Valery Kuras: “I am Kuras. Kuras himself. Your own!”
For me personally, Valery Kuras has been a "closed book" for a long time.
I knew his humorous songs, heard about his medical background, chatted with him about nothing, but really discovered only after this interview.
The first frank interview that he gave about his personal life, about the sores of our society and how these sores should be treated correctly ...
- Valery, of course, excuse me, but I will reproach you. I looked on the Internet, and there - a rolling ball about Valery Kuras! Why such underlined modesty against the backdrop of general PR?
- I'm just not a fan of it. And therefore I do not use the Internet either as a marketing tool or as a communication tool. But I accept the request. You're right. I will correct! (smiling)
- Your site www.kuras.ru gives maximum information from a minimum. And then you know what I thought? Find the meaning of your name, take the most important characteristics from there, in order to figure out together with you what is true and what is a lie. Agree?
- Lets do it! It should be interesting. Moreover, I myself was going to deal with this topic, but there was no time ...
- Go. We read: “In childhood, all Valerias are very restless children ...”. And you, I know, from childhood you tormented and tormented the piano, and made complex ships in the club of young technicians, and even made kitchen furniture for your mother ... From which parent did you inherit such perseverance?
- When I was born, my parents were already quite adults, so it was no longer possible for me to understand which of them was more diligent. And then years passed, I grew up myself. And my perseverance over the years somehow ...
- Dissolved, or what?
- Yes, not that it has resolved. There was simply no time left to assemble kitchen furniture and design ships in the club of young technicians.
- Let's find out about perseverance. What were your parents doing? Mom, well, was a spinner, and dad was in some design bureau?
- With dad, you hit the bull's-eye! At one time he actually headed the design bureau in the Ministry of Geology. And in such a position, perseverance was very necessary. Well, my mother was a translator. German and English. And she also sat with her books and dictionaries ...
- Do you speak English? ("Do you speak English?")
- Yes, of course! ("Well, of course!")
(Laughing)
- But the surname Kuras, I don’t understand, does it go into what wilds: into Bulgarian, Israeli or gypsy? You, for an hour, are not romale?
- No, definitely not Romale, but also a guy anywhere! We, the Kuras, wherever we have marked ourselves.
Follow me on the map now. The surname comes from Ukraine. The same surname lives in Lithuania. Several Kuras have taken root today in Siberia and Israel ...
It is a pity that no family ties were found with them. But since my father is from Ukraine, I calmed down and closed the topic of these studies for myself.
So let's consider that I am Kuras - Kuras in itself ... My own! (Laughing)
When I was a schoolboy, and then a student, everyone called me Kuras. And it was all at once: both the surname, and the name, and the school nickname, and the pseudonym - all in one glass.
- Back to your name. If you believe what they write about Valeriev, you are "far from being easy to communicate with everyone." Not party people, in general. And that's all, they say, because your totem plant is nettle ... That's what I look at concerts: you arrived, performed, smiled a little backstage and in the car ... What is more here - modesty or totem nettle?
- Totem nettle, to be honest, I did not know. The devil knows whether this is good or bad ... Although, from a medical point of view, the vitamins in it are a fig. So let's assume that this plant is good.
About the party-goer. I can’t say that I absolutely can’t stand parties. I don't like artificial parties. After all, everything is false there: both words and smiles. And if you count the meetings of friends who are engaged in the same business or are simply interested in each other, then I will always support such meetings.
Only it will no longer be a party, but communication. Communication with people who are interested in you, who are interested in you, with whom you can exchange experience, human warmth ... In general, with whom it is easy and pleasant for you ...
As for concerts, here you, as an artist, give off a lot of energy on stage and, frankly, you get tired like a dog ...
Therefore, I approach this wisely: if it is interesting, I stay, if not, I leave.
- Okay, let's move on. “The field of activity of Valeriev depends on the chosen profession. If they don’t like the job, they will change it until they find what they need…”. After all, you also have: a medical institute, then, in Rosenbaum's way, work at an ambulance, then ophthalmology, residency, an eye microsurgery institute, and then - bang! - the pharmaceutical business and, finally, chanson ... Have you been looking for yourself for so long?
- It’s not that I changed jobs, like Casanova changed women ... It’s just that in every period of time what I was doing, I really, really liked it - until something else appeared in my life that I started to like more .
If the new pulled, I acted honestly: I left the old, which no longer inspired me so much.
