Ukrainian Arts Monitor #12
Max Pyziur
U.A.Monitor 03.11.95
====================
The Ukrainian Arts Monitor
Friday, 03 November 1995
Issue 12
English Edition
The U.A.Monitor is brought to you in part by:
* [On how to become a corporate sponsor,
please contact the UAM office directly]
With technical support by:
* The Laboratory of Information Technologies Ltd
(Lviv, Ukraine) <in...@litech.lviv.ua>
* Burvis Web Creation (New Jersey, USA)
http://www.ukraine.org/
Mass media re-distribution of UAM:
* Kultura i Zhyttia [Culture and Life]
* Radio Lux
* Moloda Halychyna
* Formula Postupu
* Tyzhnevyk Kontakt [Contact]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Inside U.A.Monitor:
Top Story
Current Events
Kyiv, Ukraine - Cultural Exchange
Lviv, Ukraine - Diary of "Contrasts"
Lviv, Ukraine - A Theater Tradition
Lviv, Ukraine - A Composer's Celebration
Lviv, Ukraine - Twinkle, Twinkle
Announcements
Lviv, Ukraine - Opera Festival
Schedule of Up-Coming Events In Lviv
Concerts
Music Festival "Contrasts"
Concert Show
Opera and Ballet
Theater
Miscellaneous
Sponsorship
Subscription
Technical Support
Other Publications
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Copyright 1995, Ukrainian Arts Monitor, SDA Technologies Ltd.
All rights reserved. Please see the end of this publication for
subscription and other important information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TOP STORY
---------
Dear UAM Readers, U.A.Monitor is pleased to be the information
sponsor of "Contrasts" - one of this years most significant events
in Ukrainian cultural life.
In this issue, you will find a supplement prepared by UAM Staff -
"Diary of 'Contrasts'" - chronicling initial impressions of the
concerts in the First International Festival of Contemporary Music
in Lviv, Ukraine.
CURRENT EVENTS
--------------
**CULTURAL EXCHANGE**
Kyiv, Ukraine. On October 19, a special agreement aimed
at initiating cultural and technical cooperation between
France and Ukraine was signed at the Ukrainian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. According to France's General
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, France is helping Ukraine
find "an appropriate place in Europe's Architecture."
The agreement for cooperation has already been reviewed
by several commissions in the Ukrainian parliament and
will be ratified in the near future. --Source: Radio
Lux, October 20, 1995.
**DIARY OF "CONTRASTS"**
The First International Festival of Contemporary Music
"Contrasts" has been the topic of most Lviv cultural circles
this week. One reason is that this festival has ingeniously
united many spheres of art - from theater and dance to music
and painting. An impressionable art exhibition "Forte-Piano,"
commissioned especially for the festival by "Lviv" artist
Vasyl Bazhay, illuminates the multi-dimensional aspects of
the festival, synthesizing a whole range of styles, colors,
and emotions.
Undoubtedly, a lot of work has gone into organizing this
event. A handsome and thorough festival program (134 pages)
in English and Ukrainian give not only the listing of concert
events, but also biographies of composers and performers,
annotations, and even interpretations of a composer's creative
output. Similarly, the concert's selective programming reflect
the festival organizer's commitment to entice both seasoned and
inexperienced listeners to contemplate and enjoy contemporary
music. All of this - except for the program notes - free of
charge! For guest performers, the festival also has proved to
be a real happening. Quality performances and high attendance
make this years "Contrasts" a success: a positive factor in
promoting New Music.
The staff at UAM would like to share with readers some
impressions of the concerts which have already taken place.
Friday, 27 October 1995, 7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall (Tchaikovsky Street, 7)
Not all twentieth century composers can boast that they
have had two of their largest symphonic works included in
single concert program. Is Ukraine's most meditative
composer, Valentyn Sylvestrov, now a classic? Interestingly,
the composer's unique and unpretentious musical style could
have made the second half of the program sound like a
continuation of the first. Fortunately, Jozhef Ermin's piano
interpretation made a vibrant contribution to the latter part
of the program and left an impression of ethereal eternity.
Saturday, 28 October 1995, 7 p.m.
Exhibition Hall of the Lviv Art Gallery (Lychakivska St. 2)
Vasyl Bazhay's art exhibition was the setting of this rather
incisive concert. But was this a good idea? For the artist -
yes and no. Standing spectators, in awe of curious mobiles
and cerebral melodies, often neglected to look under their
feet. The results were several embarrassing "Piano-Forte"
pauses. Who would have thought that the artist's ingenuity
could include a "below-the-knees" glass exposition. If
anything, Cage couldn't have sounded better.
