Before a large-scale tour of the main halls of Germany and Poland, the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra will perform an exceptional concert programme for Lviv residents, including legendary works by Barvinsky, Kolessa and Dvořák.
On 18 February, at 18:00, under the baton of the Philharmonic’s General Director Volodymyr Syvokhyp, symphonic works that are significant for Ukrainian music of the twentieth century will be performed. They contain a pang of sadness for the past, a spark of struggle, but also a genuine belief in future prosperity in a common European family.
Vasyl Barvinsky’s Piano Concerto, lost and eventually found in distant Argentina, was performed for the first time only in 1994. In 2019, the Lviv Philharmonic presented a new orchestral version by composer Bohdana Frolyak. Today, it returns from oblivion: generous with broad, decisive movements and lyrical episodes inspired by Ukrainian melos. The soloist of the evening will be Violina Petrychenko.
Mykola Kolessa’s “Ukrainian Suite” is characterised by an unusual combination of modern Western European stylistics with a deep understanding of folklore, which was close to the composer since childhood.
A work by another Slavic composer, 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 recorded 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, courageously resisting the aggressor, protecting and defending the most important thing – Independence.