#ClassicsaDay #UkrrainisnClassics Week 4

 For several years, the Classics a Day team has made Soviet composers the theme for May. This, of course, was inspired by May Day. For many, though, the terms "Soviet" and "Russian" have become conflated. Many composers active in the Soviet Era were actually from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia -- and Ukraine. This year the team chose to make Ukrainian classical music the theme for May.

The challenge is to post music from Ukrainian composers. Some were subjects of Imperial Russia. Others were citizens of the USSR. And some live in the independent nation of Ukraine. 

In my research, I found two common threads running through the history of Ukrainian classical music. The first is that Ukrainian composers were proud of their heritage and expressed it through music. The second is that the Russian rulers, be they Czars or Commissars, continually sought to obliterate Ukrainian culture.

We celebrate what survives with this month's theme. Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #UkrainianClassics

5/23/22 Stefania Turkewich (1898–1977) - Symphony No. 2

Turkewich is considered Ukraine's first female composer. Her music was frequently played before World War II. She emigrated to the UK in 1946. In response, Soviet authorities banned her music from publication or performance in Ukraine.

5/24/22 Yakiv Stepovy (1883–1921) - Three Morceaux, Op. 14

Stepovy founded the Ukraine State Vocal Quartet. He also published several collections of music for children. Most of his works were written for piano.

5/25/22 Sydir Vorobkevych (1836–1903) - Trio "Nocturne"

Vorobkevych made a deep study of Ukrainian music and literature, which informed his own compositions. He was also a poet and published several didactic music collections. Vorobkevych was also an Eastern Orthodox priest. Most of his 240 works are liturgical.

5/26/22 Kyrylo Stetsenko (1882–1922) - Evening Song

Statsenko was head of the Ministry of Education's Music Section for the Ukrainian People's Republic. The republic gained independence in 1917. At first, the USSR recognized the republic. But they soon withdrew it. Soviet troops overran the country in 1920 and ending Ukraine's independence and forcing it to join the USSR. Stetsenko lost his position and died shortly after during a typhus outbreak.

5/27/2 Virko Baley (1938 - ) - Symphony No. 1 "Sacred Monuments"

Baley was born in Ukraine and has spent most of his professional life in the U.S. He wrote the score to the Ukrainian film "Swan Lake, The Zone," and served as guest conductor for the Kyiv Camerata.

Next month: 

#ClassicsaDay #UkrainianClassics Week 3

 For several years, the Classics a Day team has made Soviet composers the theme for May. This, of course, was inspired by May Day. For many, though, the terms "Soviet" and "Russian" have become conflated. Many composers active in the Soviet Era were actually from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia -- and Ukraine. This year the team chose to make Ukrainian classical music the theme for May.

The challenge is to post music from Ukrainian composers. Some were subjects of Imperial Russia. Others were citizens of the USSR. And some live in the independent nation of Ukraine. 

In my research, I found two common threads running through the history of Ukrainian classical music. The first is that Ukrainian composers were proud of their heritage and expressed it through music. The second is that the Russian rulers, be they Czars or Commissars, continually sought to obliterate Ukrainian culture.

We celebrate what survives with this month's theme. Here are my posts for the third week of #UkrainianClassics

5/16/22 Sergii Bortkevych (1877–1952) - Piano Concerto No. 1

Circumstances forced Bortkevych to live most of his life away from his native land. His style blends the late-Romantic pianism of Liszt and Scriabin blended with Ukrainian folk music.

5/17/22 Artemy Vedel (1767-1808) -O God, the proud are risen against me

Though acknowledged as one of Ukraine's (and Imperial Russia's) greatest choral composers, Vedel's creativity was hindered by politics. His works were banned in 1799 when he was accused of treason. He was sent to a mental hospital and banned from composition for life. 80 of his works survive, but many more were lost.

5/18/22 Semen Hulak-Artemovsky (1813-1873) - Andriy's Prayer, from "Cossacks in Exile"

As a baritone, Hulak-Artemovsky sang in over 50 operas. He was the first Ukrainian to compose an opera. His third, "Cossacks in Exile" (1863) is the most popular.

05/19/22 Mykola Dyletsky (1630–1690) - 4-Part Liturgy 7 'Cherubic Hymn'

Dyletsky was both a composer and theorist. His 1677 "A Musical Grammer" greatly influenced composers of the Russian Empire in the late 1700's.

05/20/22 Levko Revutsky (1889–1977) - Symphony No. 2 in E major, Op. 12

Revutsky's 1926 symphony is considered a masterwork of Ukrainian classical music. It's a synthesis of Ukrainian folk music and Western classical tradition.

