Аркадий Островский

Arkady Ostrovsky (25 {O.S. 12} February 1914, Syzran, Simbirsk Governorate, Russian Empire — 18 September 1967, Sochi, USSR) was a Soviet composer and songwriter of Jewish descent, an Honored Art Practitioner of the RSFSR (1965), and uncle of American piano technician Alexander Ostrovsky (opens in a new tab) (1937—2015). He authored numerous critically acclaimed songs for leading Soviet singers like Muslim Magomaev (opens in a new tab), Iosif Kobzon (opens in a new tab), Oleg Anofriev (opens in a new tab), Valery Obodzinsky (opens in a new tab), and Edyta Piecha (opens in a new tab), including the 1965 non-lexical vocalize I'm Glad Cause I'm Finally Coming Back Home sung by Eduard Khil (opens in a new tab), which went viral on YouTube in 2011 as a "Trololo" meme. Arkady Ostrovsky died at only 53 from a severe perforated ulcer in a Sochi hospital on the Black Sea coast, where he attended an inaugural opening ceremony for Red Gilliflower ("Красная гвоздика") music festival, and buried in Moscow. In February 2004, on his 90th anniversary, Ostrovsky's memorial star was inaugurated at the Star Square in front of "Russia" Concert Hall (opens in a new tab).
Born into a prosperous Jewish family, Abram was the son of Ilya Ilyich Ostrovsky, a music shop owner, piano tuner, and chairman of the local Jewish Assembly in Syzran. His elder brother, Rafail Ilyich Ostrovsky (1905—1989), also became a keyboard instruments technician. As Abram grew older, he adopted a more Slavonic name, "Arkadiy," to avoid antisemitic discrimination. The family relocated to Saint Petersburg (then Petrograd) circa 1927, where Arkady's father became chief piano technician at Leningrad Conservatory (opens in a new tab). Ostrovsky studied as a blacksmith at a professional technical school before pursuing music; by 1930, he enrolled in the Central Musical College. Between 1935 and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (WWII Eastern Front) in July 1941, Arkady Ostrovsky played accordion in Emil Kemper (opens in a new tab)'s Leningrad Jazz Orchestra (opens in a new tab).
Ostrovsky spent most of the wartime in Novosibirsk, where he began composing. From 1940 to 1947, he served as a pianist and accordionist in Leonid Utyosov (opens in a new tab)'s renowned Variety Jazz Orchestra (opens in a new tab), often arranging scores for the ensemble. In 1956, Arkady Ostrovsky relocated to Moscow. He gained nationwide acclaim as a songwriter by the early 1960s, particularly renowned for children's songs. Like many other musicians, writers, and cartoonists deemed by the Soviet government as potentially "unreliable" for ideological reasons — or Jewish origins, in Arkady's case — Ostrovsky proliferated in children's art with fewer restrictions and censorship than any adult-oriented genre. Many of his songs became staples of Russian-speaking kids' vocal repertoire, such as May There Always Be Sunshine ("Пусть всегда будет солнце") and Tired Toys are Sleeping ("Спят усталые игрушки") lullaby on Zoya Petrova (opens in a new tab)'s lyrics — an opening theme from a long-running Soviet-Russian TV program Good Night, Little Ones! ("Спокойной ночи, малыши!").
According to later interviews with the composer's son, Russian scientist Mikhail Arkadyevich Ostrovsky (opens in a new tab), his accidental posthumous viral hit, I'm Glad As I'm Finally Coming Back Home ("Я очень рад, ведь я наконец возвращаюсь домой"), also known as simply Vocalize ("Вокализ"), was written on a bet with Ostrovsky's close friend and collaborator, poet Lev Oshanin (opens in a new tab). After one of their arguments, frustrated Arkady composed the tune to prove he could make a great song without any lyrics. With its uplifting and rollicking melody, Ostrovsky commissioned Eduard Khil (opens in a new tab) to record the song with the All-Union Radio Variety Orchestra (opens in a new tab). However, conductor Yury Silantiev (opens in a new tab) objected, insisting the song needed proper lyrics. He suggested poet Vadim Semernin (opens in a new tab), with whom Ostrovsky previously collaborated on Maya Kristalinskaya (opens in a new tab)'s song Stork ("Аист"). The resulting text about Wild West cowboy didn't pass ideological censorship, and the song remained a "pure" acapella; the only remnant of Severnin's unused lyrics was in its full title.