Alexandra Pakhmutova and Lyudmila Zykina in 2009. Photo ITAR-TASS/ Dmitry Astakhov
Number one singers in the Russian song genre.
Fate generously rewarded her with talent. She had everything that every artist dreams of: success, recognition, love from the public, thousands of fans around the world, economic well-being. She lived a long and beautiful life. The renowned composer Alexandra Pakhmutova, like Zykina, has an absolutely natural talent. They performed together in concerts. Zykina sang Pakhmutova’s songs. We asked Alexandra Nikolaevna to remember Lyudmila Georgievna.
“Lyudmila Zykina is an amazing singer, a truly talented Russian person,” says Alexandra Pakhmutova. -I heard her live many times, I was at her concerts, she sang my songs… But that’s not the point. Zykina is a combination of all the best that there is in a Russian person. She is the personification of both the Russian soul and Russian nature: “From afar, for a long time, the Volga River flows…” … And Russian history and the memory of its heroes: “Let us bow to those great years …” (song with music by Pakhmutova, sung by Zykina – Ed.) . It was all in her voice, in her songs, which she performed with impeccable taste. Young artists need to learn from her how to present a popular song. She did it perfectly. She wasn’t lazy. She was always interested in new things. Many songs have a happy life thanks to the fact that the first performer of them was Lyudmila Zykina. It is very unfortunate that Lyudmila Georgievna has passed away. She would have found something to sing today and the whole country would have supported her. She was an amazing and wonderful person.