The fact is that combining medicine with business is very difficult - provided that you give yourself one hundred percent to the cause. I could not afford it - neither as a person, nor as a doctor. I did 1700 surgeries a year! And each patient had his own, special case ...
When I realized that medicine began to fascinate me less than the pharmaceutical business, which I got into, I made an honest conclusion for myself: you have to choose, either one or the other. And I chose business.
In general, I am grateful to fate for everything. Everything is for the good!
While working as an ophthalmologist, I met Svyatoslav Fedorov (a legendary eye microsurgeon, one of the participants in the introduction of radial keratotomy, professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Author's note)
He was a terrific person and a great worker who took upon himself the organization of such a big deal as the Eye Microsurgery MNTK, where, consider, the whole country was treated ...
I left there when I realized that as a doctor I had achieved everything I wanted, but as a scientist I would not be able to develop with so many operations. Something had to be changed. And then I went into the pharmaceutical business.
- Are you selling drugs like Bryntsalov?
- (Laughs). Vladimir Bryntsalov owned the pharmaceutical business. I was a hired top manager.
I worked in international companies that represented quality medicines. And only then in my life there was a chanson ...
- Speaking of chanson. I want to know: why, with higher education and such human integrity, does it take you in chanson not to the area of \u200b\u200bfine lyrics, like, for example, our Stas Mikhailov, but to pronounced mischief? Take at least your “Airplane”, or “Muzhikov”, or the same funny “Pampushka” ... It turns out, such Yuri Galtsev, only in chanson ...
- Great question. I have always considered myself a lyricist - perhaps even more subtle than our Stas Mikhailov ... But my producer Andrey Pryazhnikov considered that songs with a humorous filling would be more in demand. Yes, and this niche in the chanson was empty. And I took it. I began to sing cheerful songs that fell on my soul. And it turned out that they are well received by the public!
The producer turned out to be right in his predictions. So, after a long search for ourselves in different musical styles, we settled on this humorous one.
Well, the comparison with Galtsev is flatteringly fantastic for me.
- Andrey Pryazhnikov writes many songs for you. These are songs, the meaning of which people illustrate by clicking on the right side of the throat ... And, by the way, you and Pryazhnikov yourself are practically non-drinkers ... What is this? Playing on native Russian weakness? Or is this my narrow-minded view on the topic?
- Well, I can’t say that Andrei and I are so non-drinkers ... As the main character of “Office Romance” said: “Why am I not a drinker? Very much…” (Laughing).
We are not alcoholics, of course. Therefore, in no way meant propaganda of alcoholism in our songs. Rather, it is a reflection of our Russian life. Such a kindly friendly caricature.
That is why these songs are popular. After all, our people have a sense of humor, they catch a chip.
Only I cannot understand why the ability to drink well is considered only a Russian national trait? I travel a lot around the world and I'll tell you - there, over the hill, oh, how they like to drink well! Take at least the Europeans, at least the Americans ...
- And where do they drink more?
- Yes, everywhere they drink well! Both Germany and France...
- Sorry, but they drink beer and wine. And we have something that is more respected ...
- And in Georgia, for example, they drink chacha! And in Bulgaria - Rakia! And this is the same moonshine ...
It's just that in our country this topic is turning into a national tragedy. That's why, you ask? Yes, because in other countries the economic situation is more stable and therefore there is no need to firmly “fill in grief”. They drink there because it's good. That's the whole difference!
- After such an exciting topic, it's time to talk about women ...
Look what they write about Valery: “If Valery has found his woman who suits him in everything, he is not able to change her, although the desire to change almost never leaves him ...”.
And you, Valera, found your only one, which you don’t want to change?
- Well ... if everything you read to me here is about me, it means that I'm still looking for HER ...
- Do you want me to help you?
- How is it?
- I'll tell you the cherished names that suit you for life.
- Interesting ... And what are they?
- Mostly exotic: Zoya, Wanda, Victoria, Galina, Louise, Nadezhda, Olesya, Roxana, Yana. Of the simple names, you have only two options - Svetlana and Tatyana ...
- Curious ... To tell the truth, I have not had any business with the owners of exotic names. There seems to be a lot of work to be done here. (Laughing)
- And let's draw the image of your woman - the one you are looking for ... Perhaps, after reading this interview, she will be found?
- In this sense, Andrei Mironov said very well. He was asked: “Which women do you like? Blondes? Brunette? High? Little ones?" To which he replied: “You know, I would like to be broader on this issue…”.
Understand, there are no standards here and cannot be.
