Valentina Vasilevna Tolkunova (russian: Валенти́на Васи́льевна Толкуно́ва, 12 July 1946 – 22 March 2010) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Russian singer and was bestowed the title of Honored Artist of

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

(1979) and

People’s Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an Title of honor, honorary title granted to Soviet, Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music ...

(1987). Her performances exhibited a kindhearted mood and sincerity, and her voice was noted for its clarity.

Biography

At age 18, Valentina Tolkunova entered

Moscow State Art and Cultural University Moscow State Art and Cultural University (russian: Московский государственный университет культуры и искусств) is a Russian university, a vocational training center in the field of culture and a ...

. In 1966, she became a member of Yury Saulsky's jazz band VIO-66 as a soloist and jazz singer. In 1971, she graduated from the

Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State Musical College (russian: link=no, Государственный музыкальный колледж имени Гнесиных) and Gnesins Russian Academy of Music (russian: Российская академия музык� ...

and recorded songs for the TV series ''Den' za Dnem'' (''Day After Day''). The year 1972 was Tolkunova's breakthrough year, due to a noted performance of songs, and marked the beginning of a successful career in radio and TV. In 1973, she began a busy collaboration with the Moscow Philharmonic Concert Association (Moskonzert), and in 1989 she founded and became the director of her own theatre. Over a thirty-year recording career, Valentina Tolkunova released at least thirteen albums. She also won many awards in Soviet republics and was a 23-time winner of the "Song of the Year" competition on television.Valentina Tolkunova profile
(Russian) On 16 February 2010, Tolkunova became ill during a concert in

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, and went to a local hospital where she was diagnosed with

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

before being transferred to the Botkin Clinic in Moscow. On 22 March, she went into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

and died two hours later of a brain tumor.

References

External links

*
Forum Valentina Tolkunova: art and destinyChannel Valentina Tolkunova: art and destinyBrief biography and links to her disks
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkunova, Valentina 1946 births 2010 deaths People from Armavir, Russia Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Deaths from brain cancer in Russia Soviet women singers Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Gnessin State Musical College alumni Soviet voice actresses Russian voice actresses People's Artists of the RSFSR Honored Artists of the RSFSR 20th-century Russian women singers 20th-century Russian singers 21st-century Russian women singers 21st-century Russian singers Russian folk-pop singers