Music, theater, poetry, and history

The inspirer and art director of the festival, pianist Oleksii Botvinov united classical and avant-garde music, theater and poetry, modern art and history in one event. The opening concert took place in Grand Hall of the Philharmonic Society, where Paata Burchuladze, a famous Georgian bass singer, performed to the accompaniment of the Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ihor Shavruk. At the concert the representatives of the local government were present, in particular, the head of Odesa Oblast State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili, reportedly by press service of the Odesa City Council. A real feast for the connoisseurs of classical music was the performance of Belgian violinist Michael Guttman (in the photo) and pianist Oleksii Botvinov, who performed the works by European Romanticists Johannes Brahms (Scherzo for piano and violin) and Cesar Franck (Sonata for violin and piano), as well as the music by legendary innovator Sergey Prokofiev (Sonata No. 2) and contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Paert (minimalistic “Fratres” for violin and piano).

Later Kyiv ensemble Artehatta presented the program “Tango story.” The audience very much liked the Odesa duo of accordionist Ivan Yerhiiev and violinist Olena Yerhiieva “Kadans.” The audience remembered the large-scale show by well-known Ukrainian theater director Vlad Troitsky. The critics noted that the premiere of the production based on the texts by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War by the artistic director of the Center of Modern Art “DAKh” can be confidently called the main event not only of the festival, but of the culture life of Odesa.

Dramatic decorations which used a video installation were an active element of the play. In terms of music, the project was interesting too: music by Bach and Handel, as well as composers of the 20th century Philip Glass, Arvo Paert, and Ukrainian Valentyn Sylvestrov, reportedly by museshore.com. “This project is a conversation about peace and presentiments of another country. Or the presentiments of Ukraine, where we would dream to live, and where our children would live, a country that would be a subject of pride, not shame,” Troitsky underlined.

Within the framework “Odessa Classics” a combined exhibit of contemporary art “Trace of Orpheus” was held. For the exposition the curators Roman Hromov and Yevhen Demenok gathered works by over 20 Odesa artists, including Olha Lannyk, Mykola Karabynovych, Oksana Mas, and Andrii Babchynsky. All the items of the group exhibit interpreted the topic of interaction of sound and color, music and painting.

The Literature Museum held a series of music-poetic soirees, “Music and Word.” The first one featured the performance of legendary Odesa pianist Serhii Terentiev and poetesses Olena Boryshpolets and Vlada Ilyinska. Then the 13-year-old winner of 17 international competitions, Maria Klymenko from Illichivsk sat at the grand piano of the Golden Hall. The pianist played the works by Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. The series of the concerts in the Literature Museum was finished by the performance of Lviv pianist Josef Ermin and Odesa satiric artist Valerii Khait. Together they presented an unusual program “Humor and Music.”

Within the framework of “Odessa Classics” the discussion “Promoting the cultural image of Ukraine in the world,” took place and the festival was closed by the music program of Estonian violinist Andres Mustonen “Medieval Ages meets Jazz.”