Viktor Semyonovich Berkovsky (russian: Виктор Семёнович Берковский; July 13, 1932 in

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...

– July 24, 2005 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) 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

Ukrainian Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

Early years and education

Berkovsky was born on July 13, 1932 in Zaporizhzhia,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

(WWII), he was evacuated with his family to

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...

, where his mother, Etel Viktorovna Gerts, was a prominent cardiologist and head of the cardiology department in a hospital for wounded soldiers. His father, Samuil Mikhaylovich Berkovsky, was drafted and mobilized on the first day of the war, serving in the infantry. After graduating from high school in 1950, Berkovsky left for Moscow, where he received a degree from

Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys The National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) (russian: Национальный исследовательский технологический университет МИСиС) is a public technological university in the field ...

. In 1955, Berkovsky came back to Zaporizhzhia to work in the "Dneprostal" factory. In order to better learn his profession, Berkovsky voluntarily chose to work as a factory worker, and by 1962 he became head of the factory's technological department. In 1962, Berkovsky returned to Moscow for PhD studies at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. He received a PhD degree in 1967, and stayed on at the institute first as an instructor, and later as associate professor.

Music career

Practically all his life Berkovsky composed music. He wrote the music for about 200 songs. Many of these became very popular in the Soviet Union: "Grenada" (text by Mikhail Svetlov), "Песня шагом, шагом" (text by Novella Matveeva), "Ну что с того, что я там был" (text by

Yuri Levitansky Yury Davidovich Levitansky (russian: Ю́рий Дави́дович Левита́нский; January 22, 1922, Kozelets, Chernigov Oblast, Ukrainian SSR — January 25, 1996, Moscow, Russia) was a Russian- language poet and translator from th ...

), "Сороковые роковые" (text by

David Samoylov David Samoylov (russian: Давид Самойлов), pseudonym of David Samuilovich Kaufman (russian: Давид Самуилович Кауфман; 1 June 1920 — 23 February 1990) was one of the most notable representatives of the War gener ...

), "Лошади в океане" (text by

Boris Slutsky Boris Slutsky (russian: Бори́с Абра́мович Слу́цкий; 7 May 1919 in Slovyansk, Ukraine – 23 February 1986 in Tula, Russia, Tula) was a Soviet Union, Soviet poet. Biography Slutsky was born in Sloviansk in 1919. He grew ...

), "Вспомните, ребята!", "Песенка про собачку Тябу", "Альма-матер" (text by Dmitry Sukharev), "Контрабандисты" (text by

Eduard Bagritsky Eduard Georgyevich Bagritsky ( rus, Эдуа́рд Гео́ргиевич Багри́цкий, p=ɨdʊˈard ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐˈɡrʲitskʲɪj, a=Eduard Gyeorgiyevich Bagriczkiy.ru.vorb.oga; February 16, 1934) was an important Russia ...

), "На далекой Амазонке" (text by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, translated by

Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...

), "Черешневый кларнет" (text by

Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musici ...

), "Под музыку Вивальди" (music composed in collaboration with Sergei Nikitin, text by

Alexander Velichansky Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

), "Снегопад" (text by

Yunna Morits Yunna Petrovna Morits (Moritz) (russian: Ю́нна Петро́вна Мо́риц; born June 2, 1937), is a Soviet and Russian poet, poetry translator and activist.

), and many others. Viktor Berkovsky worked closely with Sergey Nikitin on composing music for the theater and movies, such as "Мэри Поппинс", "Коньки", "Морские ворота" (text by

Yuri Vizbor Yuri Iosifovich Vizbor (russian: Юрий Иосифович Визбор; June 20, 1934 – September 17, 1984) was a Soviet bard and poet as well as a theatre and film actor. Vizbor was born in Moscow where he lived for most of his life. He ...

), "Большая докторская сказка", "Али-Баба и 40 песен персидского базара", and songs for the children's show "Будильник" (texts by

Daniil Kharms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (russian: Дании́л Ива́нович Хармс; – 2 February 1942) was an early Soviet-era Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvachev ...

Personal life

Berkovsky died on July 23, 2005 in Moscow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkovsky, Viktor National University of Science and Technology MISiS alumni Academic staff of the National University of Science and Technology MISiS 1932 births 2005 deaths Russian bards Russian male singer-songwriters Russian singer-songwriters Soviet songwriters 20th-century Russian singers Soviet male singer-songwriters 20th-century Russian male singers