Sunday, 29 October 1995, 7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall
A very convincing performance of Skoryk's Cello Concerto by
laureate of many international competitions, Maria Chaikovska,
left an indelible impression on avid concert goers. A beloved
student of Rostropovych and professor of the Moscow Conservatory,
Chaikovska has been sought after for performances by many leading
composers of Eastern Europe. Lviv audiences will look forward
to her performance of Paul Hindemith's Cello Concerto at the
festival's concluding concert.
Monday, 30 October 1995, 7 p.m.
Les Kurbas Youth Theater (Kurbas Street, 4)
For many of today's composers, mini-operas and mini-ballets
still remain one of the last truly unexplored genres of the
twentieth century. The two works presented during this concert
not only reflect this search within this "new frontier," but
also revive an ancient Ukrainian syncretic art form. Utilizing
serial technique, modern dance, and regional folklore, Ukrainian
composers have been charting new grounds, and Lviv audiences have
been responding vociferously.
Tuesday, 31 October 1995, 7 p.m.
St. Lazar Church
Bath music.
Wednesday, 1 November 1995, 7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall
What is contemporary music? It is the strange mixture of styles
and techniques ranging from the incredibly elaborate to the
relatively simple, however, not less expressive. "There is no
who can do it all, to joke" - Donatoni's Ronda - "and terrify" -
Rihm's Chiffre IV - "to evoke laughter" - Cage's Concerto for Piano
and Orchestra of Variable Ensembles - "and to generate profound
sentiment" -
Schonberg's Streichtrio Op. 45 - "and all equally well: except for..."
the Ensemble Recherche.
--Paul Buckwheat, Anthony Potoczniak, Oksana Zakharchuk, UAM.
**A THEATER TRADITION**
A now long established tradition for the citizens of Lviv
are the "Zankovetskij Evenings," - monthly encounters with
seminal figures of Ukrainian culture and politics, who
exhibit current trends in Ukrainian intellectual circles.
These engagements take place at the Zankovetskij Theater and
are conducted by acclaimed Ukrainian actor, Sviatoslav
Maksymchuk.
This month, the special guest was writer, translator,
and professor of the University of Rome, Oksana Pakhlovska.
She opened the evening with a poetry reading from her
book, "Dolyna Khramiv [The Valley of Temples]" and later,
answered questions from the audience. At present, Oksana
Pakhlovska is an active researcher at the Literature
Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. She is
preparing a monumental work in Italian under the title,
"Ukrainian Culture", which includes themes from the most
ancient times to the present.
The evening also included several musical compositions
based on works by the poetess. Though, one of the more
sensational and reflective parts of the evening were readings
of a new genre in Ukrainian literature. They are called "Flash" -
short novellas written in prose form which range from one to ten
sentences. This particular style, as one can guess from its name,
embraces the moment of an impression. It is an outburst, bright
light of many things, of many different shades, and it is a
cryptic and obscure environment where philosophy, history,
psychology, and even music and colors abound. Here's one
example:
"The Year Three Thousand"
I held something in my hand.
And suddenly it dropped towards
the floor.
It was nowhere to be found.
Already there was no floor,
and there was no Earth.
Sometimes there are terrible truths which we do not want
to accept. But for us, there is also "hope":
"Hope"
...and when in a blazing moment, for no understandable
reason, - suddenly, through my eyes there appear tears -
you, immediately on a sheet of rose colored paper, fastened
to a kitchen counter top, where we write, what to buy
for tomorrow - bread, sugar, parsley, tomatoes, apples, -
write with a fleeting hand: HOPE!
What remains afterwards, is for you to understand.
--Anush Mesropian , UAM.
**A COMPOSER'S CELEBRATION**
Lviv, Ukraine. On October 13th, an anniversary concert
featuring the works of Ukrainian composer from France,
Marian Kouzan, took place in Ludkevych Concert Hall.
The works of Marian Kouzan occupy a special place in both
Ukrainian and French musical culture. Kouzan's music not
only reflects the features of both cultures but also possesses
a rich internal world which is based on spiritual values.
His works have been performed in France, Spain, Luxembourg,
Germany, Japan, Canada, Ukraine, and in the United States.
Kouzan's musical language is definable, accessible, and at
the same time, modern. Perhaps, not by chance, the French
government turned to the composer with a commission to write
a cantata based on the humanitarian theme: "For Love to a
Person".
