Ukranian Classical Composers and Musicians

Click pics to enlarge. Above, Kuchar conducts his orchestra.

Letter from Shenzhen (22-5): Ukranian Classical Composers and Musicians, Past and Present
Streaming Classical Music (22-4): Ukranian Classical Music, Past and Present

And now on to more Ukranian Classical Music figures, including those living. Mind you, classical music is greatly politicized now. Unfortunately so.

Composers The “national” school is regarded to have started with Boris Lyatoshynsky, whose career was mostly under Soviet rule (wikipedia). He studied in the Kiev Conservatory under Rheinhold Gliere (also Ukranian; classical fans will likely know of his gargantuan Symphony No. 3, Ilya Mourametz). I had so far streamed his Symphonies No. 2, 3 and 4 (Naxos) and do not regret it. The music is reminiscent of many of his forebearers as well as contemporaries (for more details, see MWI). His Ukranian Quintet is quite satisfying and can be heard on an excellent recent Naxos release, Ukrainian Piano Quintets, recorded in Kiev (2020). I don’t think I shall return to his works often, but I prefer them to his teacher’s works. On the same disc is a work by a much more important composer, his student Valentin Silvestrov, whom I have followed and championed for years. If you don’t know Silvestrov, it’s time you do. Even the great Arvo Part reveres him. I suggest starting with his ECM catalogue and orchestral works, like the Symphonies. His chamber works and songs can be quite sparse for a beginner, but his “simplicity” hides art and, importantly, is never too simple. For these times, you may want to try the substantial and dark Requiem for Larissa (ECM). Incidentally, the last work on the Naxos disc is the Simurgh-Quintet by a name new to me, Victoria Poleva, whose minimalist-modernist style (for lack of a better word; quite different from the much more mechanical Americans) pairs well with Silvestrov’s. I shall definitely stream more of her works soon. A find!

But by far the most prominent Ukrainian composer is Sergei Prokofiev, born in the Donetsk region (now claimed by Russia; mind you 80% of that population want to be with Russia [as with Crimea] rather than the current Ukraine; so many subsets in the new Cold War). Prokofiev needs no mention. One of his minor works is On the Dnieper, the last word being a river that originates in current Russia, that courses through the Ukraine and Belarus and then empties into the Black Sea. BTW, the Donetsk regional airport is named after him!

Orchestras and Conductors Without doubt, there are many excellent Ukrainian orchestras. The most recorded Ukranian orchestra is the Ukranian National Symphony, based in Lviv. This is because their long-time conductor, Ukranian-American Theodore Kuchar (raised in Cleveland), was, and is, a Naxos (and older Marco Polo) stalwart - and an excellent conductor whom I have long followed. It is also because this excellent orchestra always play with verve and commitment and great color. The aforementioned Lyatoshinsky Symphonies featured excellent playing in great sound. This orchestra had also recorded for Naxos an underrated and estimable Prokofiev series. They also recorded many discs in the American Classics series. A great and hard working orchestra, now surely in peril and disarray in Lviv. By far my favorite recording of Kuchar is the Bizet/Shchedrin Carmen Suite (with the equally excellent Ukranian State SO, with which he has often recorded too). This is one of my favorite pieces - the percussion and strings scoring is simply ingenious. IMHO, their reading is superior to most, including well lauded Fiedler (RCA) and the venerable Rozhdestventsky (EMI, Melodiya), the latter favored by Chinese audiophiles. The Naxos recording is not perfect, a little bloated, but the excitement is palpable. Incidentally, in this post, Kuchar speaks about his recent exit from Ukraine. Read this, particularly what the person who advised him to exit says, and reflect on how this war came about! There are other notable Ukranian conductors in the West. The most prominent is Kirill Karabits, long time head of the Bournemouth SO, whose family is still in the Ukraine. In fact, his father was teacher at the conservatory and contemporaneous with Lyatoshinsky and Silvestrov. Another is rising star Oksana Lyniv, who made many inroads in the male-dominated conducting world, including conducting at Bayreuth. The former is a good musician but I am not quite as enamored of his orchestra today as many UK critics (breeding ground of vastly over-rated Rattle; best work they have done was for Paavo Berglund and Louis Fremaux). As for the latter, not many recordings but I shall seek her out.

Justice or Cancel Culture? After what happened to Gergiev and Netrebko (see last post below), I just read (on slippedisc, link above) an indignant Tugan Sokhiev, a good conductor whom I have heard on record and in person many years ago in Sydney as chief of the SSO. He resigned from both the Bolshoi Theater and Orchestre National de Capitole de Toulouse (I consider this a protest against cancel culture). And Currentzis and MusicAeterna (whom I have praised in this blog) was held up for a big European production. And Danielle Gatti, fired from the Concertgebouw for sexual harassment, now is slated to stand in for fired Gergiev. Why un-cancel Gatti when cancelling Gergiev? Is this all correct? You make up your mind, as I have made up mine.

Past and Older Musicians of Ukranian Origin I named the most famous ones in my last post (right below), and here are more. Historically minded listeners will know Rosina Lehvinne, Moriz Rosenthal, Alexander Brailowsky, Alexander Siloti, Benno Moiseiwitsch. And two of my favorites: Miecyslaw Horzowski, whose late recordings with Nonesuch are gems as much as his earlier recordings; and still under-sung Alexander Slobodyanik.

Current Musicians of Ukrainian Origin I am sure I have missed a few. When it comes to pianists, foremost in my mind is the excellent Vadim Kholodenko. And then there are Anna Fedorova and Ukranian-American Alexander Gavrylyuk (who had appeared in HK before). When it comes to violinists, there is the excellent Ukranian-American Oleh Krysa. And then, of course, the excellent Illia Bondarenko, whom I have heard on records befor. Her recent social media (Instagram?) video of her playing a Ukrainian folksong in a basement amid bombing had gone viral. Last, but not least, there is the case of Ukranian-American Valentina Lisitsa, who was a bona fide Ukranian but who has long sided with Russia and who as a result was recently disfavored much in the West. She rose from youtube fame to mainstream artist (with past Decca albums). From what I have heard on records she is an excellent pianist. She has recently signed a contract with the excellent French Naive label and has a concert coming up imminently, on April 8 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Let’s see if she gets cancelled!

Let me finish on a lighter note. Milla Jovovich, an Ukrainian-American best known as an actress, whose works under the great Luc Besson was much more impressive (The Fifth Element; The Messenger: Story of Joan of Arc) than those under Wim Wenders (Million Dollar Hotel and Palermo). Less known is that she’s a musician also.

Joan of Arc