Conductor Pavlo Muravsky: In memoriam
A choir assembly was held at the National Philharmonic Society
This art event was planned when the patriarch of the Ukrainian musical culture, legendary choir organizer of the 20th and 21st century, prominent choral conductor, teacher, Hero of Ukraine Pavlo Muravsky was still alive. The maestro celebrated his 100th birthday this summer and planned to get to the conductor’s stand himself, to offer a creative evening to his students, colleagues, friends, and all fans of choral singing. However, the master’s heart stopped in early October... When saying farewell to Muravsky, his students and friends promised to hold a memorial concert, and kept their word.
“All his students were known as ‘Muravsky’s kids.’ He inspired every one of them not just with skills, but also with love of Ukrainian music, a sense of national intonation. Muravsky’s career was a worthy continuation of that of his teacher Hryhorii Veriovka, as he was constantly improving his skills, and taught his achievements to his choirmaster students,” musicologist Halyna Stepanchenko told The Day.
Muravsky has trained several generations of choirmasters and entrenched the fundamental principles of a capella academic singing, established by the Kyiv choir singing school founded by Oleksandr Koshyts.
The choral assembly’s purpose was to spread artistic principles of Muravsky’s choir singing school and promote the Ukrainian choral culture.
The concert was opened by the Veriovka National Choir of Ukraine (conductor Anatolii Avdiievsky). The public was greeted by guests from the maestro’s native land, People’s Choir Dibrova, conducted by Fedir Ushchapovsky. Various choirs performed, conducted by Muravsky’s students, including Kyiv Children’s Choir Shchedryk (pictured) under the direction of Maryna Sablina, the Municipal Chamber Choir Khreshchatyk (Pavlo Struts), the Revutsky Male Choir (Volodymyr Kurach), the National Maiboroda Bandurist Capella (Yurii Kurach), the National Music Academy of Ukraine’s choir, consisting of undergrads and graduate students of the conducting and choral department, and the National Choir Dumka, conducted by Yevhen Savchuk.
By the way, before the choir assembly started, a design of monument to the maestro was unveiled in the lobby, carved by Danylo Knyshuk. The unveiling was held to the sound of the conductor’s Kobzar in Songs. The concert was accompanied by videos and photos depicting life and artistic and educational career of Muravsky.