Marian Kouzan was born in 1925 in the village Isayi (Lviv
Region). When the composer was 2 years old, the family was
forced to emigrate to France. At 8 years, he began his
systematic musical training - first on the violin, then cello,
piano, guitar, and later singing. After completing the Paris
Conservatory in the composition class of George Dandelo, a
student of Faure, Kouzan started his path to "Parnassum".
The source of his creativity, first of all, is the tradition
of his predecessors. Kouzan inherited a love for Ukrainian
folk songs from his mother. The composer himself admitted:
"...I lived with this music throughout my entire childhood,
I breathed through this music, it lullabied me, it formulated
the cells of my body, and all of its vibrations were etched
into my being." From the other side, the influences of
Boulez, Berg, and the New Viennese School, and also a long
lasting friendship with Olivier Messaien are also integral
elements of the composer's creative work.
The evolution of Kouzan as a composer - from the period of
his youthful enthusiasm for musical structural order and
perfection of technique to the organization of musical
expression are the embodiment of an elevated conceptuality.
Interestingly, this conceptuality of form and structure
revealed itself in the most recent concert, which included
works written at various periods of the composer's life:
"Constructor" for symphony orchestra; "Metamorphous" for
violin and symphony orchestra. For many listeners, there
was even a "surprise" - a new work "Duma" written especially
for brass orchestra of the Lviv Polytechnical Institute.
It's necessary to mention separately, the symphonic overture
"Svoboda [Freedom]." This work written under the immediate
impression of the important historical events surrounding the
creation of the newly independent Ukrainian state in 1991.
According to the composer, the idea of freedom is understood
as an internal spiritual liberation. The overture is
monumental, that is, the entire musical development grows
from one single theme - a short four note motive from the
Ukrainian folk melody "Dudaryk." Kouzan masterfully transforms
this motive with the help of tempo, dynamic, and tembral
modulations. Lyrical and, at the same time, full of life, the
musical overture, perfectly illustrates an analogous feature
of the Ukrainian nation. --Oksana Zakharchuk, UAM.
**TWINKLE, TWINKLE!**
Last month, a major breakthrough has occurred in the field of
Ukrainian National Television, UTV-1 and UTV-2. The programs
have become more operative and up-to-date from the point of
computer technology and artistic values. Long suffering
Ukrainian viewers have become healthier. Well done! Really.
--Paul Buckwheat, UAM.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-------------
**OPERA FESTIVAL**
The Sixth Festival of Operatic Art named after Solomia
Krushelnytska will take place in Lviv between the 17th
and 24th of November. Well-known soloists and performers
from abroad will be special guests of the event. The
festival program will include such works as: Bizet's
"Carmen", Verdi's "Aida," and many others.
SCHEDULE OF UP-COMING EVENTS
----------------------------
**CONCERTS**
MUSIC FESTIVAL "CONTRASTS"
Friday, 3 November 1995
4 p.m.
St Lazar Church (Kopernika Street, 27)
Performer: Tadeusz Wielecki, double bass
Works by: Cecilie Ore, Klaus Huber, John Cage,
Martin Bergande, Mario Lavista, Jannis Xennakis,
Tadeusz Wielecki
7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall (Tchaikovsky Street, 7)
Performers: Chamber Orchestra of the M.Lysenko Higher
Music Institute, Jozhef Ermin (piano), Andrij Hetman,
Dmytro Olijnyk (percussion), Authur Mykytka (concertmaster),
Myroslav Skoryk (conductor)
Works by: Ernst Krenek, Myroslav Skoryk, Igor Stravinsky,
Witold Lutoslawski, Alfred Shnitke, Yurij Laniouk,
Charles Ives
Saturday, 4 November 1995
4 p.m.
Lysenko Higher Music Institute Concert Hall
Concert of Students and Members of a Masterclass
of Contemporary Music
7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall (Tchaikovsky Street, 7)
Performers: Jozhef Ermin (piano), Olha Pasichnyk (horn),
Lviv Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Roman Rewakowicz (conductor)
Works by: Pawel Buczynski, Witold Lutoslawski, Ihor Shcherbakov
Sunday, 5 November 1995
4 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall (Tchaikovsky Street, 7)
Performers: Natalia Bourshtynska (piano), Jozhef Ermin (piano),
Andrij Karpyak (flute), Olha Pasichnyk (soprano), Vasyl Demydyouk
(cimbalom), Voldymyr Duda String Quartet
Works by: Macej Malecki, Andrzej Nikodemowicz,
Valentyn Sylvestrov, Georgy Kurtag, Andrzej Nikodemowicz
7 p.m.
