaum noted.
In moments of fatigue and despair, songs were born of their own accord. So, during an emergency stop under the drawbridge, the "Song of the ambulance doctor" was written. Later, ""Nothing is impossible" and "Nostalgic" appeared.
How a doctor left medicine and got on the stage
In 1980, Rosenbaum decided to leave medicine and devote himself entirely to music. Soon after that, he became an artist at "Lenkontsert". """""""",""Argonauts", ""Six young", "Pulse" performed as part of vocal and instrumental ensembles (VIA), gradually forming his own style of performance.
The artist's solo career began in 1983 with a concert at the Dzerzhinsky House of Culture of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where Rosenbaum performed songs of his own composition for the first time.
According to the artist, the transition from medicine to the stage was a serious decision for him. A medical career provided an understandable profession, whereas the path of the author-performer did not guarantee either stability or recognition. However, Rosenbaum already had his own material and understood that he wanted not only to write songs for others, but to perform them himself.
His early repertoire included works that quickly diverged into tape recordings. In 1986, his first album "Epitaph" was released. """"""""""I Often Wake up in silence," ""In war as in War," "Babi Yar," "Flagship March," and "On the Road of Life," which are associated with the memory of the Great Patriotic War, were included in the album.
By this time, Rosenbaum was already known to the general public. His style, combining urban romance, military songs, philosophical lyrics and elements of a gang song, quickly found a response from a wide variety of audiences.
"From "Waltz-Boston" to "Duck Hunt": the songs that made Rosenbaum famous
All-Union fame came to Rosenbaum in the late 1980s. ""Come" "Duck Hunt" and "Waltz-Boston" were recorded at that time. Over time, these compositions became the hallmarks of the artist and firmly entered his concert repertoire.
""Duck Hunt" contains the lines "To treat is to treat, to love is to love, to walk is to walk, to shoot is to shoot, to fly is to fly", which reflect the essence of the artist's own life — to work with full dedication, not to retreat from difficulties and sincerely relate to what you do..
"Waltz-Boston" is a song about time, youth, memories and returning to places dear to my heart. Her melody and intonation proved to be close to listeners of different generations. It is no coincidence that the name of the composition gave the name to the musical of the same name, in which Rosenbaum's songs were performed.
"""""""""""""""Prophetic fate", "Sadness Flew", "Hop-stop" and other compositions were added to these two hits, which were included in the golden fund of the Russian chanson and the author's song.
""""""""Songs about Leningrad", "Walk along Nevsky Prospekt", "Waltz on the Swan's Groove", "Night on Vasilyevsky Island", "Night Flight" occupy a special place in the artist's work, where admiration for the beauties of the city is combined with sadness about the years gone by.
Afghanistan, a military theme in the life and work of Rosenbaum
The military conflict in Afghanistan in 1979-1989 had a great influence on Rosenbaum's life and work. In the 1980s, he repeatedly traveled with concerts to the locations of Soviet military units, speaking to soldiers and officers. These trips became the basis of his "Afghan cycle", which included works about soldiers, losses, war and returning home.
Termez. Alexander Rosenbaum with the Soviet wars at a camp on the way home
Rosenbaum himself later emphasized that he went there primarily as a doctor and a person who could not stay away. "Black Tulip" (full name — "Monologue of the pilot of "Black Tulip") became one of the most famous songs of that period.
According to Rosenbaum's memoirs, the composition was born after the events related to the transition to Shindand, the shelling and the death of Soviet soldiers. The actor said that he saw with his own eyes the loading of bodies into zinc coffins for shipment to his homeland. The An-12 planes that carried out this grim mission were nicknamed the "Black Tulip" by the army. Later, the musician said that he wrote this song almost in one breath.
"Caravan", ""Afghan Blizzard" and "In the mountains of Afghanistan" were included in the same cycle. The latter was featured in the documentary "The Pain and Hopes of Afghanistan", filmed in 1986 at the USSR Ministry of Defense Film Studio. The film is a chronicle of military operations, and Rosenbaum's composition, which was performed in the tape, is often called the first clip in the artist's work.
Alexander Rosenbaum speaks to the military personnel of the United Group of Federal Forces in the North Caucasus located in Gudermes.
These works have become not only a significant part of Rosenbaum's musical legacy, but also a kind of chronicle of the era. In his songs, the artist talked about the fates of people caught up in the war, their experiences, losses and the hope of returning home. Later, Rosenbaum repeatedly spoke to military personnel in other hot spots — in the Caucasus, in Syria, as well as in the area of the special military operation in Donbass.
Wife, daughter and four grandchildren
Alexander Rosenbaum's personal life has remained far from high-profile scandals for many years. The actor was married twice. His first marriage to Tatiana, a medical student, lasted about nine months. In 1975, Rosenbaum married his classmate Elena Savshinskaya, who became a radiologist.
Unlike her husband, Elena did not change her profession and continued to work in medicine. The couple have been together for over 50 years. During this time, their family went through many important events, but despite the fame of the artist and his busy touring schedule, Rosenbaum always emphasized the importance of family in his life.
In 1976, Alexander and Elena had a daughter, Anna. The girl had been seriously ill since she was four months old, and her parents had to put in a lot of effort to help her regain her health. Rosenbaum admitted that he dreamed of having a son, but after the birth of his daughter, the couple no longer decided to have children.
Anna received a philological education and became a professional translator. She later married Israeli swimmer Tiberio Chaka. Now the couple live in St. Petersburg and are engaged in the restaurant business.
Anna has four sons, all of whom have the double surname of Chucky-Rosenbaum. The actor tries to spend time with his grandchildren and speaks warmly about his family, which he considers his main support. However, he admitted that due to his busy work schedule, it is difficult to call him an exemplary grandfather.
He wrote more than 800 songs and poems: interesting stories and facts from the artist's life
Over the years, Rosenbaum has written more than 850 songs and poems and released over 30 music albums. However, by his own admission, he rarely listens to his recordings, usually in order to refresh his memory of the text before the concert.
Singer Alexander Rosenbaum at the Chanson of the Year Award ceremony at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow
""The long-term creative activity of the performer has been marked by a number of prestigious music awards, including the "Golden Gramophone" and "Chanson of the Year" awards. In 2001, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. """" Other honorary awards of the artist include the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, the medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" and the badge "To the Internationalist Soldier".
Having dedicated many songs to Afghanistan and visited hot spots, Rosenbaum himself did not serve in the army. He did not qualify for medical reasons due to vision problems. After graduating from medical school, he was promoted to the rank of medical service lieutenant, and in 2000, the Ministry of Defense awarded him the rank of colonel of the medical service in the reserve.
Joseph Kobzon and Alexander Rosenbaum at the plenary session of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
For many years, the artist has been engaged in social activities. In 2003-2007, Rosenbaum was a deputy of the State Duma of the IV convocation from "United Russia", and since 2021 he has been chairman of the public council at the Federal Penitentiary Service for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
At the same time, the artist does not forget about his medical skills. In December 2018, during a flight from Tel Aviv to Moscow, one of the passengers lost consciousness. When the flight attendants asked the doctors to respond, Rosenbaum immediately came to the rescue and performed artificial respiration and indirect heart massage, after which the woman regained consciousness.
Today Alexander Yakovlevich Rosenbaum continues to write new songs and actively tour. In his own words, stopping is a dangerous thing for him, so even at the age of 75 he is not going to slow down and remains in demand as an artist.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
