35 world premieres!

For the entire 27 years this event has been held, its main slogan remained unchanged – “Ukrainian music in the worldwide context.” The traditional organizers of the forum are the National Union of Composers and the Ministry of Culture. The Forum is also supported by foreign representative offices, foundations, embassies, various civic, governmental, religious, and other institutions.

This year’s festival starts on the International Day of Music. It should become a real celebration of high art. The Organizing Committee has scheduled 24 events: 5 symphonic and 5 choral concerts; 8 chamber performances – 4 of them featuring a chamber orchestra, 2 by ensembles and 2 by all-stars chamber bands; 3 presentations of recently published music scores and CDs of classical music, rock and fusion albums by contemporary Ukrainian composers; a mono-opera; a master class by a world-class musician; a non-stop marathon concert.

The festival will feature music by about 100 composers, art from 11 countries; and more than 150 works of various genres, among them – 35 world premieres!

“The opening and closing ceremonies will feature the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (chief conductor – Volodymyr Sirenko), which is going to become a dominant detail of the forum,” told The Day Olha Holynska, head of the Kyiv Music Fest press center. “The following works will be performed at the opening: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra by Bela Bartok (Hungary), The Penitential Psalm by Myroslav Skoryk, Symphony-Concerto No. 2 for viola and orchestra by Yevhen Stankovych, Five Musical Moments for piano and orchestra by Ivan Karabyts. The soloists are: an outstanding violist of Ukrainian origin Andriy Viytovych (UK), as well as pianists Dina Pysarenko and Oleh Kopeliuk (Ukraine).”

The festival is also going to present the music of renowned composers Valentyn Silvestrov, Lesia Dychko, Ihor Shcherbakov, Serhii Piliutykov.

The evening by Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor Volodymyr Sheiko) is going to be interesting – it will present a number of world premieres, including Concerto No. 4 for violin and orchestra by Yevhen Stankovych, Symphony-Concerto for violin and orchestra by Anna Kuzina (soloist Bohdana Pivnenko), Another Letter for You by Ivan Nebesny based on poems of Vasyl Stus (soloist Tamara Khodakova), Letters by a young author Serhii Vilka, Adagio and Fugue BACH by a composer from Spain Julian Pecheny, symphonic variations Exercises on Handel by Volodymyr Ptushkin.

Music lovers will be rewarded by the visit of Poltava Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor Vitalii Skakun), which will play together with violinist Anton Skakun (Belgium-Ukraine).

Concerts by renowned choirs are of great interest to the audience. Out of five events, three are dedicated to sacred music and will be held in churches – St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral, the Lutheran Church of St. Catherine, and the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection. Two of these concerts are authored: from famous masters of the genre Viktor Stepurko (Student Choir of Reinhold Gliere Institute of Music, headed by Zoya Tomson) and Viktoria Poliova (Municipal Chamber Choir “Kyiv,” director Mykola Hobdych).

The program of surprises is prepared by ensemble Kyivska Kamerata under the direction of Valerii Matiukhin. The project by Volodymyr Runchak and Kyiv Chamber Orchestra will feature works of Polish classics Witold Lutoslawski and Krzysztof Penderecki as well as Ukrainian authors Volodymyr Runchak (Kyiv) and Serhii Turnieiev (Luhansk-Kharkiv).

The concerts of popular ensembles are also going to have a full audience – namely ones by the Borys Liatoshynsky Ensemble of Classical Music (artistic director Valentyna Ikonnyk-Zakharchenko), Ensemble of New Music “Ricochet” (artistic director Sehii Piliutykov), and ensemble Sed Contra. Thus, for the first time in the festival’s history, Ricochet presents the project of music and dance “Dances of the World,” and Sed Contra presents the project “Sound. Voice. Silence. Works for Narrator and Chamber Ensemble,” performed with the New Theater on Pechersk (also for the first time on Kyiv Music Fest).

Mykhailo Stepanenko is going to present his new book Articles. Research. Memoirs and scores of Lesia Dychko’s Red Guelder Rose. Also for sale will be CDs with liturgies by Dychko, a rock album by Serhii Zazhytko and Serhii Piliutykov Born Twice, and an album of fusion music Music of Ukrainian Land by Ivan Taranenko and others.