Myroslav Skoryk: TRIBUTE

July, 13 marks the birthday of the outstanding composer, and patron of the Lviv National Philharmonic, Myroslav Skoryk. It’s a day when a concert in his memory will be held. In 2022, it has been two years since Maestro passed away. Two of the least performed instrumental concerts of the Ukrainian composer will be performed with the works of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. It was these authors who particularly influenced Skoryk’s creative path: he studied their orchestral writing, stylistics and coloristics, and also created orchestrations of individual works by these composers. At the end of the event, a tribute to the Master will be played, “Adagio in memory of Myroslav Skoryk” by Bohdana Frolyak.

The concert will begin with the miniature “Pavane pour une infante défunte”. Written by Maurice Ravel, it reflects not so much longing for the princess (there is a possibility that the artist was inspired by the famous painting by Diego Velázquez), but rather a feeling of bright nostalgia for the past. The composer planned the tempo of this performance to be as slow as possible, in order to carefully listen to each sound and to feel the colourfulness of the musical texture. Therefore, although surprising, Ravel once said, “The title has nothing to do with the work. I just liked how all these words sounded together.”

Myroslav Skoryk‘s music is characterized by the same easiness of perception and direct appeal to the listener. Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2 begins and ends with a recitative as if speaking from the depths of his individual expression. The content of this music does not have to be rethought, thanks to the amalgamation of folklore intonations into an artistic, creative act, it skillfully stimulates in the mind of the listener images and associations, known to every Ukrainian.

The creativity of Claude Debussy, presented by the cycle “Petite Suite”, was largely inspired by the poems of Paul Verlaine. Myriads of fleeting, bright details of description in the style of the poetry of the French symbolist resonate with the musical discoveries of the modernist Debussy, overriding the meaning of the structure of the work.

The first two pieces of Debussy’s “Little Suite”, written in 1889, were influenced by Verlaine’s poems from the collection “Fêtes galantes” (“Exquisite Holidays”, 1869), which depict the aristocratic era of the 18th century. They depict the world as if from the whimsical paintings of Fragonard and Watteau, and the characters embody well-known roles from the commedia dell’arte.

“En bateau” (“Sailboat”) announces the twilight over a dark lake, a mood of coolness and laziness. Despite the soft romantic character, the music leaves the impression of the sad unfulfilling desires.

Debussy’s “Cortège” by Verlaine brilliantly captures the ostentatious playfulness of Verlaine’s text through a plot in which a venerable lady and her companions, a liveried monkey and a page, seclude themselves. The third and fourth pieces of the cycle, “Minuet” and “Ballet”, remain within the framework of the festive mood, however, with a nostalgic note. The piece was originally written for a piano duet.

Myroslav Skoryk wrote 10 violin concertos, composed over a period of half a century. One of the least-known, Violin Concerto No. 2, is full of contrasts: it combines darkness and enlightenment, despair and melancholy. The soloist who will embody such different moods will be the violinist Lidia Futorska.

Finally, the connection between the memory of the present and the past will emerge in the event, thanks to “Adagio in memory of Myroslav Skoryk” by Bohdana Frolyak. The piece was performed for the first time at the Opening of the International Festival “Contrasts” in 2021. It pays tribute from the Student to the Teacher and opens new horizons of the significance of the figure of Myroslav Skoryk for Ukrainian culture.

Artists:

• Oksana Rapita, piano
• Lidia Futorska, violin
• Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine 
• Volodymyr Syvokhip, conductor

Program:

• Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Pavane pour une infante défunte (1899)
• Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020). Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra (1982)
• Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Petite Suite
  • En bateau
  • Cortège
  • Menuet
  • Ballet
• Myroslav Skoryk. Concerto No. 2 for violin and orchestra (1990)
• Bohdana Frolyak (1968). Adagio in memory of Myroslav Skoryk (2021)

Live broadcast provided by:
Andrij Zelenyj, camera
Mykola Khshanovskyi, live broadcast director
Marian Lesiuk, sound director
Bohdan Sehin, producer

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“Ukraine – 2022. Muses Are Not Silent” is a concert series in support of Ukrainian musicians during the russian armed aggression. Online concerts will become a platform for the uniting of the Ukrainian music community, as many musicians participating in these concert programs have become internally displaced people and have found shelter in Lviv.

We provide a free opportunity for the whole world to watch concerts on the official YouTube channel of the Lviv National Philharmonic. At the same time, we suggest our listeners from abroad make charitable donations to Ukrainian musicians who have stayed here in Ukraine.

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