I just want to meet a person who understands you, with whom you feel comfortable, with whom you will have a lot in common - both in views and interests. And the name, appearance or size of the bust do not matter at all!
- Okay, let's go to the area of the human psyche. Here is what they write about Valery: “Such men feel good if they actively participate in life; they must intervene in everything, advise everyone, change something, otherwise they feel useless and even unhappy.”
Valera, do you feel unhappy because you do not advise anything to anyone? Or, like a perfectionist, do you interfere in everything in order to improve everything?
- The fact that I am actively engaged in a business that interests me, and I try to bring it to perfection, is the pure truth. You can call it perfectionism, for God's sake. As for advice, I try not to give it until they ask. Interfering everywhere, handing out my advice to the right or left, I think it is incorrect.
Every person has the right to live his own life and make his own mistakes, some of which are later for his own good.
- But, let me, but what about the children? Is it wrong to give parental advice to them?
- I want to say that children are not our appendages, which we can twist as we want. These are individuals who have their own outlook on life and their right to make mistakes. A mistake is the same experience! And as a parent, you have to accept it, whether you like it or not. It's awful how hard it is. But personally, I did it.
- And what do you live for when you don’t sing on stage? I heard you have a medical practice somewhere. So you recently hosted a program on Radio Chanson about health ... Have you taken up the “old” again?
- The pharmaceutical business has not died in my life, it is going somehow ...
It's just that the more I sing, the less I do it. Time goes to concerts and studios...
As for the program on Radio Chanson, I conducted it with pleasure. In the format in which she was, she did a lot for the listeners. Well, I got an interesting experience as a radio host.
- And what is more difficult: doing business or singing chanson on stage?
- Impossible to compare. Very different things..
In business, a lot can be calculated by writing a business plan and doing the right marketing. It doesn't work in art. It is impossible to know in advance which of the songs will shoot, become a hit. There are a lot of factors here that are generally unpredictable. Therefore, in every song you always put your soul, all of yourself. And therein lies its charm! There are, of course, producers who not only calculate the future hit, they smell it ... Accordingly, those artists who work with these producers become very successful ...
- I dug up a curious song on the Internet that you dedicated to Elena Vaenga. Where did she come from? I mean the song, not Vaenga...
- It was in 2008. I come to Pryazhnikov, and he says to me: “Listen, a singer has appeared here who writes songs for herself, this is a bomb!” And plays me a couple of her songs. And I listen and understand that it is pushing me, and strongly. Andrey says to me: “Let's write down a dedication to her and perform it at the next concert, huh?”. And he shows me a sketch of his new song.
We sat down and recorded the same day. And then they came to the concert and gave it to Vaenga.
(watch and listen to the song here: click)
- And what is she?
- I listened, said that it was cool, thanked. And Alaverdi promised to write some song for me. I am still waiting...
Well, she had very good personal reasons to forget her promise to you. But time passed, the long-awaited son was born, and you can remind her of your agreement. I suggest using…
- (Clearing his throat) “Dear Lenochka! I congratulate you on the addition to the family - this is the coolest of all the songs put together! God bless you and your baby! I want to remind you that you promised to write a song for me. You decide for yourself what the song will be and what it will be about. What lies in your soul, then put it on the notes! I am waiting. It's me, Kuras!" (Laughing)
- Wouldn't you like to sing a duet with Vaenga? Now it's so fashionable to do duets "at once" ...
- It would definitely be a very strong duet. If she wanted to, I would take the risk too!
So far, I have had the only duet in my life - with Katya Golitsyna. I'll tell you, it's hard to sing a duet. After all, this is a merger of two completely independent personalities, a subtle understanding of each other on stage - so that no one pulls anyone and does not drag the blanket over themselves.
Lena Vaenga is an insanely talented person, a charismatic person, a personality. It would be very flattering for me to sing with her. Although she probably deliberately does not work with anyone in a duet - she just does not need it, because she is self-sufficient. If she wanted it, she could do it. She is capable of anything.
- Vaenga, as you know, is a socially active person, not indifferent to what is happening in our country. Here is my question about the same... Look what is happening today: there has been a public split in Russia. Moral guidelines are heavily erased. Blasphemy in the temple is called a struggle for democratic rights and even peace prizes are awarded for it ...
Tell me as a doctor and a citizen: when will this time of troubles end, and what must each of us do for this?
