"Tenderness" () is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, composed in 1965. The music was written by

Aleksandra Pakhmutova Aleksandra Nikolayevna Pakhmutova ( ; born 9 November 1929) is a Soviet and Russian composer. She has remained one of the best-known figures in Soviet and later Russian popular music since she first achieved fame in her homeland in the 1960s. ...

, with lyrics by

Nikolai Dobronravov Nikolai Nikolayevich Dobronravov (; 22 November 1928 – 16 September 2023) was a Soviet and Russian poet and lyricist. He collaborated with his wife Aleksandra Pakhmutova. Dobronravov had two higher educations: in 1950 he graduated from the ...

and Sergey Grebennikov.Alexandra Pakhmutova's official site
(in Russian) "Tenderness" was one of the most beloved songs from

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the most beloved — the first cosmonaut of the planet

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

—

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

. Yevgeny Dolmatovsky recalled in the book "Stories about your songs" (1973): ''Nezhnost was performed in 1967 by

Tatiana Doronina Tatiana Vasilyevna Doronina (born 12 September 1933) is a popular Soviet and Russian actress who has performed in movies and the theater. She is generally regarded as one of the most talented actresses of her generation and was named a People's ...

(as Nyura) in Tatiana Lioznova's film '' Tri topolya na Plyushchikhe'' (Three Poplars at Plyuschikha Street). Originally it was recorded by

Maya Kristalinskaya Maya Vladimirovna Kristalinskaya (; 24 February 1932, Moscow – 19 June 1985, Moscow) was a Soviet-Russian singer. In 1957 she performed at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow with an amateur ensemble under the direction of Y ...

in 1966. According to the memoirs of Chermen Kasaev (music editor of

Radio in the Soviet Union All-Union Radio () was the radio broadcasting organisation for the USSR under Gosteleradio, operated from 1924 until the dissolution of the USSR. The organization was based in Moscow. History Beginning Following the October Revolution control ov ...

and

Soviet Central Television The Central Television of the USSR (; abbreviated CT USSR, SCTV ">/nowiki>/nowiki>) was the state television broadcaster of the Soviet Union. Like much of the Soviet media, CT USSR regularly promoted the agendas of the Communist Party. Initi ...

), when listening to a final record, Maya had tears dripping from her eyes. B. Serebrennikova wrote in the book "Singers of Soviet Pop" (1977) that "All critics who wrote about "Tenderness" noted that this is the pinnacle of Kristalinskaya's art and in general a masterpiece of song performance creativity." It was covered many times by many artists in

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, including versions made by Yuri Gulyayev,

Joseph Kobzon Joseph Davydovich Kobzon (11 September 1937 – 30 August 2018) was a Soviet-born Russian singer, known for his crooner style. Early life Kobzon was born to History of the Jews in the Soviet Union, Jewish Ukrainians, Ukrainian parents in the ...

Tamara Sinyavskaya Tamara Ilyinichna Sinyavskaya (; born 6 July 1943) is a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano from the Bolshoi Theatre. She was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1982. In 1997, planet 4981 Sinyavskaya was named in her honor. She ...

Lyudmila Zykina Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina (; 10 June 1929 – 1 July 2009) was a national folk singer of Russia. She was born in Moscow and joined the Pyatnitsky Choir in 1947. Her surname is derived from the Russian word for "loud" ("зычный"). Beginn ...

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (, ; 16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. Early life and education Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia during a time when the city was mostly closed to foreigner ...

Tamara Gverdtsiteli Tamara Gverdtsiteli ( ka, თამარ გვერდწითელი}, ; born 18 January 1962) is a Georgian, Israeli, Soviet and Russian singer, actress and composer. People's Artist of Georgia (1991) and Russia (2004) Early life and e ...

, Maria Codrianu,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n singer Olga Pīrāgs. Also, the song was recorded in 1967 by French singer

Frida Boccara Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara (29 October 1940 – 1 August 1996) was a French singer of Italian descent, who performed and recorded in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian. Early ...

in Russian (Soviet album «Поёт Фрида Боккара» / ''Frida Boccara sings'',

Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...

), in 1969 by

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n singer Lourdes Gil and Francis Goya (as ''Tenderness'' — CD album ''A Tribute... With My Sincere Admiration for Alexandra Pakhmutova'', 2002). The song has been live performed in 1999 by

Alla Bayanova Alla Nikolayevna Bayanova (; 18 May 1914 – 30 August 2011) was a Russian Romance singer sometimes compared with Édith Piaf for her simple yet dramatic style of performance. Bayanova was born in Chișinău, Kishinev in the family of an opera si ...

in French, accompanied by

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union. His fath ...

.Документальный цикл НТВ «Спето в СССР»: Истории шлягеров советской эпохи. «Нежность» (2010)
/ref> Several Western

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s of the tune are known under the title ''Tenderness''. These include a version in both English and Russian by Jason Kouchak and in particular,

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

's version which is known for his live performance at the Manege of the First Cadet Corps (

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) on October 1, 2008 and

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist of the former pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in sc ...

' version is known for his live performance at the

Kremlin Palace The Grand Kremlin Palace () is a building in the Moscow Kremlin. For much of the 19th century, it served as the official residence of the Russian emperor in Moscow, which was not then the capital of the Russian Empire. Designed by a team of arc ...

on April 23, 2009.

Notes

External links

Sung by Maya KristalinskayaSung by Alla Bayanovaimdb.com
{{authority control Russian songs Soviet songs 1967 songs