Biography

The music of Solovyov-Sedoi is very popular in our country. His songs are notable by novelty of the melody, originality of images, sincerity and generosity of imagination. The musical language of the songs is close to the Russian folk tunes, but these features are melted into a new quality, colored with a unique personality of the author.

Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov was born on April 25, 1907 in St. Petersburg. From the early childhood, he was fond of music, learned to play guitar, balalaika and piano. During his teenage years, he studied composition in the Central Musical College for two years. Then he entered the Leningrad Conservatory, the class of Professor Pyotr Ryazanov.

Being a student, Solovyov added the pseudonym "Sedoi" to his family name. He was working on instrumental music in those days. The Suite for piano, symphonic poem "Partizanshina" and other works. At the same time, the composer became interested in songs.

National love and recognition came to Solovyov-Sedoi in the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. June 24, 1941 the composer brought to the Leningrad radio Committee his first military song "Play my accordion»" and in August, he created "The Evening at a Roadstead". Then there were "Nightingales", "We have not been home for a Long time”, and other songs, sincere and cheerful, cordial and courageous, affectionate and full of humor.

In the postwar years, the composer's songwriting continued. The songs "Soldier is always a soldier" and "Ballad about a Soldier" gained wide recognition. The Soviet songs "Where you are now, fellow soldiers" from the series "the Tale of the soldier", "March of Nakhimov young soldiers", "Moscow nights" and others are the real pearls. Many popular songs of Solovyov-Sedoi came to the audience directly from the screen, since the composer was working actively on music for the movies. He also worked on the theatrical music as well - ballet and operetta, which are imbued with a bright song methodology of the composer. The best of the operettas - “The Most Treasured” (1951), “Eighteen Years” (1967), “At the Home Pier” (1970) - were successfully staged in many towns of our country and abroad.

Cited: L. Mikheeva, A. Orelovich "In the world of operetta". Guide, Ed. 2nd, revised and enlarged. Leningrad, "Soviet composer". 1982