UCMF: Music and Revolution in Ukraine

Ukraine’s musical history has been intimately tied to moments of political revolution. Our Saturday events feature works of revolutionary composers and their musical responses to oppression and liberation.

The program will open with three academic talks on various composers and their musical interactions with political change. Dr. Inessa Bazayev (Lousiana State University) will discuss the unique compositional approaches of one of Ukraine’s early Soviet avant-garde composers and the ways in which his music reflected his responses to the developments of Communism. Dr. Peter Schmelz (Arizona State University, current Guggenheim fellow) will discuss one of Ukraine’s most important living composers, Valentyn Sylvestrov, providing an overview of his career and comparing his works from the 1960s to more recent compositions. Dr. Leah Batstone (Hunter College, CUNY) will explore the changing landscape of music in Ukraine following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. These talks will be complemented by a concert of works from Roslavets, Sylvestrov, and those responding to the events on Maidan.

SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS Inessa Bazayev, “Experiments with Synthetic Chords: Nikolai Roslavets’ Middle Period Works” Peter Schmelz, “Meditations on Sylvestrov, from Revolution to Revolution” Leah Batstone, “Constructing a National Canon: Ukraine’s Musical Landscape since 2014”

CONCERT PROGRAM TO INCLUDE Nikolai Roslavets, Meditation for cello and piano Valentyn Sylvestrov, Songs for Vasyl Slipak and Kitsch Music Ostap Manulyak, Oracle for ensemble Ivan Taranenko, Global Bells for piano Svyatoslav Lunyov, Dances of New Russians for two pianos Yevhen Stankovych, Maidan Fresco for violin and piano Karmella Tsepkolenko, Cycles of the Black Moon for violin and piano Serhii Zazhytko, To Samuel Beckett for bass and actor Ludmila Yurina, Shadows and Ghosts for solo piano

PERFORMERS INCLUDING Valeriya Sholokhova, cello Joanna Mieleszko, soprano Pavel Gintov, piano Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin Shelest Piano Duo Claudia Knafo, piano Quynh Nguyen, piano Gleb Kanasevich, clarinet Marina Kifferstein, violin Erin Lensing, oboe Tessa Pettit, horn Remy Taghavi, bassoon Lindsay Eckenroth, flute

4:00 PM Music and Revolution in Ukraine: Panel Discussion

6:00 PM CONCERT

Please join us after the concert at the Ukrainian Institute of America for food and drinks with our composers, speakers and musicians, as well as entertainment from exquisite Ukrainian jazz pianist, Fima Chupakhin!