Sergei RACHMANINOFF: “There is everything in Kyiv!”

Jubilee celebrants received congratulations in the form of letters, awards, titles, diplomas, flowers from the top officials – the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, and head of the Kyiv City State Administration Oleksandr Popov paid a visit himself and presented the team with a three-room apartment.

“One century is a short period for history,” said rector of the National Music Academy of Ukraine Volodymyr ROZHOK, “but for a team, especially an artistic one, it is an extraordinary event. The Kyiv Conservatory has a long biography and has covered a breathtaking path in art. The names of Vladimir Horowitz, Heinrich Neuhaus, Ivan Kozlovsky, Zoia Haidai, Borys Liatoshynsky, Lev Revutsky, Anatolii Solovianenko, Yevhenia Miroshnychenko, Natan Rakhlin, Stepan Turchak, and many others are written in the history of the domestic and world culture in golden letters. Thanks to these and other bright figures of music art, who created their own performance, composing, vocal, and scientific schools, the Academy has become a truly elite center of professional music education.

“The Academy has extensive international connections with numerous foreign music educational institutions and cultural centers of France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, the United States, etc. Since 1998, the Academy has been a member of the European Association of Conservatories, Academies and High Schools of Music. Several thousand foreign citizens from across the world received diplomas of the Academy.

“A lot of guests arrived for the celebration, in particular, there were guests from nine countries (artists and teachers), all rectors of conservatories and higher educational establishments of Ukraine. We are thankful for attention and respect towards the Academy and believe that the president’s decree on jubilee events will be fulfilled completely (and the overhaul of the Academy’s building will be finished by the end of the year).”

Portraits of all leaders of the conservatory were exhibited in the National Opera foyer, from Volodymyr Pukhalsky to the current rector Volodymyr Rozhok. Before the beginning of the concert, students and teachers took photos together. Graduates of various years attended the jubilee celebration as well. It was strange to watch how gray-haired maitres were goofing around, laughing, remembering their student years in the conservatory, exchanging addresses and giving autographs, because now they are world-class stars.

The formal celebration was opened by the Academy’s Trumpet Ensemble under the direction of Professor Posvaliuk, which played The Holiday of Pipes by Yevhen Stankovych (by the way, the outstanding composer also graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory, where he teaches now). Student orchestra musicians under the direction of Professor Palkin also demonstrated their skillfulness, and young choristers of the Academy performed together with the leading ensemble of our country – chapel “Thought” (under the direction of Professor Yevhen Savchuk). The audience burst into applause in honor of the famous violinists Dmytro Tkachenko and Bohdana Pivnenko, piano player Yurii Kot, singers Taras Shtonda, Alla Rodina, Anzhelina Shvachka, Kateryna Strashchenko, and Oleksandr Diachenko. The program included works by such classics as Mykola Lysenko, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Charles-Camille Saint-Saens, Jules Massenet, Ludwig van Beethoven, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Antonin Dvorak and our contemporaries Myroslav Skoryk and Yevhen Stankovych. And when the anthem of the National Music Academy of Ukraine was played, the whole audience rose to their feet, and some former graduates of the academy even sang along.

After the concert, The Day talked to guests, teachers, and artists, who visited the celebration.

Volodymyr LUKASHEV, artistic director of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine:

“This is an extraordinary event not only in the Academy’s life, but for our whole country. A centennial anniversary happens only once. This date inspires respect. Something can exist for 200 years and produce nothing, but the National Music Academy of Ukraine is the artistic base for our whole country. It trains artists not only for domestic art, but for the international stage as well. Perhaps, there is no country in the world now where the graduates of the Academy would not work or perform. These people bring art up to the high orbit of creativity. We are proud that Kyiv has such a wonderful Academy! This jubilee is a holiday for everyone who loves fine art. Eminent guests from various European countries (rectors, academics, professors, scientists of various ranks, art critics, musicians, conductors, singers) came to the Academy’s birthday party. They were present at the academic council sitting and then came to the concert to celebrate the wonderful date, the centennial anniversary of the higher music institution of Ukraine. This event will be discussed and written about a lot.”

Lyudmila CHIZHOVA, executive director of the Children’s Book Council IBBY at the Russian Cultural Foundation:

“I came from Moscow to celebrate the anniversary of the Academy. It is very warm, democratic here, and the concert is brilliant! I think that spirits of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Rimsky-Korsakov, who stood at the origins of the Kyiv Conservatory, were in the hall today, and the classics were happy that their cause lives and thrives. Today the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine is a brand of fine culture and is known in the world. Music needs no translation and has no boundaries!”

Maryna CHERKASHYNA-HUBARENKO, Doctor of Music Studies, professor of the Music National Academy, corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of Ukraine, head of the Kyiv Wagner Society:

“Everyone who is currently working or studying at the Academy feels happy. Everything was organized in a beautiful and solemn way. The concert was fantastic. I want to give special note to the student symphony orchestra under the direction of conductor Ihor Palkin. They performed at a high level and suitably accompanied the world-class masters. I was particularly impressed by Dmytro Tkachenko (the UK – Ukraine), who delivered a virtuosic performance of the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra by Saint-Saens. And our orchestra of folk instruments performed beautifully. All the concerts that take place almost every day during two months (as a part of solemn celebration of the Academy’s centennial anniversary) attract a great deal of attention of music lovers. We can be proud of our graduates and current students.

“We really need to do the repair works, because the roof is leaking, plaster is falling off, the walls are damp, it is very cold in winter, which damages music instruments (I am not even talking about how uncomfortable it is to work and study in a crumbling building). But we are optimistic. We have a beautiful building, which now is the hallmark of not only Kyiv, but Ukraine in general.”

Ivan HAMKALO, conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine:

“Contrast in musicality and complexity of performance works were chosen for the concert, soloists were excellent, student groups (trumpet ensemble under the direction of Posvaliuk, symphony orchestra under the direction of Palkin, and choir under the direction of Savchuk) performed great. Let the new generations make a better concert in 300 years! The Kyiv conservatory is a factory of artists not only for the main academic stage of our country, but for various opera houses and philharmonic societies of Ukraine and the world. Today the Academy’s graduates perform in all continents! Some stay abroad, but many artists do not forget their alma mater, come to Kyiv and give their talent to compatriots.”

Taras SHTONDA, soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine and the Bolshoi Theater (Russia):

“I am proud to have gone through the high school of the Kyiv conservatory. I am grateful to all my teachers for the knowledge, especially to my vocal teacher Liudmyla Sukhorukova. I remember various lessons, even though almost 20 years have already passed. We had a very warm atmosphere. As students, we rushed to classes. I still have not forgotten the way to the conservatory, and I perform in the Small and Large Halls of the Academy with great pleasure. It is interesting to work with various conductors, orchestras, musicians, and fellow singers. I was particularly excited before today’s concert, because there were many outstanding cultural figures, former, current, and future artists, critics, music experts among the audience. And it is harder to sing when a young generation is listening to you, you need to show the top class and be worthy of your reputation, they are watching what a master has to show. And no titles will be able to save you, because every time you come on the stage, you prove whether you are worth of being called an artist.”