Charles Aznavour is a popular singer, French chanson legend, composer, actor. He authored 1300 songs, sold 200 million copies of discs worldwide. According to a survey of readers of the magazine ...

Charles Aznavour is a popular singer, French chanson legend, composer, actor. He authored 1300 songs, sold 200 million copies of discs worldwide. According to the results of a poll of Time magazine readers and CNN viewers, which took place in 1998, the singer took the first line in the ranking of the best pop artists of the 20th century.

Shahnur Vahinak Aznavourian is the real name of the world-famous French chansonnier of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour. He was born in Paris in May 1924 to a Georgian-Armenian family that emigrated from Georgia. His father is from the town of Akhaltsikhe, not far from Tbilisi. Mom was born into an Armenian family living in Turkey.

In the 1920s, the Aznavourian couple left Russia. America was the final destination. But in Paris, the couple lingered while waiting for a visa. The couple liked France so much that they decided to stay here. Soon their son Shakhnur Vahinak was born. He became the second child, the couple's daughter Aida was already growing up.

The future singer, composer and actor grew up in a creative atmosphere. Both parents were artists. Mom played on the stage of several Parisian theaters, my father sang in operettas. Already at the age of 5, Charles Aznavour made his stage debut. He played the violin. After 3-4 years, the boy performed Russian dances on stage and sang in the chapel of one of the churches.

The family lived modestly. Art rather brought satisfaction to the soul, but not food for the body. Therefore, the Aznavouryan family maintained a small Armenian restaurant, where everyone worked - both adults and children. Often father and son sang in front of visitors to the establishment. But the crisis that came in the late 1930s forced the restaurant to close.

Charles Aznavour realized early on that his future would certainly be connected with art, so he studied at the nursery theater school. To help his parents make ends meet, the boy acted as extras and played small roles, first in the theater and then in the cinema. On the stage, the "little Armenian", as his friends called him, played the young Henry IV. And Aznavour appeared on the screens in episodes of several films when he was 12 years old.

Music

reference point creative biography Charles Aznavour can be considered the 1940s. During this period, he met his colleague Pierre Roche. Like Charles, Pierre was a young composer and musician - he played the piano. The duo was called Roche and Aznavour. Together they performed in clubs in France and neighboring Belgium. Roche sang more often, but not everyone liked the voice of Aznavour. Sometimes Charles was booed. Therefore, he wrote more music and lyrics for the songs that his partner performed.

Duet Roche and Aznavour

In 1946, the famous Edith Piaf drew attention to the duet of talented, but still little-known performers. The star invited the duo to go on tour with her in the United States. After this tour, Charles Aznavour, like his partner, became recognizable.

In the early 1950s, he was better known not as a chansonnier, but as a songwriter and composer. Aznavour writes compositions for many famous performers such as Patashou, Mistinquet and Greco. For Edith Piaf, he wrote the hit "Jezebel". This is a remake of the American song of the same name. Soon, performed by Piaf, she turns into a real hit.

In the mid-1950s, the “little Armenian” and real Parisian, having picked up a suitable repertoire, went to tour across North America. Thus began a brilliant biography of Charles Aznavour as a chansonnier. After returning, he signed a contract with the most famous French concert halls "Olympia" and "Alhambra". Critics greeted the singer coolly, but ordinary French people were captivated by this, although not ideal, but extremely attractive voice. Charles' songs become hits. After 3 years, each performance of the famous chansonnier turns into an event. His concerts are always sold out.

In 1960, the legendary American Carnegie Hall opened its doors to the singer and composer. The performance of the star of the French chanson was a huge triumph. Now critics have recognized his talent. The hits "Emmenez-moi", "Trop tard", "Les comediens", "J'me voyais deja" appear in the artist's repertoire. Paul Mauriat undertakes to orchestrate the songs of the chansonnier. The maestro transcribes popular melodies for the orchestra, which further popularizes the work of Aznavour.

After a long tour of America, Europe and Asia, Charles Aznavour becomes a world-class star. His CDs are sold in the millions. His hits "My Life", "This Youth", "Because", "After Love" are sung on all continents. Especially popular is Charles Aznavour's song "Eternal Love", which he later performed with Mireille Mathieu.

