Vasily Zinkevich: a timeless personality

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Unfortunately, today a new generation of Ukrainian listeners, when mentioning the name Vasily Zinkevich, is unlikely to clearly answer the question of what kind of performer he is and what contribution he made to the development of music. Let's pay tribute to him and see what exactly the singer brought to the national flavor of Ukraine.

Vasily Zinkevich: biography, family and successes of a simple guy

The future favorite of the public was born on May 1, 1945 in the Khmelnitsky region in the village of Vaskovtsy, Izyaslovskiy district (then it was still the Ukrainian SSR).

As expected, in the countryside of that time, there were feasts and chants. Ukrainian folk motifs were present everywhere. It was with them that the young star began her professional advancement. I must say that Vasily Zinkevich (whose photo is given in the article) even then was distinguished by unique vocal abilities.

His family, although it was, as they say, the most ordinary, nevertheless, managed to discern in the boy a real talent, which in the end,and lead him to success at the state level of the Soviet Union.

What was Vasily Zinkevich like at that time? The family says that the guy grew up like an ordinary schoolboy, not particularly standing out among his peers. But the Ukrainian folklore, for which he had a weakness, nevertheless did his job, and this man made a choice in favor of the song.

Vasily Zinkevich: first steps on stage

The future singer received a pretty good education at the Vyzhnitsky School of Arts and Crafts. As it turned out, this was enough for Vasily Zinkevich to choose the career of a singer.

Of course, at that time they didn't earn that much on stage. The fees were accrued in the form of salaries from the Philharmonic. But in 1968, Vasily Zinkevich took an extraordinary step: he became the lead vocalist of the Smerichka group, which was then promoted by Lev Dutkovsky.

Smerichka group

It was "Smerichka" that became the starting point to the peak of popularity. A year later, Nazariy Yaremchuk, now no less revered, although deceased, joined the team.

Vasily Zinkevich together with him performed "Chervona Ruta", which later became almost a symbol of Ukraine.

What can I say, even such a respected and beloved singer as Sofia Mikhailovna Rotaru passed through this school. She, of course, against the background of Zinkevich and Yaremchuk, became more popular thanks to the title of People's Artist of Ukrainian andMoldavian SSR. In addition, at the peak of her popularity, she changed the language of the text, which Vasily Zinkevich never did.

Main milestones of creativity

As for popularity, singer Vasily Zinkevich is now undeservedly forgotten. After Smerichka, he worked in tandem with Nazariy Yaremchuk, but for some reason they were always opposed to each other, despite the fact that in life they did not compete at all.

It has already become clear that their vocals were loved by various Soviet leaders. But against the backdrop of rival men, the flower of Sofia Rotaru's popularity blossomed. By the way, not only she owes her ascent to "Smerichka".

If anyone does not know, Sofia Mikhailovna has two more sisters. Once, under the Soviet Union, they tried to create a Rotaru trio, sang a couple of songs, but that was all.

Vasily Zinkevich on the verge of the collapse of the USSR did not change himself. As he sang in Ukrainian, so he sings. And, what is most interesting, he is not interested in all sorts of political twists and turns typical of the current Ukrainian state.

Perhaps his songs are not as popular as Western hits, however, here we can pay tribute to the fact that Vasily Zinkevich still records albums in the studio, in general, they do not differ much in sound from Soviet times. This is understandable, because old listeners want to hear the classics of the genre, and certainly not the new-found synthesizers or redesigned vocals.

Awards

During his creative career, Zinkevich did not receive as many awards as one might expect. Among the most prestigious, it is worth noting the nationalHonored and People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1980, 1985), the Taras Shevchenko Prize of Ukraine (1994), recognition as an honorary citizen of Lutsk (2001) and the award of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, V degree.

What remains to be added?

Ukrainian singer Vasily Zinkevich may not be as wildly popular as the modern one-day bands, but in his songs, using national Ukrainian traditions, he brings people such a positive that many citizens of the country itself, put today under the threat of complete collapse and destruction, can only rejoice that such emotions are present at all.

But that's not the most important thing. Vasily Zinkevich stood on the threshold of promoting the Ukrainian song at the all-Union level. Rotaru was later. But Zinchkevich and Yaremchuk became precisely those pioneers who raised the national folklore on such a scale. Remember, well, who has not heard such famous words as “Don’t joke with Chervona Ruta in the evenings”? On a subconscious level, even everyone knows the melody.

Now, I think, it is already clear that the Ukrainian singer has made a significant contribution to the development of culture in general. Some perceive it on a musical level, some associate it with political aspects, the point is not that. If you have talent and understanding of it, you won't drink it away, as they say. Well, in this case, it's pointless to argue.

As Vasily Zinkevich was "his" national treasure, so he remained one. A huge spiritual wound in the understanding of his fans consists only in the loss of a close friend and comrade Nazariy Yaremchuk.