On a high note

I met an outstanding modern Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych on the occasion of an extraordinary event: he had just returned home after a big US concert tour.

“AMERICANS KNOW MANY OF OUR MUSICIANS”

“I had been in the US for almost a month on an invitation from violinist Solomia Soroka and her husband, pianist Arthur Greene. Solomia is a pupil of Ukrainian violin school, Arthur had studied in Juilliard, that is American. They are brilliant musicians, with significant experience,” said Stankovych in an interview to The Day. “Both of them are professors: Arthur at the University of Michigan, one of the best in America, which is located in the town of Ann Arbor; Solomia works at a huge college in Goshen. Solomia and Arthur are enthusiasts of modern music, and (which is very important) of Ukrainian music. Arthur has even started to speak Ukrainian. They also actively promote Ukrainian classics in America and Europe, thus bringing remarkable benefits to our culture.

“More than a year ago the musicians turned to me asking for some works for violin and piano. I sent them the notes, and they recorded and released a CD in England at Toccata Classic studio. Our tour was actually a presentation of the CD in several US cities.”

Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day

Which cities did you visit?

“The tour began in Chicago, followed by Detroit, Ann Arbor, Goshen, Jackson, Washington, and in the end – New York. Almost every concert was a full house. Basically the audiences were students and teachers of higher educational institutions and, of course, representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora. In Ann Arbor we met with the youth at their specific request. The students were interested in the peculiarities of our composers’ learning, in the curriculum differences, in their peers’ interests, etc.

“The concert in Washington took place at a rather large hall of Ukrainian Museum. I am very grateful to Liudmyla Mazuka – wife of our ambassador to the US – that she came to the concert.

“The US has a greatly developed Ukrainian community, an intellectual one, which has been living there for many years, occupies prominent positions and takes us with great interest. They know what is happening in our country, and they are very sympathetic to our culture and strongly contribute to make it ‘sound’: they organize exhibitions of Ukrainian paintings, literature and poetry, film screenings, concerts and more.

“They are very closely monitoring every event and want us to get up on our legs and stand firmly. I must express great appreciation for their attitude to Ukraine. They support us, they are watching us and want to communicate. And the best form of communication is music and art.

“Americans know many of our musicians. For example, I was shown the church which had seen the successful performance of Kyiv Choir with Mykola Hobdych.”

Please, tell us about your meeting with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which is currently on tour in the US.

“I did not know the exact route of our symphony orchestra. I met them in Goshen. Musicians did not recognize me at first – thought that I was some sort of a ghost. I was just in the concert hall in which Solomia Soroka works, and they came to a rehearsal.

“Their tour is an outstanding event, not even for America, but for Ukraine in its 25 years of independence. Our musicians have once again proven that we have a team worthy of the world’s best orchestras! And look how many enthusiastic reviews their performances got! And then you should compare working conditions of our musicians, who do not even have a decent rehearsal base, and that of the leading orchestras of the world... The highest praise was given to Ukrainian soloists Oleksii Hryniuk and Dmytro Tkachenko. The audiences gave them standing ovations. The performances were conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko and Theodore Kuchar.

“Now, when we witness the reforms which, in my opinion, are not related to culture at all, despite all the claims, I think: people work abroad and get huge salaries, and we have such great musicians underestimated. What a nonsense!”

“REVOLUTION IN MUSIC IS IMPOSSIBLE, INDIVIDUALS MATTER EVERYTHING HERE”

Did your last American concert stand out from the rest?

“Indeed. It was organized by the Ukrainian Institute in New York, the artistic director of which is Solomia Ivakhiv – also a prominent Ukrainian violinist and promoter of Ukrainian music. She belongs to the young generation of musicians who actively promote Ukrainian music culture. I think these artists deserve great support and respect, as they do a lot more to present our country to Americans than diplomats.

“Now in New York there are quite often exhibitions and performances of artists, sculptors, musicians. Recently there have been concerts of our young composer Bohdan Kryvopust, who had introduced to the American community not only his own music, but also the works of other Ukrainian maestro. Solomia Ivakhiv is our great promoter.

“My concert was attended by teachers from Juilliard School – pianists, cellists. I even managed to invite our countryman – composer Leonid Hrabovsky. The concert featured my chamber music for various combinations. It was a completely different program.

“Before the concert there was a great discussion on the ways of modern art development.”

What would you like to emphasize after a long visit to the US?

“The very friendly attitude of Americans to those who come from Ukraine. Our country really needs support. We have many extremely talented people who write incredibly interesting music worthy to have the world acquainted with it.

“America is a country which collects all that is most interesting in the world. As for music, it’s mostly the former Soviet composing and performing schools.

“Each professional composer must navigate the world music space, while keeping the right to have their own creative course. There is a tree, and the branches can branch out anywhere. Thank God, music can evolve differently. A composer writes their own music and does not know, whether their works would be played in their lifetime. It depends... A revolution in music is impossible, individuals matter everything here. We are a part of something unknown. And a bright person who shows something interesting will get followers.”