In 1971, the film "To Die of Love" was released, for which the composer wrote and performed the song of the same name. It instantly became a popular hit. And the film itself - the owner of the "Golden Lion" - becomes mega-popular largely thanks to the song.

In 1977, Charles Aznavour gave his fans a new hit called "Camarade" ("Comrade"). The song has been at the top of the charts for a long time. She, and many other old and new chansonnier hits, was included in Aznavour's album "I don't know the past", which was released a year later.

In the new century, Aznavour participated in the recording of the joint album "Color Ma Vie" with the Cuban Chucho Valdez, which was released in 2007. In 2008, Charles Aznavour performed the 1964 hit "Hier encore" in a duet with Elton John. In 2013, the song "You and I" was recorded from the 1995 album of the same name with Russian performer Polina Gagarina. The Frenchman gladly visited Russia, periodically delighting his fans with solo concerts, which were always sold out.

In 2014, a video was released for Aznavour's song "La Bohème", which was written back in the 70s.

Films

A cinematic biography of Charles Aznavour is a separate chapter of his life. He inherited acting skills from his mother. The artist played the first notable roles in the films "Womanizer" and "Head Against the Walls". And in 1960, when the film “Shoot the Pianist” was released, the chansonnier was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall.

Charles Aznavour in the movie "Shoot the Piano Player"

In 1963, the actor starred in the melodrama Paris in August. And six months later, the audience saw a wonderful musical comedy "Mr. Carnival", in which a new hit from the chansonnier "La Boheme" sounded.

During his long creative life, the artist starred in 60 films. He collaborated with such famous directors as Claude Lelouch, Claude Chabrol, Jean Cocteau and Rene Clair. Top Movies with the participation of the actor, except for the above: "The Testament of Orpheus", "The Tin Drum", "Crossing the Rhine", "Taxi to Tobruk", "The Devil and the Ten Commandments", "The Time of the Wolves", "Long Live Life" and the detective series " Chinese".

Charles Aznavour in the movie "Ararat"

In the famous Soviet political detective "Tehran-43", which was released in 1981, the song "Life in Love" by Charles Aznavour and Georges Garvarents also sounds.

The last work in the filmography of a talented Frenchman of Armenian origin was the film "Father Goriot". Aznavour starred in it in the title role.

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Charles Aznavour is the author of more than a thousand songs, many of which are included in the treasury of the French stage. He became the first French artist to achieve a platinum record in Europe. The total number of discs sold during the singer's career has already exceeded 100 million. His songs were performed by Ray Charles, Shirley Basie, Liza Minnelli, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and many others. famous artists. According to a poll by Time magazine, Charles Aznavour was named the best pop singer of the 20th century. Critics speak of the singer's concerts as "two hours of tenderness, nostalgia and love", and chansonnier Maurice Chevalier once said that this artist "sings about love in a way that no one has ever sung before. He sings the way he loves, feels and suffers.

The real name of Charles Aznavour is Shahnour Varenagh Aznavurjian (Shanur Varinag Aznavuryan). He was born on May 22, 1924 in Paris, in a family of immigrants from Armenia. Already at the age of five, Charles played the violin in front of the audience, and at nine he made his debut on stage, performing Russian dances. He also began to sing from childhood, in the chapel of the church of Saint-Severin. When he was thirteen years old, he played the little Henry IV in the play "Margo" at the Odeon.

After the Second World War, Aznavour returned to his beloved work - he began to play in the theater, this time in drama troupe Jean Daste. In 1947 he began working in a duet with Pierre Rocher as a singer and songwriter. Despite the support of Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf, it took the singer more than 10 years to gain recognition from the public. At first, critics were extremely unfriendly to this frail, nondescript owner of a hoarse, unremarkable voice. The theme of his songs could not be appreciated either, because the French stage of that time was characterized by a combination of sugary sentimentality and banality. And in the work of Aznavour, something completely different was clearly traced: melancholy, nostalgia, irony and other taboo topics.

It was then, in the mid-50s, that the song "Apres l" amour "(" After Love ") appeared in his repertoire, the content of which was considered too frank, so much so that it was banned from being broadcast on the radio. Nevertheless, the artist did not give up and he performed in front of the public in clubs, as long as he was not favored on the radio.And, in the end, he achieved recognition.Moreover, it is considered that the singer made a real revolution in the French music scene.