- It is difficult to predict when it will end. But I do not agree that the whole society has become unspiritual. Part of the society, on the contrary, against the background of this orgy, more actively comes to spiritual growth: they are drawn to God, to religion, where there are spiritual postulates that help to preserve in a person ... human. And others, not finding a moral stronghold for themselves, cross that very psychic brink of normality. And then there are accidents with drunk drivers at the wheel, kidne; ping and what you just mentioned ...
I think that in such a troubled time, when moral guidelines are erased, you need to start working with yourself. Ask yourself why you live, what good can you give to the world right now or, say, tomorrow?
No matter how you raise a child - according to the Gippenreiter system, or on Mayakovsky’s poem “What is good and what is bad?”, But if the child does not have your correct example in front of his eyes, there will be no results!
So guys, you need to start with yourself: with the ability to help others, to please them with something, to please yourself. In general, to spread goodness around you, no matter what!
As soon as this good beginning is restored between people, everyone, consider that the process of healing the nation has begun ...
I declare this as a doctor and just as a person Valery Kuras...
Interviewed by Tatyana Feoktistova
Valery Kuras is a Russian chansonnier who is the author of the hit "Droplets". This person could choose a different path and never go on stage. He is a successful ophthalmologist who helped patients and in his spare time went diving and collecting vintage cars. In business, he took place and received a stable profit.
Biography
Valery Kuras does not like publicity, he is laconic and gives only a minimum of information about himself. This person gives interviews to journalists infrequently, and one of the most requested questions concerns the nationality of the performer. Kuras is not a Russian surname. The middle name Demizovich is even more confusing. It is known that the singer was born in 1958 in Moscow.
It happened in maternity hospital No. 6. Valery was brought up in a friendly family, his father was a geologist by profession. In the Ministry of Geology, he was the head of the design bureau. Mom realized herself as a translator from English and German. The employment of the parents did not give them the opportunity to devote much time to their son, so his grandfather and grandmother were engaged in his upbringing.
In addition, the chansonnier learned about life in the yard and at school. The artist said that his father was born in Ukraine. The secret of the unusual name of the pope is in the beliefs of the grandfather, who was a communist. He decided to encrypt the first decree of the power of the Soviets - on peace and land - in the name by which he named his son.
As a child, the future performer attended the school of young technicians, where he chose the ship modeling section and learned how to create ship models. At the first ship modeling exhibition in the country, his nuclear-powered ship was awarded the first place. In the middle classes, the young man was fascinated by inlay on wood, then he gave his mother pieces of kitchen furniture.
Discography
The songs of Valery Kuras were included in several albums, the first of which was released in 2005 and was called "Droplets". He also owns the following works: "The Most Beloved", Grand collection, "There is still gunpowder", The Very Best.
Today Valery is a famous and beloved Russian chansonnier. Fans are often interested in how they started and how the artist's creative and life path developed ...
The biography of Valery Kuras is very interesting and full of all sorts of events, most of which are the path to success.
Valery Kuras was born on May 19, 1958 in the Moscow maternity hospital No. 6. The boy's parents were busy people (his father was a geologist, his mother was a translator), therefore, like most people of that time, the grandmother, yard and school were engaged in raising the child.
The boy grew up mobile and inquisitive. Like all children, he played football, hockey, went in for swimming and athletics, but most of all he loved to create with his own hands - in the classes at the club of young technicians he enthusiastically modeled ships (at the first all-Union ship modeling exhibition, his nuclear-powered ship "Lenin" took pride of place) . Being a little older, he was fond of artistic inlay on wood (he made kitchen furniture from different types of wood, which is still a special pride of my mother).
At the insistence of his parents, Valera attended piano courses at a nearby club, sang in the choir, but considered that this activity was not for real "guys", and therefore could not stand it and quit. But he signed up for a classical string guitar course on his own. This lesson was already to their liking - with a group of guys at school they played the Beatles, the Soviet repertoire.
Young Valera managed a lot and, at the same time, in 1976 he successfully graduated from a special school with in-depth study of the English language, most of whose teachers were university educated and had progressive reformist views. Success, as it were, was "programmed" in his youth and signed up for the line of his future destiny.
This is probably why the first failure (failure in the much coveted "First MED" - medical institute) did not knock Valery "out of the saddle", but led to the adoption of a non-standard decision then - to graduate first from a medical school (and this is 2 years of study) and qualify as a "nurse ". Kuras graduated from college with honors and entered the Medical Institute (RGMI) named after N.I. Pirogov without any problems. He studied successfully and from the very first course worked as a paramedic on an ambulance (mostly at night). Despite the crazy workload, the student years were stormy, however, like everyone else! Study, work, love, entertainment, all at once!
