"News from Ukraine". 1992. Oct. №44 (1240)

Nina Shurova

"Kyiv Music Fest'92"

"The Burnt Malva" is the title of a cantata by young composer Halyna Ovcharenko (NFU wrote about her in its issue 12, 1992, which, by the way, was the first publication about her). This work is dedicated to the genocidal Famine in Ukraine in the 1930s, and the author submitted it to the Second Composers Competition named after Marian and Ivanna Kots. The theme of the famine was compulsory for this competition held within the framework of the annual international Ukrainian festival "Kyiv Music Fest".

That the cantata of a young unknown composer passed the first round of the competition tells its own tale, when even such experienced composers as Ivan Karabyts and Yuri Ishchenko, Ovcharenko's teacher, failed. In addition to Ovcharenko's cantata only six works got to the second round to be performed at the festival and judged by the international jury — "Cry and Prayer" by Valentyn Bibik, "Pro memoria" by Gennadi Liashenko, "Con mesto sereno" by Volodymyr Runchak, "Spectra" by John Anthony Lennon (USA) and "Threnody" by Zbigniev Baginski (Poland). In all, there were four Ukrainian composers among them — the experienced and refined symphonist Gennadi Liashenko, of Kyiv, Valentyn Bibik, of Kharkiv, a composer of international renown in Ukrainian music; Volodymyr Runchak, of Kyiv, a young musician who has already written and performed a lot of musical pieces; and Halyna Ovcharenko, who is still under thirty. The jury, which included conductor Theodore Kuchar (Australia) and composers Walter Zimmermann (Germany), Olgerd Pisarenko (Poland), Myroslav Skoryk (Ukraine) and Lowell Liebermann (USA), awarded Halyna Ovcharenko an honorary prize for the best work by a young composer. Really, the performance of the cantata with its heartfelt tragical core — the touching prayer "God, Don't Let Us Die" for a child's voice which crowns the cantata — was quite a success then (although it was far from being perfect because of the complexity which it posed to the choir, the reciter and the orchestra).

The festival, however, did not boil down to a competition alone. Sixteen concerts of symphony and chamber music (there was also a concert of American popular music performed by the band "Weekend Wages") also took place. Performed were works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Brams, Stravinsky, Shnitke, Denisov and other early and living classics. The American music included Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, John Adams and Virko Baley. It is simply impossible to consider the latter only it composer — he is also a tireless popularizer of Ukrainian music in America and American music in Ukraine. This time he was again the life and soul of the "Kyiv Music Fest". As ever, the energy of Virko Baley supported everything, be it the arrangement of the concepts and the judgement of the jury or holding press conferences. As conductor, Virko Baley opened and closed the festival. The music composed by him was performed at the final concert. It was a tragic Concerto for violin and orchestra, a requiem concert inspiredly performed by American violinist Yury Mazurkevich, a concerto which combined West Ukrainian and American intonations.

Many of the work were first performed at the festival. For example, the first concert began with the elegy symphony "Vorzel" composed by Leonid Hrabovsky in the USA this year (he lives there now). This deeply psychological symphony is full of nostalgia (the Ukrainian Composers Center is situated in Vorsel, in the environs of Kyiv). It seemed to be inspired by the music of Borys Liatoshynsky, the founder of Ukrainian symphony music school (the theme of the brilliant Third Symphony by Liatoshynsky was intricately interwoven with Hrabovsky's music). The emotional "Diptych" for a string orchestra by Myroslav Skoryk produced a strong impression. Expressive was "The Prayer of Kateryna" for a children's choir, reciter and orchestra by Ivan Karabyts. Both works were intenationally premiered at the festival. However, the list of the premiered works could be continued.

An important event of the festival was the "International Forum of Youth Music" held within the framework of the festival this year. The "Forum" featured seven concerts of youth music by composers both known and unknown to the public at large. Among the highlights of the "Forum" were "Homo ludus" for a flute and piano by Volodymyr Runchak and "Aria Passione" for a voice and an ensemble by Ihor Shcherbakov. It was also a pleasure to hear the music of Dutch American David Little, Macedonian Gotse Kolarovsky, Armenian Vashe Sharafian and many others. The young performers who presented this music did their best to put across its best qualities to the audience.

Generally speaking, the level of the festival has increased considerably compared with last year. The musicians performed better. The orchestras of Kyiv Opera and Dnipropetrovsk Philharmonic Society were a special success. The interest of music lovers in the festival increased too. If my previous reviews of similar festivals mentioned empty halls, this time everything differed much. True enough, the public did not storm the concert halls, yet the houses were not empty. A number of U.S. publishing houses, as well as "Air France", "Lufthansa" and the "Steinway Foundation" sponsored the "Kyiv Music Fest". Outstanding violinist Yehudi Menukhin sent a message of greetings from overseas to the festival. One could feel that the festival was gaining in scope and popularity.