Aznavour's purposefulness did its job: he became the star of the Parisian music hall, and then, after filming a movie, his popularity increased even more. In 1960, he received a prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in André Caillatte's "Tomorrow is My Turn", he also starred in the films "Shoot the Piano Player", "The Devil and the Ten Commandments", "The Tin Drum", "The Hatter's Ghosts", "Edith and Marseille. In total, his filmography includes more than 60 roles, and in one of the films with his participation - "Yiddish Connection" - Aznavour acted as not only an actor, but also a screenwriter.

In 1965, he staged the musical "Monsieur Carnaval" ("Monsieur Carnaval") on the Parisian stage, and it was then that the public first heard, perhaps, the most famous song of the musician - "La bohème" ("La Boheme"). In 1969, the American Association of Authors and Composers awarded Aznavour a special award for the song "Hier encore", and in France he was awarded La Medaille Vermeil for this composition.

In the early 70s, the theme of the problems and tragedies of people living in Aznavour appears in the songs of Aznavour. different corners Earth. He writes and performs from the stage sad compositions "Le temps des loups" (about the cruelty of city life), "Comme ils disent" (about homosexuality), "Mourir d" aimer "(melody from the film of the same name about reporters chasing hot facts) For "Mourir d" aimer, the composer was awarded another prestigious award at the Venice Film Festival - the "Golden Lion".

Then, in collaboration with the composer George Garvarents, Charles Aznavour takes on the writing of the operetta "Douchka". Over time, more and more songs of a social and political nature appeared in his repertoire, so, in 1975, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Turkey, he created the ballad "Ils sont tombes".

Best of the day

In 1988, after the tragic Spitak earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, Charles Aznavour founded the charitable association "Aznavour pour l" Armenie "(" Aznavour for Armenia "") and organized several actions to help the victims. For one of these actions, he invited Henri Verno and 90 other French singers and actors, in collaboration with whom a charity video for the song "For you, Armenia" was created, which sold a record number of 2 million copies. In gratitude, Aznavour was presented with a diplomatic passport of the Republic of Armenia and appointed as a permanent ambassador to UNESCO .

In 1991, the singer publishes a collection of song lyrics and short prose called "Des mots a l" affiche ". At the same time, he acquires the rights to publish many popular French songs, including recordings by Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. However, the new role - a businessman - does not interfere to him, as before, to actively engage in creativity.In 1997, the 73-year-old Aznavour was recognized the best singer year in France and received the Victoires de la Musique award, and in 2000 he wrote a musical dedicated to the life french artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. The musical "Lautrec" premiered in London in April of that year and was very well received by critics.

Together with his family - his wife and three children - he lives in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva. Despite his age, Aznavour continues to work and travels a lot around the world on tour - when he turned 75, he simply could not part with the stage and said: "I'm going to work until I'm 90 and die at 100." As for his upcoming Moscow concerts, the singer is very happy to perform in Russia, because, according to Aznavour, the most friendly and emotional audience awaits him here.

He didn't like being called a "living legend". But if you try to determine the place that this miniature Frenchman of Armenian origin occupies in the world musical culture, you can't really say. He managed to turn all his shortcomings - small stature, low-key appearance, cracked voice - into virtues and made a real revolution in the minds and hearts of millions of people, showing how a song sounds when an artist's soul sings. The facets of his creative nature are countless - a poet, composer, writer, screenwriter, actor, director. And yet, in the minds of many, he is primarily a performer of his own songs, the most bright representative French chanson. Not without reason, at the turn of the century, according to the results of international voting on the Internet, in the top three singers, along with Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan named Charles Aznavour.

A short biography of Charles Aznavour and many interesting facts read about the singer on our page.

short biography

The circumstances of the birth of Charles Aznavour serve as an excellent illustration of biblical wisdom - the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. He could have been born in sunny Georgia, as his father came from an Armenian family. America could become his homeland, where his parents aspired, fleeing, like the entire Armenian people, from the persecution of the Turks. But a staging post on the way to american dream for the family of the suffering Armenian emigrants was France. In anticipation of an American visa, the family settled in Paris. There, in 1924, Shakhnur Vahinak Aznavourian was born ahead of schedule, whom the whole world today knows under the name Charles Aznavour.

