Biography

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Dolsky was born on June 7, 1938, in Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg), Russia. His father, Aleksandr Viktorovich Dolsky, was a renown Opera singer and Honorable Actor Of Russia. His mother, Elizaveta Aleksandrovna, was a ballerina.

Young Dolsky was the singer with the Boys Choir at the Opera of Ekaterinburg, where his both parents were actors. From 1958-1963 he studied at Uralsky Polytechnical Institute named after S. M. Kirov, graduating as Construction Engineer. He also received a qualification in applied mathematics and completed a post-graduate course as mathematician. From 1963-1969 he worked as engineer and also was a part-time professor of mathematics at Uralsky Polytechnical Institute. He also played guitar at a local jazz-band. At the same time he studied guitar under Vladimir Savinykh and Lev Voinov at evening classes of Sverdlovsk School of Music. Dolsky graduated as a concert performer on the classical guitar; at his graduation concert he performed pieces by Enrique Granados, Isaac Albéniz, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Dolsky's first popular song "Plakala devchonka, slezy ne unyat" (A girl could not help her tears. 1954) became a folk hit in the 1950s and 1960s Soviet Union. He was a Diploma-winner in the 6-string guitar category of the 1st Russian Performers Compeition in 1956, and continued his development as guitarist and songwriter ever since. His early poetry was published in Sverdlovsk and in Moscow. Although Dolsky was initially influenced by Bulat Okudzhava in his early poetry, he gradually developed his own distinctive style emphasizing his vocal improvisations and his masterful accompaniment on classical guitar. In 1967, Dolsky performed at the Moscow University Fesival. In 1968 he took part in the annual Grushin Festival in Samara and became a regular performer there, as well as at many other festivals and concerts in the former Soviet Union. In 1979 he became laureate of the 6th Russian Performers Competition as singer-songwriter.

In 1979 Dolsky was invited by Arkady Raykin to work on stage. He became a stage actor with the Leningrad Theatre of Miniatures under the direction of Arkadi Rajkin. At the same time he made a career as a singer-songwriter. Dolsky wrote over two hundred poems and songs, which he performed in concerts, recordings, and films. He also wrote music to the lyrics by Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, Bella Akhmadulina, Bulat Okudzhava and other famous Russian poets. He wrote songs for soundtracks to 'Traktir na Pyatnitskoy' (The Dining House on Pyatnitskaya 1979) and a few other films and stage productions in Russia. He was an actor in such films as 'Novye skazki Shakherezady' (New Tales of Shakherezade 1987), 'Kogda svyatye marshiruyut' (When the Saints Come Marching Down 1990), and in Russian-Japanese film 'Rin' (The Legend of Icons 1992).

Aleksandr Dolsky was the representative of Russia at one of the historic Live TV concerts near the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Live TV concerts showed performances by popular singers from six nations which participated in the Second World War. The historic concert took place in the Tiergarten park near the Berlin Wall on September 1, 1989, and was produced by the Deutche Welle WDR. Aleksandr Dolsky toured many countries on four continents with his solo concert performances. His live performances have been steadily gaining popularity among Russian and International audiences. He also earned recognition for his guitar virtuosity and inventive vocal improvisations. Dolsky wrote numerous popular hits over the course of his career. He published 8 books of poetry and prose, composed over 200 songs, recorded and released over 20 albums of live and studio recordings which sold millions of copies. He was awarded the Bulat Okudzhava State Prize for Literature (2002) and received the title of Honorable Artist of Russia (1989).

Aleksandr Dolsky has a wife and three sons. He lives in St. Petersburg, Russia.