"Only Once in a Lifetime" («Только раз бывают в жизни встречи») is a so-called "Russian urban love-song". It was composed by Boris Fomin, who was unfortunate enough to be born too late. His creative years fell after the onset of the Russian Revolution, when his music was considered decadent and even counter-revolutionary. As a result, he spent a year in a jail, and died a few years after his release, at the relatively young age of 48.
Outside of Russia, Fomin's name is virtually unknown, but one of his songs is world-famous. Everyone knows «Those Were the Days», which became a huge hit in 1968 in Mary Hopkin's rendition, though few would suspect that its music came from Boris Fomin's song «Дорогой Длинною».
"Only Once in a Lifetime" is another one of Fomin's masterpieces. Here, I play my own piano arrangement of this wonderful song. ~ Alexander Zlatkovski
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Here is the text of the song's refrain: (English translation by Christina Devulite from www.stihi.ru/2009/07/14/1824)
Only once a soul may meet another,
Only once the thread is torn by fates,
Only once I'm capable of loving
While a winter night is getting late.
Только раз бывают в жизни встречи,
Только раз судьбою рвется нить.
Только раз в холодный зимний вечер
Мне так хочется любить.
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Alexander Zlatkovski is an Alaskan pianist, born in Russia. His repertoire includes classical pieces, waltzes of all sorts -- from Tchaikovsky to Chopin to Strauss -- as well as his own arrangements of Russian, Italian, Jewish, and French songs. For information on weddings and other events, visit www.AlaskanPianist.com. For more information about Alexander's concerts and his unique "Tales from the Keyboard" series, or to buy CDs or MP3s by Alexander Zlatkovski visit www.TalesFromTheKeyboard.com.
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Тем из вас, кто читает по-русски, может быть интересна моя книжка «Песок на клавишах» - воспоминания о том, как я был уличным музыкантом в Израиле. Прочесть ее можно на www.zlatkovski.com/
15 ноя 2011
