Jazz Improvisations by Oleksandr Saratskyi

Artists:

• Oleksandr Saratskyi, jazz pianist
• Academic Chamber Orchestra “Lviv Virtuosos”
• Taras Verhun, conductor

The program will feature arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, piano works and improvisations, jazz standards, and world hits. The Lviv premiere will include the performance of Oleksandr Saratskyi’s Piano Concerto No. 9 (with the piano part in an improvisational style). The concert is part of a nationwide tour, through which the composer and pianist aims to support and inspire a wide audience with exquisite music during these difficult times of war.

As Oleksandr Saratskyi shared:

“Improvisation is an integral part of our reality. In music, it takes a central place, and true creativity is hard to imagine without it. It was loved and masterfully employed by such geniuses as Bach and Mozart, and likely Beethoven and Chopin as well. And, of course, jazz is impossible without improvisation. As some African Americans once said: ‘We wouldn’t have survived without improvisation during the times of racial discrimination and segregation.’”

Dictators have always feared improvisation—communists and all usurpers have avoided it as much as possible. After all, it cannot exist where there is stagnation, ignorance, tyranny, decline, and degradation. Improvisation is 100% freedom.

Come and hear me improvise. I won’t limit myself, and perhaps tomorrow I’ll come up with something I can’t even imagine today. I will perform alongside one of my favorite ensembles in Ukraine—the Academic Chamber Orchestra “Lviv Virtuosos.”

We thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine, hoping for a peaceful evening and a reliable air defense.