Dvorak. Kolessa. Barvinskyi

Is there any concert program that could tell the story of a significant part of the path of Ukrainian 20th-century music? Definitely, and it will be presented in full by the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Volodymyr Syvokhip. The soloist will be Violina Petrychenko. The selected pieces concentrate a deep sadness for the past and a spark of struggle, but also a true belief in the future prosperity of a common European family and Ukraine in it.

Through the decades, Vasyl Barvinskyi’s Piano Concerto made its way to the stage. Lost and eventually found in foreign Argentina, it was performed for the first time only in 1994. In 2019, the Lviv Philharmonic presented a new orchestral version by composer Bohdana Froliak. Today, it is returning from oblivion, filled with wide, decisive movements and lyrical episodes inspired by Ukrainian melos.

Mykola Kolessa’s “Ukrainian Suite” is characterized by an unusual combination of modern Western European stylistics with a deep learning of folklore, which was close to the composer since childhood. Another Slavic composer’s work, Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, is subtitled “From the New World.” Composing this work at the end of the nineteenth century, the Czech composer documented his impressions of the American continent, its music, and folklore in the score. At that time, America was a new, unexplored world for Europeans, which aroused great interest and admiration. Now, Ukraine and its people have become this new world for everyone, bravely resisting the aggressor, protecting and defending the most important thing – Independence.

Artists:

• Violina Petrychenko, piano
• Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
• Volodymyr Syvokhip, conductor

Program:

• Antonin Dvořák. Symphony No. 9 in E minor “From the New World”, Op. 95
• Mykola Kolessa. “Ukrainian Suite” (1928)
• Vasyl Barvinskyi. Concerto for piano and orchestra

Mariia Levkovych, moderator