By the time Charles was born, his parents were so filled with love and gratitude for France that sheltered them that there was no longer any question of leaving for the United States. The father of the future star of the French chanson, Misha Aznavouryan, opened a cozy restaurant, the regulars of which were Russian and Armenian emigrants. Aznavour's grandfather, who had previously served as a chef for the Tiflis governor, conjured in the restaurant kitchen, but many visitors were attracted not only by the opportunity to pass the evening at an exquisite dinner. The Aznavouryans managed to create an atmosphere imbued with the spirit of creativity in their establishment. Aznavour's father was a professional singer in the past, and in the evenings in the restaurant one could often hear his beautiful velvety baritone. Mother went to school when she was young acting skills. It is not surprising that with such parents, Charles's artistic debut took place quite early - at the age of five, the boy already delighted the audience with playing the violin. At the age of nine, he begins performing in theatrical performances, and at 12 for the first time gets on the set.

Second World War made a big difference in family life. The father signed up as a volunteer and went to fight, and the worries about daily bread largely fell on the shoulders of young Charles. By that time, the family restaurant had to be closed, there was nothing to support it. Charles took on any job - he sold newspapers on the streets, traveled around the provinces as part of a theater troupe, in the evenings he played tunes that he composed himself in cafes and nightclubs. On one of these evenings, he met the aspiring pianist and composer Pierre Roche. Young people were filled with sympathy for each other, but the beginning of their creative tandem was laid by chance: once the entertainer mistakenly announced his performance together with Aznavour instead of Rocha's number. Friends were not embarrassed, and they went out to the public together, impromptu performing several songs by Charles. So they had the idea of ​​creating a duet, which they called "Roche and Aznavour." The audience accepted the duo quite favorably, so both friends were welcome guests in Parisian restaurants and bars. In one of them, Aznavour noticed the idol of the French public Edith Piaf . This moment was a turning point both in life and in the career of Charles. With her characteristic perspicacity, Piaf unmistakably guessed creative potential in a nondescript, puny Armenian with a hoarse voice and a big nose of great strength. Beginning in 1946, he became the shadow of the great singer for almost 8 years. Together with Roche, he performs in the first part of her concerts, and it was at this time that the first success came to him. With her light hand he goes on tour to the USA and Canada, where he manages to earn extra money, and even decides to plastic surgery for nose correction. But the constant dependence on the whims and whims of Piaf begins to oppress Aznavour. After breaking up with the singer, he had to make himself anew.

His Solo career started out as a failure. Aznavour was more known as the author of hits performed by famous artists, including Piaf, so after the very first performances, critics unanimously announced that with such an unpresentable appearance and lack of voice, he had nothing to do on the stage. This did not break Aznavour. In 1956, his speech in the main concert hall France "Olympia" turns into a triumph. The resounding success of the concert, which he gave in 1963 in New York at Carnegie Hall, confirmed his status as a world star. The Americans respectfully began to call him "French Frank Sinatra". Gradually, the scope of his work expands. In 1965, in steamIzhsky "Chatelet" put his first operetta "Monsieur Carnaval". Subsequently, he created two more - "Douchka" in 1973 and "Lotrek" in 2004.

In the 60s, the public recognized Aznavour as a talented film actor. During his cinematic life, he happened to work with famous directors- Claude Lelouch, Jean Cocteau, Claude Chabrol.

But his fame as a singer and composer greatly overshadows the fame of a film actor. In 1971, at the Venice Film Festival, he was awarded the Golden Lion Award for the song "To Die of Love", which Aznavour wrote for the film of the same name. Interest in his work is huge. His songs include cult artists in their repertoire - Liza Minnelli, Ray Charles, Fred Astaire, Julio Iglesias, Bob Dylan.

In 1971-72, he gives concerts at the Olympia, where his longtime stage partner Pierre Roche performs with him.

1974 was marked for the singer by the presentation in London of a gold and platinum disc for the song "She" ("She"), which no Frenchman had ever been awarded before him. To the 40th anniversary creative life Charles Aznavour writes new album"Charles Aznavour chante Dimey".

For the 90th anniversary of the legend of world chanson in France, they released a complete collection of his albums, which amounted to 32 discs. They include all of Aznavour's recordings since 1948. The maestro, on the other hand, made himself another gift for his anniversary - he gave a concert in Moscow, which was a huge success.