And in childhood, and in youth and in adulthood, Valery Kuras was and remains the "soul" of any company. An erudite, needlework, charming, in general, very charismatic young man, with a wonderful sense of humor, well-versed English-Russian language, possessed an amazing magnetism, which always endeared himself to the people around him. All these qualities subsequently helped him to reach those peaks that he met on his life path. So, after successfully completing residency (1985) in ophthalmology and only one year of work, he was invited to work as the head of the operating unit at the Moscow Institute of Eye Microsurgery (S.N. Fedorov Center).
For five years of work at the Center, a result has been achieved - a leading surgeon who performs the most complex operations and restores sight to thousands of people! Colleagues appreciated, patients are grateful, management encouraged. But this was not enough for the restless nature of now Valery Demizovich. In parallel, he began to engage in the pharmaceutical business and, of course, achieved success in this field as well.
New for the Soviet people, but extremely exciting, risky and, of course, a profitable business, “business” eventually absorbed almost all the time of the born businessman. I had to make a choice, and he made it in favor of the business. And this is a bold and decisive step - the 90s, perestroika, the ups and downs of many beginners. I had to be in suspense all the time, explore new horizons, learn from others, including from their mistakes, at the same time make mistakes myself and correct myself. All this is difficult, but "very interesting"! It was this small “BUT” that provoked such an energetic person as Valery Kuras to part with his beloved profession. Well, here we have won! He became a successful and prosperous businessman, head of a foreign representative office. His life is still full - work, family, numerous hobbies, friendly gatherings. And as they say: “What else does a person need in order to adequately meet maturity?” It turns out you still need it! Valery is an active person, he could not stop at what he had achieved and did not want to! So fate again threw a "chance"!
Music! What the boy could not develop in childhood (choral singing) has now found its embodiment - Valery Kuras became a professional singer, a famous and beloved chansonnier.
Official website: https://valerykuras.ru
VALERY KURAS. Brief press release
In the past, a recognized ophthalmologist and successful businessman, collector of vintage rare cars and a lover of extreme diving, Valery Kuras is known to a wide range of viewers for the provocative video filmed for the song "Droplets". On the TV screen - a sincere gathering of old friends over a cup of tea with a good song to the guitar. In the company of Kuras - the main "fat man" of the country Alexander Semchev, "husband of Kamenskaya" Andrey Ilyin, the beautiful Olga Budina and Vladimir "Petrovich" Presnyakov, but not with the usual sax, but with an accordion in their hands. The presence in the clip of Presnyakov Sr., the most authoritative figure in the music world, is far from accidental. It was the legendary "Petrovich" who became the ideologist and inspirer for the novice singer, taking him under his father's tutelage. Vladimir Petrovich introduced Kuras to the famous songwriter Andrey Pryazhnikov, who had previously worked with the popular girl duo Daiquiri, known for the super hits Caution and If You Love, You Melt. Pryazhnikov wrote most of the songs included in Kuras' debut album, while Petrovich played the saxophone parts. In addition, Presnyakov invited Kuras to perform several of his songs. It is known that Vladimir Petrovich makes such proposals extremely rarely.
The songs of Valery Kuras are a heart-to-heart conversation with adults, captivating with the clarity of images and the absence of vulgarity. This is a "smart" chanson that has nothing to do with the thieves born in the Volga camps and capital prisons. The roots of Valery's work lie in the plane of spectacular, in-depth crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And at the same time, Kuras' music is a kind of kitchen blues, "kitchen blues", which fits perfectly into the atmosphere of friendly gatherings in the kitchen under a veil of tobacco smoke and with songs accompanied by a guitar. Thanks to the organic simplicity and inner drive of Valery Kuras, many analysts come to the paradoxical comparison of the singer with Tom Jones or Adriano Celentano. Also, sometimes Kuras brings back to us the already forgotten feeling of the early "Leningrad", but, of course, without profanity and "access" lyrics, in that glorious period when Cord was influenced by the aesthetic views of Igor Vdovin and Leonid Fedorov. The uniqueness of Kuras lies in the special sincerity of the performance of accessible and very emotional music. He is understandable to everyone, his experience and intelligence inspire confidence, and his directness and lack of pathos make you listen to him to the end. And understand.
