Kyiv Symphony Orchestra

Kyiv Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra
The orchestra playing at the Kurhaus Wiesbaden on 28 April 2022
Founded1980s
LocationKyiv, Ukraine
Principal conductorLuigi Gaggero
Websitekyivsymphony.com/en/
The orchestra on an open-air stage under a vaulted white tent roof; in front of it a large audience.
In 2022, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra performed on Ukraine's National Day as part of an open-air concert in Gera's Hofwiesenpark - a thank-you for hospitality and generosity.[1]

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra (Ukrainian: Київський симфонічний оркестр) is a Ukrainian symphony orchestra based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It has been conducted by Luigi Gaggero since 2018. The orchestra played music by Ukrainian composers on a tour to major concert halls in Poland and Germany, beginning in April 2022.

History

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1979, during the time of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[2] It was previously known as the Kyiv Fantastic Orchestra and the State Academic Variety Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.[3]

From 2005 to 2018, the artistic director of the State Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine was Mykola Lysenko, great-great-grandson of famous Ukrainian composer.[4] In 2017, the orchestra director was changed — Oleksandr Zaitsev was appointed instead of Serhii Fedorenko. The latter, in turn, fired the artistic director, Mykola Lysenko, and invited Bohdan Pushchak, a native of Donetsk, to replace him. The orchestra received an unofficial name Kyiv Fantastic orchestra.[5]

Since 2018 the chief conductor has been Luigi Gaggero.[6] He came to Ukraine as a performing percussionist around 2012, and was impressed by the quiet attention of the audience, listening like to a spiritual message ("geistige Botschaft"). Gaggero was born in Italy, studied in Germany, has taught in France, and has a vision of building Europe.[2] The orchestra has toured in Spain and the Netherlands.[2] They have played at national occasions, such as the 30th anniversary of independence in 2021. The orchestra has run an orchestra academy.[7]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the orchestra was invited to play a series of concerts in Poland and Germany, beginning with a concert in Warsaw on 21 April.[8] The tour was approved not only by the Ministry of Culture, but also the Ministry of Defense, permitting male players to leave the country.[2][9] They have performed in Germany at the Kulturpalast in Dresden,[10] Leipzig,[2] the Berliner Philharmonie, the Kurhaus Wiesbaden as part of the Rheingau Musik Festival,[11] Freiburg, the Kuppelsaal of the Stadthalle Hannover, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Hofwiesenpark in Gera.[7][12][1] The performers were allowed to be accompanied by their families and children.[8]

The program of the tour is focused on Ukrainian music, with works by Maxim Berezovsky, Myroslav Skoryk and Borys Lyatoshynsky.[2] The program for Wiesbaden combined Berezovsky's Symphony in C major from the 1770s with Chausson's Poème for violin and orchestra, Op. 25, and Skoryk's Melody in A minor (1982).[10][11] The violinist there was Aleksey Semenenko.[11] The program ended with Lyatoshynsky's Symphony No. 3, Op. 50 (1951) in its original form, with the final movement themed: "Peace will conquer war."[6][11][13]

References

  1. ^ a b mdr.de. "Kyiv Symphony Orchestra gibt Dankes-Konzert in Gera | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Ernst, Michael (25 April 2022). "Sinfonieorchester Kiew : Die Ukraine existiert, das zeigen wir mit Kunst, Geschichte und Musik!". FAZ (in German). Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Хіти з голлівудських стрічок зіграють у Києві" [Hits from Hollywood films will play in Kyiv]. Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Правнук Лисенка: Мене викинули на вулицю - Культура - dt.ua". 2019-04-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  5. ^ Gazeta.ua (2018-10-03). "Хіти з голлівудських стрічок зіграють у Києві". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  6. ^ a b "Ukrainische Musik in Zeiten des Krieges / Das Kyiv Symphony Orchestra gastiert in der Philharmonie Berlin" (in German). Berliner Philharmoniker. 2022. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022. Borys Ljatoschynskyj... erregte mit seiner Musik immer wieder das Missfallen des Sowjet-Regimes. So musste er das Finale seiner Dritten Symphonie, das das Motto »Der Friede wird den Krieg besiegen« trug, komplett umarbeiten. Das Kyiv Symphony Orchestra stellt uns das Werk in seiner Urfassung von 1951 vor. (Borys Lyatoshynskyj... repeatedly aroused the displeasure of the Soviet regime with his music. For example, he had to completely rework the finale of his Third Symphony, which bore the motto 'Peace will conquer war'. The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra presents the work in its original version from 1951.)
  7. ^ a b "Kyiv Symphony Orchestra kommt auf Deutschland-Tour". musik-heute.de (in German). 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b ""Culture triumphs over evil": Kyiv Symphony Orchestra woos Warsaw and performs for first time since invasion". thefirstnews.com. 2022. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  9. ^ "'I Will Remember This Forever': Kyiv Orchestra Begins European Tour". Radio Free Europe. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022. Ukrainian males aged 18-60 are currently forbidden from leaving their country and several members of the Kyiv orchestra had to apply for permission to go abroad. The musicians will perform the work of several Ukrainian composers, including a Borys Lyatoshynsky symphony inspired by World War II, with the theme of peace overcoming war.
  10. ^ a b "Sonderkonzert / Das Kyiv Symphony Orchestra" (PDF) (in German). Dresden Philharmonic. 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d "Kyiv Symphony Orchestra / Luigi Gaggero, Leitung / Aleksey Semenenko, Violine". Rheingau Musik Festival. 2022. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Kyiv Symphony Orchestra / Luigi Gaggero / Fundraising concert for Ukrainehilfe Hamburg". Elbphilharmonie. 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  13. ^ Kösterke, Doris (29 April 2022). "Musik, die etwas bewegen will". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 29 May 2022.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyiv Symphony Orchestra.