This trio was inimitable with women’s voices sound in unison and Valery’s low velvety baritone. Gerasimov had his own texts and invite me to set them to music. There appeared Red Poppies and later Pussy-Willow’s Buds and many others. I collaborated with Tonja, Svetlana and Valery successfully - there are more than ten my songs in their repertoire.

After that you worked with Nazariy Yaremchuk - Grove, Green Grove.

Yes I did, I met Nazariy at a festival “Krymski Zori”. I have always liked him and also respected him as an extraordinary singer. Jury Rybchinsky wrote verses to our first joint song titled Grove, Green Grove. Later it was performed everywhere being broadcast 7 or 8 times a day. I have written up to thirty songs for Nazariy, each of them having its own interesting background.

Is anybody able to replace Nazary now?

I don’t believe it possible. Nazariy Yaremchuk presents a brick in the Ukrainian Arts’ brickwork one could not kick out or replace.

Tell a few words about 1980s.

Well, Valery Leontjev recorded Karnival Night written on Jury Rybchinsky’s verses. The Anisimovs appeared with my song At Ivana Kupala’s Night. Alla Kudlay recorded Musicians and Bitaly Bilonozhko - Always Come Back, which later became a hit.

At the same time I was composing a film score to Meadow Flowers on Robert Rozhdestvensky’s poems.

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