The debut album of Valery Kuras "Droplets" will include not only compositions written by Andrey Pryazhnikov. All songs are very versatile. Starting with completely chanson "Drops", which rose to the first place in the Ukrainian national hit parade in just one week, Kuras is confidently moving towards intelligent blues. This is simple guitar music with elements of jazz, soul and blues. There are undoubted creative successes on the album - “Soul”, “Tell”, “Cosa Nostra”, “The Most Beloved”. The last composition, according to Presnyakov Sr., is one of the best declarations of love in Russian music. Wisdom is hidden under the seeming simplicity of Kuras, hard work and hourly work of the soul are hidden behind the lightness and beauty of performance. As with everything in life, Valery treats music with absolute dedication, however, being an intelligent person, he perceives the world and himself with slight irony. It is important for him not to “become famous”, but to tell people what they are waiting for, to give what they lack, to fill the voids in their lives and help them find harmony.
Vladimir Presnyakov - senior.
Earlier we wrote about what you can now find on request. mattresses cues and how to choose the right mattress at the link https://www.matraslux.com.ua/matrasy-kiev.html, and today for you a new interesting interview.
Artists with their own unique image, unique vocal abilities and charisma, of course, attract attention. And with a reasonable approach to their business, and with diligence, they have a great chance of succeeding. This can be said with confidence about Vladislav Kurasov, who in a short time won the hearts of many listeners in Ukraine.
Dossier:
Born on March 13, 1995 in the city of Brest (Belarus). In 2006, the Kurasov family moved to the city of Krasnodar (Russia).
He graduated from the Interschool Aesthetic Center (IEC) in the class of pop vocal and piano, as well as the Premiere Creative Association (Theatre) with honors.
Participant of the show "Minute of Glory" on the Russian "First Channel", the International Festival of Humor and Variety Art "Moscow - Yalta - Transit". He is a laureate of many all-Russian and international competitions, including "Blue-eyed Anapa", "Starry youth of the planet", "Little stars", "Eaglet lights a star" and others. Winner of the contest "I'm Talented". Finalist "X-factor-2" and the winner of the show "Star Ring".
In a fairly short period of time on the Ukrainian stage, the artist gave more than 20 solo concerts, recorded 6 author's songs.
In January 2014, the video for his song “Give Me a Drink” won the competition program of one of the US music companies Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes. In 2014, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the Favorites of Success 2013 trademark competition for winning the competition in the Young Talent category.
He is fond of sports, learning foreign languages.
At the moment, Vladislav Kurasov does not cooperate with production centers, as he decided to independently develop his work.
- Vladislav, who instilled in you an interest in music, in the stage? What were your first steps?
As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to sing, it has always been in me! My mother used to sing, though not professionally. The elder sister also studied music. Perhaps it is hereditary. The first appearance on the stage was at the age of seven, I felt very funny.
- Did you feel support from relatives and friends?
Yes, my family has always supported my desire for music, the desire to be on stage. Unless my older brother doubted me. He always thought that this was not a man's job and I should follow in his footsteps and choose a sport, but I was a stubborn child.
- When did you realize that you were ready to become a professional artist?
I have always understood this as well. I knew music would be my life. I was born with this and since childhood prepared for the difficulties of the musical profession.
- Does the career of an artist interfere with education? Who are you studying?
At the moment I am not studying. Perhaps in the future such a desire will come to me, but now it is not. I do not think that in order to achieve your goals and any heights you need higher education. Of course, I'm talking about music. You know, in a higher institution they won’t teach you to be a real artist, they won’t “stuff” you with raisins. And in order to control your voice, it is enough to develop yourself and, if necessary, take vocal lessons, with a good teacher, of course.
- Tell me, why did you decide to pursue your own career on your own without the help of producers?
Initially, I did not have such a solution. In principle, I went with the flow and made my steps absolutely intuitively, but after I had experience in working with a production center, I came to the conclusion that it’s closer to me to control my own work. But I am certainly grateful to the HRC STB for all that they have done for me!
- What are you working on now?
Now I'm working on a new author's single "My Love". You will be able to hear it very soon! The song is about my experiences and thoughts that I face in my personal life. I think that the theme that is sung in the songs is close to many. I'm sure many will see their own history in it.
- Who writes songs for you?
I write songs myself, but I have songs from other composers in my repertoire.
- Who is an example for you in music, in show business?
There are many such examples, but the big one for me is Britney Spears. She is a real hard worker who, with the help of her talent and insane hard work, was able to stay afloat for the past 16 years and become a world icon. She has a lot to learn!
