“Spanish night”

The concert at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine featured both popular and little known musical works by Spanish composers. The “Music at Christmas” cycle is a key feature of the charitable project “Artists for the Spiritual Renaissance of Ukraine,” founded by Hanna Seredenko in 2000. The aim of the project is to perform celebrated masterpieces, familiarize the concert-going public with rarely performed works, and enable talented musicians to play together with masters of the Ukrainian and European stage in the best philharmonic halls. During the six years of the project’s existence concerts have taken place in many Ukrainian cities, as well as in Russia, Italy, the Czech Republic, France, and South Korea.

Over the years the project has generated three conceptually different cycles. The cycle “Through the Ages and Borders,” launched in 2002, unites musicians from different countries and generations, who perform the music of composers of various nationalities and eras.

The second cycle, “Debut Creative Lab,” is a popular form of young musicians’ creative activity, which continues the tradition of chamber concerts at the Mykola Lysenko House and Museum.

The third cycle, “Music at Christmas,” founded in 2004, pays homage to the grand traditions of “December Evenings,” initiated by the great Sviatoslav Richter in Moscow. These concerts are held every year as festive Christmas musical soirees at the Lysenko Hall of Columns in the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. The concerts feature Baroque music, Viennese classics, French impressionists, contemporary Ukrainian music, and many other interesting works.

These soirees are noteworthy for their extraordinary music and wonderful performances, as well as colorful theatrical spectacles created by director Olena Negresku. “Spanish Night” was staged with contrasting colors that seemed to symbolize the two countries: hot and passionate Spain and wintry Ukraine on Christmas Eve. One side of the stage was decorated with pink and red colors, with a bunch of flowers and a guitar, the symbol of Spanish music, while the other side was white and blue, with a New Year’s tree covered with snow and lights.

The composers whose works were performed during the concert “Spanish Night” included famous Spaniards alongside Argentineans and Brazilians: Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Isaac Albeniz, Hector Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzolla, as well as such less well known composers, like Joaquin Turina, L. Brauer, and Joaquin Rodrigo. The goal of Ms. Seredenko’s projects is to perform well-known music that is popular with audiences and introduce pieces that are either rarely played in Ukraine or completely unknown. Seredenko draws up the concert repertoire, selects performers, and also participates in the concerts as a pianist.

This time the audience enjoyed performances by a whole constellation of performers. “Seven Folk Songs for Voice and Piano” by Falla were performed by Liudmyla Voinarovska, soloist of the Kyivska Kamerata ensemble (piano: Hanna Seredenko). As usual, the singer charmed the listeners with finessed nuances and great artistry. A huge success was scored by the quartet of saxophonists founded in 1985 by Yurii Vahylevych. The audience was amazed by the Spanish repertoire that was specially adapted for the quartet — three tangos by Piazzolla and Bachiana Brasileira No. 5 (Brazilian Bach piece) by Villa-Lobos, arranged by Frank Bongiorno. The high point of the concert was the quartet’s performance of the famous “Shchedryk” arranged in modern rhythms.

The works by Brauer and Rodrigo were performed by Andrii Ostapenko, the well-known Ukrainian guitarist and winner of various international competitions. The skillful performance of piano and pianissimo was a real coup, but the chamber sound seemed too quiet for the hall of the National Philharmonic. The concert also familiarized the audience with two Trios for violin, cello, and piano by Turina and Granados (violin, Sonia Suldina; cello, Serhii Vakulenko; and piano, Hanna Seredenko).

The concerts from the cycle “Artists for the Spiritual Renaissance of Ukraine” are a marvelous combination of familiar pieces that are always great to hear again, miniatures and big forms that audiences hear for the first time, wonderful Ukrainian and foreign performers, and an elite audience that appreciates classic art above all.