The renowned pianist Irenei Zhuk arrived to Kyiv from Canada for the solemn opening of the International Vladimir Horowitz Memorial Contest of Young Performers and was co-opted as a jury member. Both he and his sister Liuba have frequently visited Ukraine during the past few years. Precisely one year ago the pianists were awarded the honorable title of the Meritorious Performers of Ukraine. For them it was high recognition.
WELLSPRINGS
In 1930s, the Zhuk family, scions of the Galician intelligentsia — a doctor and a music teacher, violinist, and a singer, — emigrated first to Austria and then to Canada. But their spiritual connections with Ukraine were never interrupted. The Ukrainian language, songs, and music, were heard in the family. Unsurprisingly, as time shows, the parents did not take away from Ukraine their three talented children; on the contrary, they returned them to their motherland as persons already renowned the world over. Radoslav is an architect (see The Day, #26, 1998) Liuba and Irenei are pianists.
Today, Liuba Zhuk is a professor at the music departments of the McGill University in Montreal and the Ukrainian Free University. Irenei is a professor and director of music department in Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. Brother and sister are often invited to held master-classes. As researchers of the Ukrainian music in diaspora, they deliver public lectures on the musicology and musical history of Ukraine. They are often invited to be members of the examining boards or juries of international contests.
Up to 1977 the sister and brother performed concerts together with renowned chamber and symphony orchestras, and then created a piano duet. After their first highly successful tour, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsidized their concert tour to Western and Eastern European countries. Then there were England and Scotland, North America, Japan, and the Far East.
UKRAINE IN THEIR LIVES
Liuba and Irenei propagate Ukrainian piano and chamber music not only in Canada but also in other countries. Their repertoire includes works by Barvinsky, Bortniansky, Verykivsky, Kosenko, Kos-Anatolsky, Lysenko, Liudkevych, Liashenko, Revutsky, Fial, Fomenko, Skoryk, Dychko, et. al.
A new era in Irenei and Liuba’s creative biography began with Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence.
“The Composers Union arranged a nationwide Ukrainian tour for us,” Irenei says. “At our first performances we played compositions that were written in Canada by authors of Ukrainian origin. It aroused great interest in your composers who later started to write compositions specially for us to perform. We play them in Canada. Recently at the Kyiv Music Fest for the first time in Kyiv we performed Triptych by Lesia Dychko and Three Dances by Myroslav Skoryk.”
“What are your impressions of this festival as a whole?”
“I consider it very important, because it gives to the public and, most importantly, professionals an opportunity to hear what is going on in other countries’ musical life.”
“What is Ukraine for you?”
“To call oneself Ukrainian,” Liuba replies, “does not mean to sing Ukrainian songs, to wear vyshyvanka embroidered shirts, dance the hopak, and eat varenyky. It is true that all these are parts of our common culture. But all this folk culture to some extent already belongs to museums. It is close to our hearts, and we should respect it. But Ukrainian culture has never been concentrated on folklore alone. It has overflowed Ukraine’s borders, developed alongside West European culture, and been enriched by the influence of other cultures. This is why today modern culture should be a priority. We see our mission as introducing Ukrainian culture to people of various nationalities, to people with different views on politics and religion, and demonstrating that Ukrainian music exists, that there are great composers in Ukraine who create great works. In general, music can be Ukraine’s calling card.”
