Virtuosos Festival celebrates its anniversary!

This festival was launched by the performance of the Czech soloist Lucie Fiser Silkenova (soprano), the Leopolitan violinist Nazar Pylatiuk, and Academic Symphonic Orchestra of the Lviv Philharmonic Society conducted by Aidar Torybaiev. The concert included works by Gustav Mahler, Benjamin Britten and Edward William Elgar. The forum will last till June 5, and its main venue is the Stanislav Liudkevych Concert Hall. The program includes classical masterpieces performed by musicians of world renown. The general director of the Lviv Philharmonic Society Volodymyr SYVOKHIP spoke about the celebratory events.

“The 30th Virtuosos Festival is of a particularly large scale. Four different orchestras have already performed, including the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra conducted by Roman Kofman; [there were] interesting soloists, and various programs, which enjoyed full houses. So the hope that the event would be especially festive has come true. Our festival continues the traditions established 30 years ago, when top performers from different countries came to Lviv, a center of European culture. The only difference is that then the performers came from Soviet republics, and now these are soloists and orchestras from Europe and the US, including stars that have taken part in the festival for many years and whom we eagerly expect, like Oleh Krysa, Mykhailo Kats, Volodymyr Vynnytsky, Natalia Khoma, Borys Blokh, as well as newcomers.”

What is the festival’s program like?

“Our festival mainly consists of classical music pieces, i.e., history itself has chosen the composers and works which are part of the ‘golden’ funds of many orchestras, conductors, and soloists. At first we saw what the musicians could offer, and decided whether the works would fit the Lviv Philharmonic. For example, we invited former Lviv resident Sophia Soloviy: knowing the possibilities of her wonderful voice, a coloratura soprano, we asked her to sing pieces that are rarely performed; the concert will be entitled Viva Amadeus, featuring fragments from the operas by Mozart and Rossini. And we offered our Lviv violinist Nazar Pylatiuk to perform Benjamin Britten’s concert for violin: the work was performed during the launch of the Virtuosos, and we combined it with Gustav Mahler’s symphony, with Fiser Silkenova singing. So, we tried to merge the concept of a festive opening, on the one hand, and set a goal of performing more recent classical works, from the 20th century. Why were Mahler’s works performed at the opening of the Virtuosos? Because this month Europe, especially Austria and the Czech Republic are actively commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death, and last year marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of this world-renowned composer and conductor. Or, for example, there is a special project we discussed with Oleh Krysa a year ago: he promised that he would present the Virtuosos and his native Lviv with a unique project, which not all violinists of world fame can perform. I am speaking about the five concerts for violin, united under the title Gala-Mozart, which Krysa will perform together with the Youth Symphonic orchestra INSO-Lviv. They will perform Mozart’s famous symphony Concertante, but Krysa will play the viola – he is a masterful violist – and his son, Petro Krysa, will play the violin. It will be also interesting for the audience to see the Dnipropetrovsk musicians – the orchestra is entitled Seasons and is conducted by Dmytro Lohvin. The Dnipropetrovsk musicians will be united with the orchestra Lviv Virtuosos, and the double string orchestra will perform Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Rodion Shchedrin’s works, initially composed for a big lineup of musicians, during the concert Music Meridians.”

Is the question of funding less problematic this year?

“We don’t want to depend on the government’s support, because it is inconstant. This budgetary year has not yet started either in the city, or in oblast, so we haven’t received any of funding that we desire and expect. We have received miserable funding from the state. They may as well not have given any. On the other hand, we should do a good promotion of the festival, and whether we like it or not, we should sell tickets, though the revenue won’t go for the development of the philharmonic society. The selling of tickets covers the festival expenses to some insignificant extent – brining and accommodating soloists and paying their honoraria. On the other hand, it is gratifying to stress that the forum does find partners and sponsors. They include the bank Kredyt Dnipro, a Dnipropetrovsk bank which opened its regional office in Lviv on the same day the Virtuosos was launched. We also receive support from the hotels, which accommodate the performers at discount prices.”

The program is too big to go and see all the concerts. Have you decided what you are going to listen to?

“I have heard all of today’s performances. Each of them was impressively perfect, with a high level of performing skills and various musical interpretations. I am waiting for the retro songs by Anatolii Kos-Anatolsky in the concert ‘The Carpathian Tango.’”

Who initiated this program?

“This is a brainchild of our philharmonic musical society Vysoky Zamok and its head Andrii Yatskiv, who has stayed in touch with Nadia Kos and found part of Anatolii Kos-Anatolsky’s archives that had not been made public yet. At the moment the preparation of this program is underway – the last arrangements to the works are being accomplished, and the singers are mastering the works. It seems to me it will be a real discovery, not only for the philharmonic society, but for Lviv as well. Kos-Anatolsky was a remarkable personality in all the spheres in which he worked – as a lawyer, composer, poet, and a performer.”

Have you analyzed your target audience?

“The audience is changing as years pass. It is good that new people come to the concerts. Maybe there are not as many of them as we would like to see, but they do come. There are bankers and lawyers, as well as teachers of higher educational establishments. Average city residents come too. Sometimes we can hear Polish or Russian speech. And sometimes we identify the audience’s nationality by its refined American or German-Austrian accent. Our neighbors from Drohobych and Ternopil come as well. So people take interest in the Virtuosos. On the other hand, there are fewer musicians among the audience, which is a pity. Of course, we can reproach them for this, because they should see these concerts for their professional development, pedagogical activity – even for their spiritual enrichment. But everyone makes their own choice.”