Ludkevych Concert Hall (Tchaikovsky Street, 7)
Performers: Maria Chaikovska (cello), Lidia Shutko (violin),
Lviv Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Zhadko (conductor)
Works by: Bela Bartok, Paul Hindemith, Dmitri Shostakovich
**CONCERT SHOW**
The Oleh Kulchynskyj Group - featuring soloist Ihor Bohdan
The Ivan Franko Theater of Opera and Ballet (Prospect Svoboda,
1): November 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12. Performances begin at
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
**OPERA AND BALLET**
The Ivan Franko Theater of Opera and Ballet (Prospect Svoboda, 1):
04 Nov *Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky
12 Nov *Futile Discretion: ballet, Hertel
15 Nov The Forest Song: ballet, Skorulskij
16 Nov Zaporozhets za Dunayem, Hulak-Artemovskij
The opera and ballet schedule may change without prior
notification on the day of the performance. All performances
begin at 7 p.m. Titles with an affixed asterisk (*) begin
at 12 p.m. Tickets for performances can be purchased in the
opera theater's entrance between the hours 11 - 2 p.m. and
4 - 8 p.m. For more information please contact the opera's
information office at the following phone number: +38 (0322)
72-86-72.
**THEATER**
ACADEMIC THEATER
The Zankovetzkij Theater (Lesia Ukrainka, 1):
03 Nov The Village Owner [Khazayin], Karpenko-Karij
04 Nov Summer in Noani, Antkiva
05 Nov Zankovetskij Evening - "The Sun Clock"
with special guest Mykola Petrenko
(begins at 2 p.m.)
05 Nov Salem's Witches [The Crucible], Miller
09 Nov (/)The Unfortunate [Beztalana], Karpenko-Karij
10 Nov Night on the Mountain Grove, Oles
All performances begin at 7 p.m. Titles with the affixed
sign (/) begin at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in the
theater's entrance during the day prior to performances.
For more information, please call +38 (0322) 72-07-62.
MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Copyright (c) 1995 Ukrainian Arts Monitor, SDA Technologies Ltd.
All rights reserved. The Ukrainian Arts Monitor is produced weekly
by U.A.Monitor Division, SDA Technologies Ltd. All news, unless
otherwise noted, is from U.A.Monitor correspondents and Staff,
or compiled from the Ukrainian Press.
U.A.Monitor welcomes non-profit electronic redistribution of its
publication if re-produced in its entirety. Mass media distribution
of information from the U.A.Monitor is allowed after informing
U.A.Monitor and source credit given in its re-publication.
The publishers, editors and staff of the Ukrainian Arts Monitor
welcome and encourage reader feedback, comments, criticisms or any
other related correspondence.
All "Letters to the Editor" and other comments about the information
and content in U.A.Monitor should be addressed to Antony Potoczniak,
Editor at <U...@ukrainet.lviv.ua>. Any comments about distribution
or production should be directed to Yaroslav Davydovsky, Production
Adviser at <s...@ukrainet.lviv.ua>. Mailing Address: U.A.Monitor,
P.O.Box 10683 Lviv 290000 Ukraine
* SUBSCRIPTION
U.A.Monitor is a free e-publication. Subscribe by sending
a message with the word "RFEED 30 ukrainet.eng.uam" in the
body of a message to <news...@litech.lviv.ua>.
To unsubscribe at any time, send the command "UNSUBSCRIBE
ukrainet.eng.uam" in the body, not the subject line, of a
message to <news...@litech.lviv.ua>
You may also access issues of the U.A.Monitor by World
Wide Web Server: http://www.ukraine.org/UAMonitor/
* SPONSORSHIP
The Ukrainian Arts Monitor is a sponsorship supported
publication. Without sponsorship, this publication would
not be possible. If your organization would like to
support U.A.Monitor please contact Yaroslav Davydovsky
at <s...@ukrainet.lviv.ua>.
* TECHNICAL SUPPORT
The Ukrainian Arts Monitor is distributed with technical
support by The Laboratory of Information Technologies Ltd.
(Lviv, Ukraine). Contact: <in...@litech.lviv.ua>.
WWW reproduction of U.A.Monitor is hosted by the Burvis
Web Creation (New Jersey, USA). For more information,
please contact <pi...@cyberenet.net>.
* OTHER PUBLICATIONS
SDA Technologies Ltd also publishes the Ukrainian Financial
Monitor. UFM Weekly Digest is freely available by sending
a message to <news...@litech.lviv.ua> with the command
"FEED ukrainet.ufm.digest" in its body.