20 years ago, on July 1, 2002, Russian poet and singer Mikhail Krug was killed. In one of his first interviews, which he gave to the Veche Tver newspaper in 1994, Krug recalled the beginning of his creative journey:
“I started composing while still in the army, playing in an ensemble, but at that time songs of such content were not held in high esteem by the authorities, so I had to perform them in a narrow circle of friends. And I came out to the public for the first time at the Tver Bard Song Festival, without preparation. Earned the title of laureate. I remember that the praise of the famous St. Petersburg bard of the 60s, Evgeniy Isaakovich Klyachkin, was a great gift for me. He inspired me then for further creativity…
My first songs were close in spirit to the songs of I. Talkov – about the Motherland, about Russia. Not only because I was attracted to this topic, but also because “blatnyak” in those years was perceived as something negative and it was almost impossible for a beginning composer to go on stage with it. Feeling a really serious attraction to music, I abandoned my studies at the Polytechnic and decided to take part in an art song competition. But it so happened that among the authors of songs like “… flowers grow on my head” and the like, I did not pass the audition. My songs, both in style and in subject matter, differed significantly from the frivolous, in my opinion, and over-sentimental bard songs required by the program. So it was very disappointing. By hook or by crook, I finally got into this very important competition for me, outside the program. It was a complete success among the audience, but all my “crystal castles” were broken due to the complete rejection of the songs by official music connoisseurs. Although not many years have passed, opinions about which songs can and cannot be presented to the general public have changed significantly. And my gloomy thoughts about the futility of my work turned out to be in vain. In 1986, my first solo concert took place” (“Veche Tver”, September 17, 1994)
“I started composing while still in the army, playing in an ensemble, but at that time songs of such content were not held in high esteem by the authorities, so I had to perform them in a narrow circle of friends. And I came out to the public for the first time at the Tver Bard Song Festival, without preparation. Earned the title of laureate. I remember that the praise of the famous St. Petersburg bard of the 60s, Evgeniy Isaakovich Klyachkin, was a great gift for me. He inspired me then for further creativity…
My first songs were close in spirit to the songs of I. Talkov – about the Motherland, about Russia. Not only because I was attracted to this topic, but also because “blatnyak” in those years was perceived as something negative and it was almost impossible for a beginning composer to go on stage with it. Feeling a really serious attraction to music, I abandoned my studies at the Polytechnic and decided to take part in an art song competition. But it so happened that among the authors of songs like “… flowers grow on my head” and the like, I did not pass the audition. My songs, both in style and in subject matter, differed significantly from the frivolous, in my opinion, and over-sentimental bard songs required by the program. So it was very disappointing. By hook or by crook, I finally got into this very important competition for me, outside the program. It was a complete success among the audience, but all my “crystal castles” were broken due to the complete rejection of the songs by official music connoisseurs. Although not many years have passed, opinions about which songs can and cannot be presented to the general public have changed significantly. And my gloomy thoughts about the futility of my work turned out to be in vain. In 1986, my first solo concert took place” (“Veche Tver”, September 17, 1994)
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
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