AT last years the singer lived with his family in Switzerland, in a picturesque place in the vicinity of Lausanne, and continued to work - to compose songs, write memoirs, because, by his own admission, he could not help but work.

Interesting Facts

• The maestro did not like to celebrate his birthday and does not look back at age. In his opinion, even in advanced years, a person should live as if he were 30 years old.

• In his house, Aznavour wished to decorate each room in the style of any era - from baroque to modern.
• A column 80 cm high and weighing about 8 kg - this is how a stack of disks with Aznavour's recordings looks like.
• In 2010, mountaineer Sergey Kayfajyan conquered one of the peaks of the Pamirs. He decided to give the peak a height of 5250 meters the name of Charles Aznavour. At its very top, the climber installed a plaque with a portrait of his famous compatriot.
• Aznavour had an Italian restaurant. It's kind of a tribute family tradition. In the restaurant "Caucasus", owned by his father, at one time the flower of Russian and Armenian emigration, as well as the Parisian intelligentsia, gathered - the actor of the Tiflis Armenian Theater Asho Shakhatuni, who became a star of silent cinema in France, a favorite of French moviegoers Ivan Mozzhukhin, came to dine here and even visited Georges Pitoev himself, a well-known Armenian and French director.
• Aznavour is a passionate admirer of the talent of the Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky.
• In November 2000, the 76-year-old chansonnier was appointed Minister of Culture of France.
• In France, there is a special award "Orange", with which journalists celebrate public people who are distinguished by benevolence towards the press. In 1970, Charles Aznavour received a whole basket of oranges as a token of gratitude for his openness and respect for the work of journalists.
• On all his trips, the maestro, along with the notes, grabbed a guide to the best restaurants, and before the concert he always ate well and drank a couple of glasses of wine. He preferred French and Italian cuisines.

• Aznavour was awarded the honorary title of Knight of Canada. In the list of the 75 most famous Canadians with this title, the French chansonnier is the only foreigner.
• Maestro was interested current trends in musical art and willingly helped young musicians. In particular, in 2008 he publicly spoke out in support of rap culture and sang several songs with rapper Carey James, which were included in the album of the young artist.
• Charles Aznavour knew 300 Russian words, but putting together coherent sentences from them was a problem for him.
• In May 2017, the premiere of the ballet "La Boheme" was held at the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theatre, dedicated to creativity Aznavour. The performance was based on 12 songs of the French chansonnier. The maestro personally attended the premiere.
• The famous chansonnier had an outstanding literary gift. He is the author of three autobiographical books - "Aznavour about Aznavour", "Past and Future", "A Loud Whisper" and a collection of short stories "My dad is a giant".

Best songs

"Une Vie d'Amour"(literally "Life in Love", better known as "Eternal Love") did not appear by chance, but was written specifically for the Soviet political detective "Tehran-43". Filming took place in several countries, and the idea that the voice of Aznavour sounded in the frame was born by the directors of the film Alov and Naumov after the fragments were filmed in Paris. Aznavour was offered to write the lyrics of the song, and Georges Garvarents, a close relative of the chansonnier, was invited as a composer, with whom he created many of his song masterpieces. Negotiations on this subject were lengthy, and it is still unknown what their outcome would have been if Aznavour had not seen Natalia Belokhvostikova, who performed in this film leading role. The actress made on him deep impression and he said: "I will write a song especially for this mademoiselle." Initially, the meaning of the song was exclusively of a love nature, it was projected onto the relationship of the main characters of the film, played by Belokhvostikova and Kostolevsky. But in the process it became clear that the drama that Aznavour put into it as an author and performer is much deeper, it outgrows a separate love story, and this song is primarily about the tragedy of war, which separates loved ones, and about the all-conquering power of love.

"Une Vie d'Amour" (listen)

« La Bohème" ("Bohemia"). The song was written in 1965 for the operetta "Monsieur Carnaval" ("Monsieur Carnaval"), in connection with which Aznavour had to share the laurels of the performer of this widely known composition with the singer Georges Guétary, who performed in this operetta. The text was written by the poet Jacques Plante. The song is dedicated to Parisian street artists who were considered bohemians on the Boulevard Montmartre. Subsequently, the chansonnier recorded versions of this beloved hit in five languages ​​- English, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese.For this song, Aznavour came up with a mise-en-scene, which became the hallmark of this hit. He will perform the last verse, he throws a white handkerchief on the floor - as a symbol of the noisy youth. In recent years, he began to throw a handkerchief into the hall - to the delight of fans who are given the chance to take a memorable souvenir from the concert.

