Vivaldi Code

The evening concert will be held at the National House of Organ and Chamber Music and sponsored by the Italian Institute of Culture in Ukraine.

The project’s coordinator, re­nowned pianist and harpsichordist Natalia Sikorska told The Day:

“The Vivaldi Code program pre­sents baroque music, ranging from solo harpsichord toccatas and short chamber sonatas to the celebrated Vivaldi’s concerts for several so­loists, string ensemble and two harpsichordists. It will be performed by the renowned violinist, sambo wrest­ler and conductor Nazar Ko­zhu­khar and his famed The Pocket Symphony ensemble from Mos­cow. In addition to baroque violins and a viola, the Russians will bring to Kyiv the widest possible range of viols and violas de gambas, while a piece for a consort of viols will be the program’s high point. Throughout the program, authentic antique instruments will be used, having sinew strings only, so as to create the unique sound of a baroque string ensemble! The London-based baroque oboist Alexander Koshelev will be the special guest of the evening, while the Moscow ensemble will be joined for the event by the baroque bassoonist from St. Petersburg Konstantin Yakovlev.”

The concert will involve Ukrai­nian musicians, too, who joined the ensemble after taking practical classes in playing the antique instruments and elements of baroque performing style which Kozhukhar had held in Kyiv. A special place in the program belongs to the work that will be performed in Ukraine for the first time. It will be one of Bernardo Pasquini’s 14 sonatas for two harpsichords, notated as two basso continuo parties, requiring both musicians to show their abilities to interpret conventional figured bass notation and create missing voices.

The sonata’s performers will be the harpsichordist duo of Stanislav Gres from Moscow and Natalia Sikor­ska from Kyiv.