- Do you have many friends from the world of show business?
Hm, I think not. I am familiar with many, but our communication takes place in the category of "Hi - bye." I never sought to seek friends in this area. And, you know, it's very difficult to be friends with artists.
What are your goals for 2015?
Oh God, this is actually a very difficult question for me right now. This year promises to be a turning point for me... And where it will lead me, I don't know yet. I can assume a lot, but I know for sure that this year does not promise to be easy.
- What else would you like to learn in the near future?
I would really like to learn English, because in our time it is a shame not to know it, especially for an artist. I'm just now studying and I understand that in childhood my head worked much better.
- How do you spend your leisure time? Where do you draw strength from?
Probably, many are waiting for me to answer this question in some special way, but no - I am the same person as everyone else and I love all the same things as the rest. I like to go to the cinema, have fun with friends, get out of the city. I like having fun.
Oh yeah! I feel like I'm addicted to social media to some extent. I read something all the time and sometimes it even gets in the way! It can be hard to get off the internet when you have to do business.
- Do you live in Kyiv or Krasnodar? Which audience interests you more - Ukraine, Russia, the West?
I live in Kyiv, right after the project I moved here, that is, I have been living here for the 4th year! Big numbers, I can't even believe it! I do not divide the audience, I will be glad to everyone who will listen to my music and draw energy from it for themselves, whether it be Ukrainian, whether it be French.
- Is it easy to make you laugh? When was the last time you laughed really hard - what was the reason?
Oh easy. I always try to treat everything with a share of humor, there are few days when I don’t laugh or even smile, because laughter prolongs life!
Asked questions by Victor DEMYANENKO
Beloved by thousands of music lovers of the post-Soviet space, the Russian chansonnier Valery Kuras, who gave the world the hit "Droplets", could have chosen a different path and not go on stage.
A successful ophthalmologist helped patients look at the world with wide eyes, and in his spare time he collected rare cars and went diving. He took place in a business that brought stable profits.
However, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood: today Kuras has a huge army of admirers thanks to his vocal talent and soulful songs.
Childhood and youth
Valery Kuras is in the spotlight every day, but at the same time he is laconic and does not like publicity: he gives the minimum necessary information about himself.
On the official website, pages on Instagram and Facebook, Valery Demizovich repeats the facts of his biography, which are known to his fans. Journalists rarely manage to get an interview from a star, so they ask what Kuras was previously silent about. For example, about nationality. The surname Kuras is not Russian. Yes, and patronymic Demizovich is confusing.
The chansonnier revealed some secrets to journalist Tatyana Feoktistova, who asked if there were any Ukrainians, Jews or Gypsies in the Kuras family. The chanson performer was born in Moscow in the spring of 1958. The first voice of the future star was heard by obstetricians of the capital's maternity hospital No. 6.
Valery was brought up in a friendly, intelligent family, where his father, a geologist by profession, headed the design bureau at the Ministry of Geology, and his mother earned her living by translating from German and English.
The employment of the parents did not allow to control every step of the son, so the boy was taken care of and raised by his grandparents, as well as the yard and the school. Everything, like most children of that time.
When asked by a journalist about the origin of the surname, Valery Demizovich answered evasively, without shedding light on the roots. He said that his father was from Ukraine. As for the amazing name of the pope, who became the patronymic of the chansonnier, the secret lies in the convictions of the communist grandfather. This is his idea to encrypt in the name of his son the first of the decrees of the Soviet government - on peace and land.
Valery Kuras already in childhood showed versatile talents and the ability to achieve success in everything, no matter what he undertakes. Attending classes in the ship modeling section at the school of young technicians, he learned how to design ship models. So much so that at the first exhibition of ship modeling in the Soviet Union, the nuclear-powered ship, which the Muscovite named after the leader of the proletariat, won first place.
In the middle classes, the guy was fascinated by inlay on wood, and soon he gave his mother pieces of kitchen furniture that remained a pride for decades.
To please his mother, who adored music and singing, the son learned to play the piano and joined the choir. When he grew up and matured, he gave up choral singing, which, according to Valery, did not correspond to the image of “real guys”. But the guy considered the guitar a “male” instrument, so he graduated from the classical string guitar course and pleased the guys at the school disco with the performance of the Beatles hits.
Having received a diploma from the capital's special school, where students studied English in depth, Valery Kuras went to enter a medical university. The first attempt was a failure, but the guy did not give up and became a student at a medical school. After graduating with honors, he entered the Moscow Medical Institute. N. Pirogov. Valery managed to study and work part-time on an ambulance at night.
