The Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra was on a large tour from January 13 to March 4. For two months, the musicians have been holding performances in the most famous halls of the United States, and the most anticipated and successful event of the trip was a concert under the direction of the chief conductor Theodore Kuhar in the prestigious Carnegie Hall at New York.

Famous soloists

Among the soloists who performed with the orchestra during this time, world-recognized musicians: Vladyslava Luchenko (violin), Stanislav Khristenko (pianist), Mykhailo Sosnovskyi (flute) also played solo performances with the orchestra. Among them is Oleh Krysa, who played Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in Rochester on January 31. This performance was a unique event because it was exactly 65 years ago that the violinist first performed with the Lviv Symphony Orchestra. He noted that the orchestra was in “excellent condition.”

The orchestra’s 26th concert took place at the main university of Connecticut, where Solomiya Ivakhiv, a violinist from Lviv, is a professor of violin and viola: by a coincidence, the performer performed with the Lviv Symphony Orchestra for the first time exactly 30 years ago, at the age of 12. She told that she was proud of the high level of the team and emphasized that “70% of the people who came to the concert are Americans.”

Presenting Ukraine

In this difficult time for Ukraine, the orchestra had the opportunity to express themselves not only musically: at the end of each concert, the principal conductor, Ukrainian-American musician Theodore Kuchar, talked about our mission on this trip and thanked the Americans for their support on behalf of all Ukrainians. He claimed: “This tour is a historic event, because we are the first group during the war, which came to America and had the opportunity to present our culture in the most prestigious halls of America.” Orchestra player Solomiya Onyskiv, also shared that she deeply worries about the future of our country, because “If we do not stand up, if the world does not stand up, there will be more suffering.”

The audience welcomed the orchestra with enthusiasm, says soloist, Lviv pianist Oksana Rapita: “I immediately was immersed into such a busy schedule, there were 3 concerts in a row. It’s an extraordinary experience. After each first movement, the audience stood up and applauded — it was very inspiring. The audience is extremely attentive and supportive.”

Press reviews

The critics’ evaluations were also highly favorable: Barrett Cobb of the New York Concert Review noted in the orchestra “true democracy and equality in action”, “the most eloquent and poignant playing of the English horn solo he has ever heard. and called the performance of the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall “the most memorable concert. It was both heart-warming and heart-rending”.

Among other reviews, Mark Jordan’s expert opinion stands out. The journalist talks about the successful performance of the team under the baton of Theodore Kuchar in Cleveland: “And what a concert it was. Under even normal conditions, Kuchar is a compelling conductor, but with the important sense of mission on this occasion, one felt that the ensemble would storm the Bastille if their principal conductor so desired. There may be more refined ensembles, but the Lviv NPO plays with a kind of fire that is rare, while still running their rivals a close race for polish. They have been around in one form or another since 1902, but Kuchar has brought them to a world-class level.”

Welcoming at Carnegie Hall

A century has passed since the masterpiece of the Ukrainian genius Leontovych, the famous “Shchedryk” premiered at Carnegie Hall, and now the Lviv National Philharmonic and a symphony orchestra from Ukraine have performed here. We saw the warm acceptance of the public and its high class. We became participants in a large-scale representation of Ukraine, saw our president addressing the audience and felt the support of multinational guests, guests of the world because New York is the centre of it.

The performance opened with Chamber Symphony No. 3 by the prominent Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych. The next piece of the program was the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Johannes Brahms, with a solo performance by the famous Ukrainian-American pianist Stanislav Khristenko. The third piece on the program was Antonin Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony “From the New World”, which became world-famous right after its world premiere here at Carnegie Hall.

We witnessed these bright emotions not only because Ukraine is now the centre of attention because of the war and everyone feels this connection with us, but also because we, Ukrainians, are carriers of high culture, and national identity, and today it was especially observable. I am proud of the fact that we are Ukrainians, of the way we presented ourselves today in New York,” said the general director of the Lviv National Philharmonic, Volodymyr Syvohip.

Special events of tour

Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra gave a premiere in one of the largest concert halls in New York – the legendary Radio City Music Hall. There were four musical performances of Howard Shore’s masterpiece “Lord of the Rings” were played. Every day on February 6, 7, 8, and 9, about six thousand viewers came to immerse themselves in the world of the beloved movie saga and hear the live performance of the music of the first part of “Lord of the Rings”, which is considered one of the most difficult and complete works in the field of cinema music.

And on February 14, the exhibition “Unbreakable” was opened at the Ukrainian Institute in New York as part of the joint artistic initiative of the Lviv National Philharmonic and the “We and the World” project of the Kozytskyi Charitable Foundation — See and Hear Ukraine. Because of the “See and Hear Ukraine” Project, as part of a tour in the USA, there are publicly presented not only the best examples of musical art, but also Ukrainian fine art by famous Ukrainian artists, in particular Inna Kharchuk, Artur Soletskyi, Liudmyla Davydenko, Olha Pohribna-Koch and others.

Нашим завданням і творчою місією є збереження та представлення України у світі. Повернувшись у Львів, оркестр продовжує невпинну роботу з виконання музики відомих авторів, докладаючи максимум зусиль для наших слухачів.