"La Boheme" (listen)

"She" ("She"). Aznavour wrote this song for the English series "Seven Faces of Woman" ("Seven Faces of a Woman"). But, having sounded for the first time from a television screen, the composition found an independent life and later adorned one of the author's collection albums. But this composition broke all records of popularity in the UK. In 1974, this song did not leave the top lines of the charts for almost a month.

"She" (listen)

Women in the life of Aznavour

The famous chansonnier was married three times. The first marriage happened at an early age, when future star world stage is barely 20 years old. His fiancee Micheline Rugel was only 17, and Aznavour's parents strongly objected to this early hasty marriage. However, Charles insisted on his own and married the chosen one. A year later, their daughter Seda was born. But strong marriage Did not work out. Tours and frequent absences of the spouse led to the fact that the marriage broke up.

Second attempt to arrange family life Aznavour undertook in 1955. He married the singer Evelyn Plessis. This marriage lasted even less than the first, and Aznavour attributes it, like the first, to the mistakes of youth.

The present family happiness he became a favorite of the French public after his marriage to a Swede Ursula Thorsel, whose relatives call Ulla. They have been together for fifty years. Three children were born in their family, to whom they gave Russian names - Katya, Misha and Nikolai. Katya followed in her father's footsteps, she became a singer, and often performs with him at his concerts.

But with the woman who played, perhaps, the main role in his life - Edith Piaf, he had exclusively friendly relations, despite the fact that everyone around him was convinced of the opposite. It was with him that Piaf shared the most intimate, including the details of her many novels. Despite the fact that this friendship was for Aznavour a source of many sufferings and experiences, he retained the warmest memories of the singer.

Aznavour has always had a deep respect for his ancestral roots and affection for his historical homeland. For the first time he managed to visit Armenia in 1963. On that visit, she met her own grandmother, the mother of her father. Love for the motherland and pain for the fate of the Armenian people are reflected in his work. He has a whole cycle of songs on national themes - "Autobiography", "Jan", "Gentle Armenia". In memory of the 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aznavour, in collaboration with Georges Garvarents, created the song "They fell", dedicated to this tragic page in the history of Armenia. terrible earthquake, which destroyed the city of Spitak in 1988, Aznavour perceived as a deeply personal tragedy. On his initiative, the Aznavour for Armenia charitable association was founded, and a number of actions aimed at helping compatriots were held.

Armenia did not remain indebted to Aznavour. One of the squares in Yerevan bears his name, and in the city of Gyumri you can see a monument to the great chansonnier. Since 2008, Charles Aznavour has had the official status of an Armenian citizen. A close connection with the historical homeland and a genuine interest in everything connected with it laid the foundation for another side of the activity of the king of chanson - diplomatic. Since May 5, 2009, Aznavour has been acting Ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and is its permanent representative at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Selected filmography

Since 1937, Charles Aznavour has appeared in more than 130 films. And although the chansonnier himself considers himself primarily a singer, and not an actor, many of the films with his participation have entered the treasury of world cinema.

• "Head against the wall" (France, 1957)
• "Shoot the pianist" (France, 1960)
• "Taxi to Tobruk" (France, Spain, East Germany, 1961)
• "The Devil and the Ten Commandments" (France, Italy, 1962)
• "The transformation of woodlice" (France, Italy, 1965)
• "Sweet Tooth" (Italy, France, USA, 1968)
• "The Lion's Share" (Italy France, 1971)
• "Ten Little Indians" (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, 1974)
• "Tin Drum" (Germany, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, 1979)
• The Hatter's Ghosts (France, 1982)
• "Edith and Marcel" (France, 1983)
• "Long live life!" (France, 1984)
• "Laguna" (Italy, Canada, 2001)
• "Ararat" (Canada, France, 2002)
• "Father Goriot" (France, Romania, Belgium, 2004)

Music in films

Film directors are well aware of the deep power and expressiveness hidden in Aznavour's poetry, music and voice, therefore, in the credits of the films, his name appears quite often - both as an author and as a performer.

