Taras Petrynenko

• Full name – Taras Garinaldovych Petrynenko
• Date of birth – March 10, 1953
• City – Kyiv (Ukraine)
• Language – Ukrainian
• Activity – singer, poet, composer
• Genre – pop

Path to a musical career

Taras Petrynenko is a famous Ukrainian singer, composer and poet, People's Artist of Ukraine. The performer says that he was born in the Shevchenko days. So it is not surprising that he was named Taras. Thanks to his mother, the famous Ukrainian opera singer Diana Petrynenko, Taras developed a creative streak from childhood. Ukrainian folk songs, performed by his mother and grandmother, often sounded in the family. And the boy listened with pleasure and sang along. Once, upon entering school, Taras and his mother performed several Ukrainian compositions in front of the principal and head teacher. The teachers were sincerely surprised and noted the boy's bright vocal abilities.

It became clear in his early years that Taras had an absolute ear and all the necessary qualities to become a professional musician. The young man was equally fascinated by both folk and classical music. At first, he planned to connect his life with the academic genre. He considered becoming a conductor or pianist. However, everything changed when his sister first let him listen to a Beatles recording. It was the work of British rock and roll stars that made Taras reconsider his views on the future and take up writing his own songs.

Creative path

Taras Petrinenko's professional creative debut is associated with the participation of the 16-year-old musician in the band "Aeneas". In 1970, the band's performance was first shown on television. At that time, the band was one of the leaders of the domestic scene and determined the style and direction of Ukrainian rock music. Petrynenko's talent and bright charisma played a significant role here. However, the composition of the band was constantly changing. After another transformation, the VIA "Vizerunki shliakhiv" appeared, where Taras became the musical director. Later, the band received a new name "Grono". But the newly created project lasted only a year. The band's activities were temporarily suspended: the musician was drafted into the army.

After returning from the army, Taras Petrynenko was the leader of the "Mriya" ensemble for some time. However, creative restrictions became a serious obstacle for the artist. It was forbidden to perform his own compositions, in particular "Song about a Song". Only works by authors from the Union of Composers or the Union of Writers were allowed to be sung. Because of this, the artist left Ukraine together with the members of the “Magic Guitars” group (former musicians of the “Grono” group).

Since 1982, Taras Petrynenko sang in the Tula ensemble “Chervoni Maki”, which consisted exclusively of Ukrainian musicians. And in 1986 he returned to his homeland. At first he performed as a solo artist, but soon decided to revive “Grono”, forming a group based on another Ukrainian group “Fata Morgana”. The updated line-up was joined by guitarist Igor Shablovsky and singer Tetyana Gorobets. Previously, the artist worked at the Kyiv Variety Theater.

It was during this period that the iconic composition “Ukraine” was born. The premiere of the main hit in Petrynenko’s repertoire took place on the air of the First Channel of Ukrainian Radio during the morning information and music program. Later, the song became part of the school curriculum, received several bright covers and gained the status of the unofficial anthem of Ukraine. However, few people know that for a long time the future hit existed only in draft form and was called "Pok kohayem". And the first recording of the track in the studio was made almost secretly.

Style and development of the performer

Taras Petrynenko notes that he never considered himself a part of show business. For the artist, creativity has always been in the first place, not commercial success. Producers have repeatedly offered cooperation. However, they demanded to follow certain conditions and implement other people's ideas. So the musician remained true to himself and the desire to sing only what he considers necessary. Despite the wide popularity and mass recognition of Petrynenko, what is always interesting, first of all, is the live connection with the audience.

The musician calls himself a chamber artist. And he considers direct interaction with people to be the most valuable thing in performances, when a special atmosphere of understanding and feeling arises between the performer and the fans. At the beginning of his career, the maestro's concerts did not gather huge stadiums and thousands of fans. However, what was invaluable was that everyone who came did it consciously. Not for the sake of entertainment, but for the sake of music.

Material achievements, loud releases of popular singles, filming spectacular video clips were never the true goal of the performer. Petrynenko saw the point in bringing benefit to people, being important to the listeners. At one time, the singer refused the opportunity to stay in the USA and build a career there, because he could not imagine life outside his homeland. Ukraine was and remains for him not just a place of birth. The artist loved it since childhood, freely walking through his native streets.

Social activity

Taras Petrynenko did not have his own website in the early 2000s. However, today the maestro publishes on his own official page in Instagram, where he shares with his fans important achievements and moments from his creative life.

The full-scale invasion caught the star at home, in the suburbs of Kyiv. However, this was not a surprise for the artist: the years spent in Russia gave the singer a clear understanding of the true attitude of Russians towards the Ukrainian people. Today, despite his advanced age, the singer does not abandon his creativity: he continues to record new songs, actively goes on tour, and participates in charity concerts both in Ukraine and abroad. Taras Petrinenko's significant contribution to the development and popularization of Ukrainian culture and art was noted at the state level.

Awards and distinctions:

• National Prize of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko;
• Honored Artist of Ukraine;
• People's Artist of Ukraine;
• Order of Freedom;
• Order of Merit;
• National Legend of Ukraine.

Taras Petrinenko's repertoire includes dozens of songs that have become a symbol of the spiritual beauty and strength of Ukrainians. The artist performs many compositions in a duet with the talented singer Tatyana Gorobets. Joint works can also be heard in the music albums "My Love", "Lord, Have Mercy on Us", "I Am a Professional Slave". Among the most famous hits:

• "Song about a song";
• "Lord, have mercy on us";
• "My love";
• "Years fly by the stars";
• "We did not finish the conversation";
• "New year" and many others.

Discography:

• "Patterns of the path" (1976);
• "I am a professional slave" (1989);
• "Lord, have mercy on us" (1993);
• "My love" (1998);
• "Taras Petrynenko and Tetyana Gorobets - Collection of selected songs";
• “Rock Legends of Ukraine. Taras Petrynenko” (2003);
• “Better” (2016).

In 2024, Taras Petrynenko, together with Oleksandr Polozhynskyi, released the single “Time”.

Interesting facts about the artist:

• the singer always emphasizes that he has never had anything to do with politics. He is simply a patriot of his country;
• the artist performed the hit “Ukraine” at the inauguration of the Ukrainian president in 2005;
• if a career as a musician had not developed, Petrynenko could have been a driver or a beacon operator (he was interested in both professions since childhood).