David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (, was born July 20, 1940) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of Russian Federation (2003, 2019).
Tukhmanov is a son of an Armenian engineer Fyodor Davidovich Tukhmanov and a Russian music teacher Vera Anatolyevna Karasyova. The Tukhmanovs are the descendants of the Armenian princely house of Tumanyans, the offspring of the princes Mamikonians, Lords of Dsegh. David began to learn music under the direction of his mother at an early age and wrote his first piece of music (Lezginka), when he was four years old. Then he finished Gnesins musical school (1958) and composer's branch of Gnesins Musical College (1963). His degree's work was the oratorio for soloists, chorus and an orchestra Distance After Distance, which is based on fragments of the epic poem of the same name by Alexander Tvardovsky.
Tukhmanov is known for several Soviet-themed hit songs such as "Victory Day" (Russian: ÃÂõýàÃÂþñõôÃÂ, lit.âÂÂ'Den Pobedy') and other popular songs. His first hit song was "Last Electrichka" (Russian: ÃÂþÃÂûõôýÃÂàÃÂûõúÃÂÃÂøÃÂúð, lit.âÂÂ'Poslednyaya electrichka') in 1968. In 1973 Tukhmanov wrote songs and music for a TV film This Merry Planet. In the following year he released soundtrack album, which also included several additional songs.
In 1972 Tukhmanov released his first personally authored album How Beautiful the World is (Russian: ÃÂðú ÿÃÂõúÃÂðÃÂõý üøÃÂ, lit.âÂÂ'Kak prekrasen mir') which he described as a trial work cause of its conceptual structure. In 1975-76 he created an album-suite On a Wave of My Memory (Russian: ÃÂþ òþûýõ üþõù ÿðüÃÂÃÂø, lit.âÂÂ'Po volne moyey pamyati'). The idea of On a Wave of My Memory belonged to Tatyana Sashko, the wife of David Tukhmanov, and she was the one who picked the classic poems for the album's songs. It is considered to be the first conceptual Russian rock album. Wave's execution was done in secret, in more remote studios across Moscow, with tight lips and low profile, for fear of censors shutting down the project before fruition, but this did not happen. This album was a record-breaking success for the USSR, becoming a highly sought-after product. It rivaled the top albums of Pink Floyd or Deep Purple in terms of desirability.
In January, 1981, Tukhmanov organized rock band Moskva (Moscow) â Nikolai Noskov (vocals, rhythm guitar), Alexey Belov (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Dmitry Serebryakov (drums). In 1982 Moskva released an album UFO. Musical critic Yuri Filinov had noted that UFO ëis rather far from structure of thinking in Western rockû (though arrangements, instruments, rhythms were modern). Filinov also defined the album as a noncommercial disk. Perhaps, because of this fact Tukhmanov ceased to write songs for the band. In the spring of 1984 Noskov left the band, and soon he recorded Tukhmanov's song Night. In 1985 Moskva recorded Tukhmanov's song XXIII Century.
In 1984 and in 1985 Tukhmanov wrote five songs for Alexander Barykin's Carnaval to release a collaboration LP Steps (Russian: áÃÂÃÂÿõýø, lit.âÂÂ'Stupeni'). In the same years he wrote all songs for mini-album of Estonian Soviet pop singer Jaak Joala Love Itself (Russian: áðüð ûÃÂñþòÃÂ, lit.âÂÂ'Sama lyubov'). In 1985 Tukhmanov also has released an album War Songs, dedicating to the 40th anniversary of Soviet victory in Second World War.
In 1986 Tukhmanov wrote music and songs for TV film The Travel of M. Perrichon (adaptation of Eugène Labiche's vaudeville). In the next year he has released his second soundtrack album.
In 1986 Tukhmanov also organized pop band Electroclub, which released three albums. In 1989, after his work with Electroclub, Tukhmanov created the musical Thief of Bagdad (together with poet and lyricist Yuri Entin). Premiere has taken place in 1990 â in Moscow (theatre Satiricon) and in Sverdlovsk. This musical is directed until now in many cities of Russia.
After the disintegration of USSR Tukhmanov emigrated to Germany. In 1995 he returned and wrote together with Entin six cycles of songs for children (he also wrote the hymn of children's animated festival ëGolden Fishû). He wrote cycle Square Windows (based on the poems by Innokenty Annensky) too. In 2007 Tukhmanov wrote songs for literary-musical composition, which based on the poems by Alexander Pushkin. CD Long Live the Muses! has released in 2009, to 210 years from the birth of Pushkin.
In 2007 Tukhmanov and Yuri Entin finished their second variant of the musical Evening in Copenhagen (on motives of Nikolai Erdman's play The Mandate).
Tukhmanov also came back to classical style. In 2002 he created the oratorio Legend of Yermak for big chorus, the soloists and an orchestra. In the end of 2005 he has finished his creation of an opera Ekaterina the Great. Ekaterina the Great (libretto by Yuri Ryashentsev and Galina Polidi) has been directed in the theatre Gelikon Opera under the title Tsaritsa. Premiere has taken place in 2009, in Saint Petersburg.
Tukhmanov wrote triptych for a mezzo-soprano and a piano Dream of Sebastian, or Saint Night (bazed on the poems by Georg Trakl). The first performance has taken place in 2007, in Moscow.
In 1998 Tukhmanov is invited to musical direction of World Olympic Junior Games in Moscow and wrote music to this competitions. He did the same in 2002. In 2000, when Tukhmanov was 60 years old, he organized jubilee's concert, and he organized author's concert Attraction of Love in 2004. In 2010, when Tukhmanov was 70 years old, Igor Krutoy was the producer of jubilee's concert in Jà «rmala. In the same year Tukhmanov has released solo album Tango of Boris Poplavsky's Dreams.
In 2009, he created a cycle based on the poems of A. S. Pushkin, which was performed by Oleg Mityaev, Marina Esipenko, and Witold Petrovsky. The premiere took place at the "Eldar Cinema Club", and was later presented at the Mikhaylovskoye Museum Reserve and on the stages of the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall and the State Kremlin Palace.
In 2012 Tukhmanov took part in jubilee's concert of Lev Leshchenko and in a concert DIALOGUES AT WITNESSES with Andrey Maximov. Not Formatted David TUKHMANOV. In 2013 he has taken part in jubilee's concert of Valeriya.
On September 18, 2013, Tukhmanov took part in the shooting of TV broadcast Property of the Republic ("DOstoyaniye REspubliki"; Do is a note C on Russian and Re is a note D on Russian), which has been dedicated to his creativity. TV broadcast appeared on October 6. On the results of voting (by TV spectators and spectators in studio) Victory Day has been recognized as Tukhmanov's best song.
His first wife, Tatyana Sashko, was a singer and songwriter who also served as his producer for nearly two decades from the mid-1960s. The couple had a daughter, Anastasia, who was born in 1974. She pursued her studies at MGIMO and became a skilled English-language translator. While he was away in Germany for an extended period, his second wife Natalya decided to end their marriage and even went so far as to evict him from their five-room apartment in Moscow. David took the matter to court. The nature of the estrangement between David, Tatyana and their daughter remains private, as David prefers not to publicly discuss the reasons for their current lack of communication.
His third and current wife, Lyubov Gurevitch, is a talented pianist and singer residing in Israel. They met in 1991 while they were both in Germany. He currently splits his time between Israel, his wife's country, and Russia. In Israel, he lives in the small town of Kiryat Ono, which is part of the Tel Aviv District.
Tukhmanov's significant compositions are associated with the following bands and artists (in order of performance):