European Voices: Bach, Berezovskyi and Bortnianskyi
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 7:00 PM 

Music at the Institute (MATI) presents an evening bringing together the music of Ukrainian composers Maksym Berezovskyi (1745-1777) and Dmytro Bortnianskyi (1751–1825) with the sonatas of J. S. Bach. Born in Hlukhiv, Berezovskyi and Bortnianskyi built remarkable careers in Europe’s major musical centers, becoming leading figures of Ukraine’s 18th-century musical “Golden Age.” Heard alongside Bach, their works reveal a shared mastery of counterpoint and highlight Ukraine’s deep and enduring place within the European classical tradition. 

Violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv and harpsichordist Andrew Rosenblum unite to perform a program pairing masterpieces by J.S. Bach, Maksym Berezovskyi and Dmytro Bortnianskyi. 

Honoring the memory of author and poet Yuriy Tarnawsky, a long standing and active member of the UIA. The evening is generously supported by the Tarnawsky family. 

The MATI program is a ticketed event and advance registration is requested. A light reception will follow the concert.

General Admission: $30
UIA Friends, Seniors, and Students: $25
UIA Members: $20

PROGRAM
J. S. Bach
Sonata No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1014, for violin and harpsichord

Maksym Berezovskyi
Sonata in C major, for violin and piano

Dmytro Bortnianskyi
Sonata in F major, for harpsichord

J. S. Bach
Sonata No. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017, for violin and harpsichord

J. S. Bach
Sonata No. 6 in G major, BWV 1019c, for violin and harpsichord

PERFORMED BY

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin
Andrew Rosenblum, harpsichord

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Solomiya Ivakhiv, Professor of Violin and Viola and Head of Strings at the University of Connecticut, and Professor of Violin at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, was named a Merited Artist of Ukraine (2021). She is Artistic Director of Music at the Institute (MATI) in New York and the Caspian Music Festival in Vermont. Her recordings for NAXOS, Brilliant Classics, and Centaur feature both Ukrainian composers and major classical repertoire, and she is a dedicated champion of new music with numerous world premieres to her credit.

Andrew Rosenblum enjoys a multifaceted career as a pianist and harpsichordist, having performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and The Kennedy Center. A prize winner at the 2018 International Bach Competition Leipzig and the 2017 Prague Spring International Music Competition, he has appeared as harpsichord soloist with the Leipziger Barockorchester, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, Collegium 1704, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Passionate about new music and lesser-known works, he has served on the Piano Faculty of the Heifetz International Music Institute since 2015.

IN MEMORIAM 

Yuriy Tarnawsky (1934–2025), a Ukrainian-American poet, writer, linguist, translator, and scholar whose extraordinary life and work connected Ukrainian cultural heritage with the experimental artistic world of postwar New York. A cofounder of the New York Group, he published some forty volumes of poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and translations in Ukrainian and English. His work was deeply shaped by Ukrainian language and heritage, as well as by his lifelong engagement with experimentation, linguistics, and music. A trained engineer and linguist, he worked in artificial intelligence at IBM and later taught Ukrainian literature and culture at Columbia University. His literary work drew inspiration from music, including the structures of J. S. Bach, and he wrote the libretto for Ukrainian-American composer Virko Baley’s opera Not Medea. Tarnawsky was awarded Ukraine’s Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise in 2008 and was inducted into the NCE 100 Hall of Fame in 2019. His literary archive is preserved at Columbia University. 

The Ukrainian Institute of America is delighted to welcome internationally acclaimed conductor Oksana Lyniv for a special evening of conversation about her pioneering career, the barriers she has broken as a Ukrainian woman, and the remarkable, often overlooked legacy of Ukrainian artists on the international opera stage.

The evening will include an audience Q&A, followed by a light reception. Advance registration is requested.

Tickets: $35 General Admission | $30 UIA Friend | $25 UIA Member | $25 Wagner Society of New York Member

About Oksana Lyniv
Oksana Lyniv is one of the world’s leading conductors and a trailblazer in international opera. In 2021, she made history as the first woman to conduct at Germany’s prestigious Bayreuth Festival, opening the season with Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. She went on to become the first woman to serve as music director of an Italian opera house, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and in 2024 became the first Ukrainian conductor to lead a production at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Her distinguished career has taken her to the world’s foremost opera houses and concert stages, including the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera.

A passionate advocate for Ukrainian music and the next generation of artists, Lyniv founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 2016 and the LvivMozArt International Classical Music Festival. She actively champions Ukrainian culture internationally while helping young musicians displaced by the war continue their musical education.

We are pleased to welcome India Hicks and her son, Amory Flint Wood, back to the Ukrainian Institute of America for a conversation about their humanitarian missions to Ukraine with Global Empowerment Mission (GEM)—what inspires them to go, the people they have met, and their personal experiences and reflections from their time on the ground.

India and Amory will be in conversation with Katya Soldak, Kharkiv-born journalist and editorial director of Forbes Media‘s international editions, and director of the documentary The Long Breakup, which chronicles Ukraine’s struggle for independence through the experiences of her family and friends.

The event will include an audience Q&A, followed by a light reception.

Advance registration is requested.

Tickets: $30 General Admission | $25 Friend | $20 UIA Member

India Hicks is a British designer, author, entrepreneur, and humanitarian whose career spans fashion, interiors, and lifestyle design. The daughter of celebrated interior designer David Hicks, she has authored several books, modeled for Ralph Lauren, and collaborated with leading fashion and lifestyle brands.

Alongside her creative career, India has devoted considerable energy to humanitarian work, including disaster relief efforts in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian. She serves on the Executive Board of Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), an international humanitarian organization providing emergency relief and longer-term recovery assistance to communities affected by disasters and conflict.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has made numerous humanitarian missions to the country with GEM, personally helping deliver aid and meeting with communities affected by the war. She has sometimes been accompanied by her sons, including Amory, who has joined her on several missions. As of a recent account, India had made ten visits to Ukraine and Amory four. Their shared experiences offer a deeply personal perspective on the human impact of the war and the importance of continued humanitarian support.