Composers. In Ukrainian: Contemporary Musical Lyrics

To be heard is one of the basic human needs and the very meaning of a music piece because music is born in the triangle: composer – performer – listener. Therefore, we invite you to become participants in the new Ukrainian music, works by contemporary composers, and musicians whose pen and keys have been influenced by the experience of our time.

Performed by great interpreters, you will hear eight works of the last quarter of our century, so the evening will begin with Serhii Leontiev’s “Little Bachiana”, a reinterpretation of the work of the most revered musician of all time by a Ukrainian composer in the ruthless year 2023. What can Bach’s music give us now? Is there any hope for the birth of a new coherence of sound and music that can soothe the wanderings?

Zoltan Almashi also touches upon the subtleties of human feelings. The poetry of the titles of his works speaks for itself, and we will only remind you that Almashi is a master of the art that has perhaps the most powerful emotional impact – music. An art that is truly capable of preserving memories not only of events that have happened or were fictional but also of the most delicate premonitions.

The evening of Ukrainian lyrics will continue with “Metamorphosis” for soprano and strings and “Song without Words” for violin and strings by Bohdan Sehin. In this way, the human voice, the unique soprano of Sofiia Solovii, will change the timbre that many romantics identified with the human voice – the violin.

The concert program deliberately covers such a short historical period. This time, the goal is not a retrospective or a continuity of skills, but an exposition of one time, one direction, which has different sounds. Music that was born in parallel, ideas that emerged almost simultaneously. Mykhailo Shved’s “Parallels”, performed by the Academic Chamber Orchestra “Lviv Virtuosos” under the direction of Yurii Litun, also picks up this polyphony.

The last piece to be performed will be music by Anastasiya Lozova, two pieces that, with the soft sound of the piano against the light background of strings, will guide a thin, barely noticeable ray of light through 25 years. Years that have enriched world music with hundreds of new melodies. Because to unite the present with the past, to unite us with our own feelings is the deepest meaning of lyrics. Music that came under a variety of conditions and events, but always on time.

Artists:

• Sofiia Solovii, soprano
• Anastasiia Lozova, piano
• Myroslav Dragan, harpsichord
• Mykola Haviuk, violin
• Maksym Rymar, cello
• Academic Chamber Orchestra “Lviv Virtuosos”
• Yurii Litun, conductor

Program:

• Serhii Leontiev (*1991). “Little Bachiana”. Suite for cello, harpsichord and strings (2023)
• Zoltan Almashi (*1975). “Winter is Fleeting”. Concerto for violin, cello and strings (2020/2023)
  • “Anticipating love” for strings (2006/2020)
• Bohdan Sehin (*1976). “Metamorphosis” for soprano and strings (2017)
  • “Song Without Words” for violin and strings (2013/2022)
• Mykhailo Shved (*1978). “Parallels” for strings (2019)
• Anastasiia Lozova (*1981). “Concertino” for piano and strings (1999)
  • “Almost a Waltz…” for piano and chamber orchestra (2020)