Programme

• Joseph Joachim Raff. String Octet, Op. 176
• Czesław Marek. Prélude, Op. 4 No. 1; Prelude, Fantasy and Chorale, Op. 8
• Fedir Yakymenko. Mazurka Réminiscence, Op. 26; Fantasy, Op. 26 bis; Le rêve mystérieux (The Mysterious Dream)
• Hans Schaeuble. Songs from Hellas, Op. 28, for viola, baritone and double string quartet

Performers

• Sofiia Solovii — soprano
• Volodymyr Shynkarenko — baritone
• Violina Petrychenko — piano
• “Quattro Corde” String Ensemble of the Ira Malaniuk Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Philharmonic
• Volodymyr Syvokhip — conductor

This artistic dialogue between Switzerland and Ukraine centres on composers whose lives and work took shape at the crossroads of different countries and traditions. It brings together the musical heritage of both cultures while highlighting Switzerland’s historical ties with Central and Eastern Europe.

At the heart of the programme is the world premiere of Songs from Hellas, Op. 28, by the Swiss composer Hans Schaeuble (1906–1988), born 120 years ago this year. Scored for viola, baritone and double string quartet, they reflect the openness of his music to a range of cultural influences. Schaeuble belongs to those twentieth-century Swiss composers whose work deserves to be rediscovered today.

The evening’s historical point of departure is the String Octet, Op. 176, by Joseph Joachim Raff (1822–1882), one of the most important Swiss composers of the nineteenth century and among the most successful musicians of his time. His music combines European Classicism and Romanticism with a voice of its own, a reminder of Switzerland’s place in the history of European music.

The piano portion of the programme is performed by Violina Petrychenko, who pairs two composers from the first half of the twentieth century, Czesław Marek and Fedir Yakymenko. Both share a creative identity formed at the meeting point of European cultures.

Czesław Marek (1891–1985), who would have turned 135 this year, embodies the ties between Poland, Ukraine and Switzerland. Born in Przemyśl, he spent his formative years in Lviv, where he studied and where he wrote his Prélude, Op. 4 No. 1. He later continued his education in Vienna before settling in Switzerland, which became his second home, working there as a pianist, teacher and composer.

Fedir Yakymenko (1876–1945), whose 150th anniversary is marked this year, was one of the most important Ukrainian composers of his generation, closely connected to European musical life and a performer in Switzerland as well. His path led through several countries, with France becoming an important part of his life; his fascination with Impressionism left a strong mark on his sense of harmony and colour. Three works on the programme reveal different sides of his world: the Fantasy, Op. 26 bis, still rooted in the Romantic tradition — emotional and free in form; Réminiscence – Mazurka, Op. 26, a remembrance in more refined colours; and Le rêve mystérieux, which opens another space — mysterious, shifting, almost weightless, where his Impressionist aesthetic shines through most vividly.

The project is presented twice — on 27 September at the Ira Malaniuk Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Philharmonic and on 30 September in Lviv, as part of the Contrasts Festival. Most of the works will be heard in Ukraine for the first time, as world premieres.

The project is initiated and supported by the Hans Schaeuble Foundation (Zurich) and the publisher Sordino Ediziuns Musicalas, in cooperation between the Mykola Skoryk Lviv National Philharmonic and the Ira Malaniuk Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Philharmonic.