After graduating from a medical school and residency, in the mid-1980s, a young ophthalmologist got into the Svyatoslav Fedorov Institute of Eye Microsurgery, famous all over the country. After 5 years, Kuras became the leading surgeon. According to Valery Kuras, he performed 1,700 operations a year. And when he reached the “ceiling” in the profession, he switched to the pharmaceutical business and left the institute.
In the difficult 1990s, Valery Kuras managed to achieve success in business as well: he headed the foreign representative office in Moscow. But when Kuras reached the "ceiling" in this field, the soul asked for something new.
Creation
The first recorded song of Valery Kuras was the composition Cosa nostra. The singer gave it to close people, who became the first grateful listeners and fans. According to the chansonnier, the first impression of his voice heard on the magnetic tape is surprise.
The first large audience, before which Valery Kuras spoke, was the audience of the theater "At the Nikitsky Gates". The warm welcome of 250 listeners inspired the artist and pushed him to move in the chosen direction.
A wide audience learned about Kuras after the release of the first video filmed for the song "Droplets". Actors whose names are known throughout the country starred in it: Alexander Semchev and Andrey Ilyin, the charming Olga Budina and the master of the Russian stage Vladimir Presnyakov Sr. appeared. It was he - the most authoritative in the world of music and show business "Petrovich" - who brought Valery Kuras to the stage.
Song by Valery Kuras "Droplets"
Presnyakov Sr. introduced the aspiring musician to producer and songwriter Andrei Pryazhnikov, who, having appreciated the artist’s vocal abilities, wrote two-thirds of the compositions of the first album, released in 2005, for him.
The songs and manner of performance of Valery Kuras are called "smart" chanson. They do not have vulgarity and the notorious "blatnyak", this is a sincere conversation and worldly humor.
Chansonnier fans compare their favorite with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, whose songs immerse listeners in the atmosphere of "kitchen blues". Listening to Kuras, one recalls gatherings by the fire or in the kitchen, where old friends gathered for a sincere conversation in clubs of tobacco smoke. Good humor and sincerity run like a red thread through every composition of Kuras, there is no pathos in them.
In 2009, the performer presented the world with the 2nd disc, giving it the name "The Most Beloved". During this period, he fruitfully collaborated with the songwriter and People's Artist of Russia and Ukraine Alexander Morozov.
Song by Valery Kuras "Girl with eyes the color of the sky"
In the 2000s, the best songs of the vocalist are heard on the air of Radio Chanson. Kuras is repeatedly awarded the main prize "Chanson of the Year", he is a frequent guest of the festival "Ehh, Razgulyay!". The genre in which Valery Kuras performs, he calls European chanson, paying tribute to the work of Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour.
In the spring of 2013, the singer went on tour in a duet with his colleague Katerina Golitsyna. In memory of the deceased Mikhail Krug, Kuras included in the repertoire the composition "Bath on the Soviet".
The singer has been participating in chanson festivals since the early 2000s and is well known to music lovers along with Russian chanson stars Irina Krug, Fedya Karmanov, Anatoly Cloth and Willy Tokarev.
In 2016, Kuras's collection of songs The Very Best was released, which included 34 songs - both new and remixes of old, fan-favorite mischievous hits "Airplane", "Pampushka", "At a Man's" and "A Girl with Eyes the Color of the Sky".
Personal life
Valery Kuras reluctantly opens the pages of his personal life. When asked about the ideal of a woman, she says that she appreciates femininity and spiritual beauty. Love for a chansonnier is the best source of inspiration.
Such a source in the singer's work was his beloved wife, who gave birth to his son. Protecting the family, Valery does not disclose the details of his private life and gives a minimum of information about his relatives. It is known that the son received an economic education at a British university.
Valery Kuras now
The pearl of the collection of rare cars in his fleet, the chansonnier calls the government "Seagull", which drove the Soviet Minister Andrei Gromyko. Places of honor are occupied by Volga-21 and Pobeda.
Valery Kuras now
The master of chanson continues to delight fans with new compositions. In 2017, the artist presented music lovers with the song "Heel", and in 2018 he pleased with a new hit called "Sombrero".
Discography
- 2005 - "Droplets"
- 2009 - "The most beloved"
- 2011 - "Grand collection"
- 2015 - "There is still gunpowder!"
- 2016 - "The Very Best"