Movie	Composition
"Why did you come so late...", 1959	"Why did you come so late?"
"La nuit des traqués", 1959	"My love protects me"
"A woman is a woman", 1961	"A woman is a woman"
"Married Woman", 1964	"L" amour c "est comme un jour"
"Paris in August", 1966	"Paris in August"
"Caroline Cherie", 1968	Caroline
Mourir d'aimer, 1971	"Mourir d "aimer" ("Die of love")
"Spy", 1972	C "est ainsi que les Choses arrivent"
"Seven Faces of Woman", 1974	"She" ("She")
The Golden Lady, 1979	"We Had It All (Me voilà Seul)"
"Tehran-43", 1981	"Une Vie D'Amour"
"Qu" est-ce qui fait courir David?", 1982	"La Trentaine", "Allez viens", "Bien sur", "Prends le temps", "D" egal a egal", "Feline", "Et que je t" aime"
"Makinavaja, el último choriso", 1992	"La Mamma" ("Mother")
"L"âge des possibles", 1996, "Le coût de la vie", 2003	"La Boheme"

At 93, the world famous chansonnier is in no hurry to sum up. He continues to write - novels, memoirs, aphorisms, scripts and, of course, songs, the number of which is close to 1400, and these are songs in various languages. But this universal love small man with a big heart, he deserved not only with his talent and active citizenship, but also with a rare ability to remain himself at all times and times - a sad romantic, singing about eternal love.

Video: listen to Charles Aznavour

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The famous French chansonnier, composer, actor Charles Aznavour died on October 1. He was 94 years old. The legend of chanson left dozens of world-famous compositions and films as a legacy.

Charles Aznavour is the legend of French chanson, he authored 1300 songs, and 200 million copies of discs have been sold worldwide. According to a poll of Time magazine readers and CNN viewers, which took place in 1998, the chansonnier took the first line in the ranking of the best pop artists of the 20th century.

Charles Aznavour: The Unexpected Death of a Chansonnier

Charles Aznavour was supposed to perform in Russia in April of this year. The great French chansonnier arrived in St. Petersburg and was ready to go on stage, but just an hour before the start of the concert he was hospitalized. The concert, of course, did not take place.

The organizers, however, postponed it, but to April 2019: the singer had a too busy schedule. This concert was later cancelled. The reasons for the malaise were not called then.

In May, Aznavour suffered a double fracture of the humerus and canceled several more concerts: in Germany, Great Britain and Spain. It was assumed that the world tour of the 94-year-old performer would resume in the fall, but on October 1 it became known that Charles Aznavour had died.

Charles Aznavour: Biography

Charles Aznavour is a popular singer, French chanson legend, composer, actor. He authored 1300 songs, sold 200 million copies of discs worldwide. According to the results of a poll of Time magazine readers and CNN viewers, which took place in 1998, the singer took the first line in the ranking of the best pop artists of the 20th century.

Shahnur Vahinak Aznavourian is the real name of the world-famous French chansonnier of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour. He was born in Paris in May 1924 to a Georgian-Armenian family that emigrated from Georgia. His father is from the town of Akhaltsikhe, not far from Tbilisi. Mom was born into an Armenian family living in Turkey.

In the 1920s, the Aznavourian couple left Russia. America was the final destination. But in Paris, the couple lingered while waiting for a visa. The couple liked France so much that they decided to stay here. Soon their son Shakhnur Vahinak was born. He became the second child, the couple's daughter Aida was already growing up.

The future singer, composer and actor grew up in a creative atmosphere. Both parents were artists. Mom played on the stage of several Parisian theaters, my father sang in operettas. Already at the age of 5, Charles Aznavour made his stage debut. He played the violin. After 3-4 years, the boy performed Russian dances on stage and sang in the chapel of one of the churches.

The family lived modestly. Art rather brought satisfaction to the soul, but not food for the body. Therefore, the Aznavouryan family maintained a small Armenian restaurant, where everyone worked - both adults and children. Often father and son sang in front of visitors to the establishment. But the crisis that came in the late 1930s forced the restaurant to close.

Charles Aznavour realized early on that his future would certainly be connected with art, so he studied at a children's theater school. To help his parents make ends meet, the boy acted as extras and played small roles, first in the theater and then in the cinema. On the stage, the "little Armenian", as his friends called him, played the young Henry IV. And Aznavour appeared on the screens in episodes of several films when he was 12 years old.

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