Every day soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestras, and choirs performed at the National Philharmonic Society, the House of Scientists, the Composers’ Union, and the National Music Academy, showcasing the works of 190 composers. The festival gathered performers from 19 countries, including the Greek singer Anna Alexopoulos, the Bonn Chamber Choir, Austria’s Duo Violini, the Wilanow String Quartet from Poland, and Canada’s piano trio, the Gryphon Trio.
Traditionally, most of the music performed was academic music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Ancient church chants were featured at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral and the Kyiv Cave Monastery’s Refectory Church. There were many solo concerts, including two commemorating Yevhen Stankovych’s 65th anniversary and Valentyn Sylvestrov’s 70th jubilee.
FESTIVAL ENCOUNTERS
The soiree at the National Philharmonic Society featured the Kyiv Soloists Ensemble (director and conductor: Bohodar Kotorovych), the violinist Myroslava Kotorovych, the Credo Chamber Choir (conducted by Bohdan Plish), and the women’s choir of the Lysenko Music School (choirmaster: Oksana Nikitiuk).
Yevhen Stankovych’s Morning Music was like a song born of a mountain stream and predawn mist. Yurii Laniuk’s premiere of The Annunciation was like birds singing or angels speaking to each other. Vitalii Hubarenko’s premiere of Canto Ricordo resembled a dizzy flight, while Krzysztof Penderecki’s Agnus Dei and De Profundis recounted the history of the discovery of truth.
This concert featured another premiere, Viktoria Poliova’s composition set to the words of the famous poem by the English poet and preacher John Donne, “No Man is an Island,” for mezzo-soprano, women’s choir, and string instruments. Solos were performed by Oksana Nikitiuk (mezzo-soprano) and Olena Zhukova (piano).
Poliova’s creativity is marked by a unique style and an ability to broach ageless subjects. All her works are a spiritual quest, and the listener catches himself becoming involved in this intensive process. For me, her work was one of the major events of the festival. In the 17th century Donne wrote: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” His words have received an appropriate musical expression in the 21st century.
Critics agree that Canada’s Gryphon Trio is one of the world’s finest chamber ensembles. They are truly top-notch musicians. Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys, and pianist Jamie Parker’s performance at the House of Scientists was the best evidence of their masterful playing.
Cellist Roman Borys has a fluent command of Ukrainian (his parents were born in what is now Lviv oblast and immigrated to Canada after the Second World War). He had this to say:
“This year marks our trio’s 15th anniversary. Our repertoire includes classical pieces, ranging from Haydn to contemporary composers. During this festival we performed a program that included works by such Canadian composers as Gary Kulesha, Rebecca Clarke, Kelly-Marie Murphy, and two new compositions — Sylvestrov’s Mozart Moments and Stankevych’s Epilogues, written especially for our trio. I am very impressed by these two composers, who are very different from each other. There is a very high level of music culture in Ukraine, especially in terms of choirs. You have very talented conductors. I was happy to see young chamber orchestra musicians performing contemporary music with such serious and energetic dedication.”
The Kyiv Camerata Choir remained true to its professional self at the National Philharmonic Society. The choir performed Sviatoslav Lunev’s Tristium, a suite from Mikhail Chemberdzhi’s Daniela, George Grossmann’s Elegy Concerto, Gennadii Chobanu’s Enescu Code, Liubava Sydorenko’s Incrustations, and Vladimir Zolotukhin’s Cherished Dream with its musical account of dreams, fears, and hopes. Bohdana Pivnenko (violin) and Tetiana Andriievska (piano) performed solos.
Says Valerii Matiukhin: “The Kyiv Camerata Choir has been a regular Kyiv Music Fest participant. We have performed in 17 out of 18 events; we have often helped ‘carry’ this festival. In 1996 we performed nine times and that year many people said that it was a Kyiv Camerata festival.
“Seeing the empty hall at the Philharmonic during such excellent concerts makes me sad. Ten years ago it was standing room only. I think the reason is not lack of public interest but inadequate publicity. A festival must be advertised well in advance. Festival guests, like leading composers, could be invited to talk about their works. No matter how we view music, we must remember that Ukrainian music is our legacy, so we must put it in first place. Thirty years ago, when the Camerata was founded, we determined our main postulate: Ukrainian music must take its due place in world art and the international music process. We cannot proceed from the principle that this is interesting and this is not. Every musician must abide by one principle: once you are assigned a composition to perform, you must treat it in an absolutely fair manner and perform it to the best of your ability. What makes this festival important is that it serves as an impetus for both the performer and composer.”
LISTENER’S GUIDE
The Merited National Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Kyrylo Karabyts, performed Ivan Karabyts’s Concerto No. 2 during the festival’s closing ceremony. This composition, teeming with light and love of life, was performed in an inspired manner by the musicians, reminding the audience of this excellent composer, who 17 years ago gave us the Kyiv Music Fest. The next day the ensemble Nostri Temporis performed in the program “Chamber Music by Young Musicians” in the concert hall of the Composers’ Union of Ukraine. This is an international project involving Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Azerbaijani composers. All of the performers are students or recent conservatory graduates. Their performance sent out a powerful wave of fresh, creative energy, and the audience responded with enthusiasm. Yelena Sierova’s Autumn River Bank, Yaroslav Odrin’s Mystery of the Wave, Maksym Kolomyiets’s Refraction, and Yevhen Hepliuk’s Laconism and Piano Toccata are colorful and original compositions.
“I owe the fact that I am a composer to the Kyiv Music Fest. Academic training provides only the theoretical component of the composer’s trade; you can practice it only during concerts. The difference between Ukraine and other European countries is that we have fewer contemporary music festivals; this process is only starting here,” said Odrin, who graduated from the National Music Academy in 2006.
Contemporary listeners are wary of contemporary academic music. Not all are prepared to accept it because they know little about it. Those who are really interested in understanding it but don’t know how to go about familiarizing themselves with this music should attend the concerts of the Kyiv Music Fest, where they will discover the enchanting world of music.