#ClassicsaDay #UkrainianClassics Week 2

 For several years, the Classics a Day team has made Soviet composers the theme for May. This, of course, was inspired by May Day. For many, though, the terms "Soviet" and "Russian" have become conflated. Many composers active in the Soviet Era were actually from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia -- and Ukraine. This year the team chose to make Ukrainian classical music the theme for May.

The challenge is to post music from Ukrainian composers. Some were subjects of Imperial Russia. Others were citizens of the USSR. And some live in the independent nation of Ukraine. 

In my research, I found two common threads running through the history of Ukrainian classical music. The first is that Ukrainian composers were proud of their heritage and expressed it through music. The second is that the Russian rulers, be they Czars or Commissars, continually sought to obliterate Ukrainian culture.

We celebrate what survives with this month's theme. Here are my posts for the second week of #UkrainianClassics

5/9/22 Mykola Leontovych (1877–1921) - A scene from "The Water Nymphs' Feast"

Leontovych, composer of "Carol of the Bells" wrote primarily choral music. His goal was to develop a national Ukrainian style. Leontovych was working on this opera whne he was assassinated by a Chekist (Soviet state security) agent.

5/10/22 Vasyl Barvinsky (1888–1963) - Piano Concerto in F minor

Barvinsky was an internationally recoginzed composer when he was denounced by Soviet authorities in 1948. He was imprisoned for 10 years, and his music suppressed. Most of his works are lost, destroyed by the NKVD. Fortunately, some were published outside the USSR.

5/11/22 Sebastian z Felsztyna (1480/1490?–after 1543) - Felix es Sacra Virgo

Sebastian is often credited as a Polish composer. He was born in Felsztyn (modern-day Skelivka, in Ukraine). He studied in Krakow, then went to Felsztyn as a chaplain. Only three of his motets survive.

5/12/22 Marcin Leopolita (1537–1584) - Missa paschalis

Leoplita was born in Lviv, and served at the court of Zygmunt August, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. His Missa paschalis is the only mass from 16th Century Poland to survive.

5/13/22 Dmytri Bortnyansky (1751–1825) - Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major

Bortniansky spent 10 years in Venice, studying and composing. He returned to join the court of Catherine the Great. He's known primarily for his sacred choral works, which demonstrate mastery of polyphony.

#ClassicsaDay #UkrainianClassics Week 1

 For several years, the Classics a Day team has made Soviet composers the theme for May. This, of course, was inspired by May Day. For many, though, the terms "Soviet" and "Russian" have become conflated. Many composers active in the Soviet Era were actually from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia -- and Ukraine. This year the team chose to make Ukrainian classical music the theme for May.

The challenge is to post music from Ukrainian composers. Some were subjects of Imperial Russia. Others were citizens of the USSR. And some live in the independent nation of Ukraine. 

In my research, I found two common threads running through the history of Ukrainian classical music. The first is that Ukrainian composers were proud of their heritage and expressed it through music. The second is that the Russian rulers, be they Czars or Commissars, continually sought to obliterate Ukrainian culture.

We celebrate what survives with this month's theme. Here are my posts for the first week of #UkrainianClassics

5/2/22 Borys Lyatoshynsky (1895–1968) Symphony No. 3 "Peace Shall Defeat War"

The work was premiered by the Kyiv Philharmonic in 1951. Soviet authorities objected to the symphony's message. Lyatoshynsky had to rewrite the work and remove the subtitle.

5/3/22 Mykola Roslavets (1881–1944) - Piano Sonata No. 1

Sometimes called the "Ukrainian Schoenberg," this composer's music was suppressed by Soviet authorities from the 1930s through the end of his life.

5/4/22 Maksym Berezovsky (1745–1777) - Symphony in C major

Berezovsky is credited as the first Ukrainian composer to write an opera, a violin sonata, and a symphony. Most of his music is lost, but this c.1770 symphony was rediscovered in 2002.

5/5/22 Mykhaylo Verbytsky (1815–1870) - Symphony No. 7 in A major

Verbytsky was a Greek Catholic priest, and full-time composer. He wrote the music for the Ukrainian national anthem. This is the seventh of his nine symphonies, composed in 1865.

5/6/22 Mykola Leontovych (1877–1921) - Shchedryk, shchedryk

Leontovych wrote this composition, based on a traditional Ukrainian folk chant. The English version, "Carol of the Bells," is a Christmas staple, though Leontovych is seldom credited as the composer.