Viva conservatory!
Famous pianist Yevhenia Basalaieva prepared a new music project
Concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine took place in the National Philharmonic Society within the framework of the series “Elite Evenings of Yevhenia Basalaieva Chamber Music” and the 7th International Art Festival “Dialogue of Cultures.” Yevhenia BASALAIEVA, author of the project, famous pianist, artistic director of the Kyiv Chamber Ensemble “Kyiv-Classic Contrasts,” associate professor at National Music Academy of Ukraine, and soloist of the “Kyiv Soloists” ensemble told The Day about the program of the concert and the series of concerts that started in Kyiv on December 5 and will last for a full year (there will be also international tours organized within the framework of the project).
“This is a new project dedicated to the anniversary of the Kyiv Conservatory (now the National Music Academy of Ukraine), which will be celebrated next year. The conservatory was founded in 1913 at the music school of the Kyiv branch of the Russian Musical Society. Such famous composers as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Glazunov, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky assisted in establishing the conservatory. The first directors were Volodymyr Pukhalsky and Reinhold Gliere. In 1925 the junior classes were separated into a new institution – music college, the classes of older students became a part of the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama Institute.
“Concert series will be a gallery of portraits of prominent musical masters: composers, performers, teachers (from the foundation of the university until the present days). I called the first concert ‘Patronage and Musical Culture of Ukraine. Turning Pages.’ It will be dedicated to the people who with their position, actions, and finances helped to open a conservatory in Kyiv. Our concert will take place not long before the Charity Day that will be celebrated on December 9. In the program we will pay tribute to Mykhailo Tereshchenko (today we would call Tereshchenko the first Ukrainian oligarch: he was the largest sugar manufacturer and landowner), who not only gave money, but actually pushed the opening of the Conservatory. By the way, the flourishing of Ukrainian history of philanthropy, including the development of musical culture, is associated with the name of Tereshchenko. The list of famous patrons should also include Oleksandr Politkovsky, Vasyl Tarnovsky, Ivan Mazepa, Petro Sahaidachny, Pavlo Skoropadsky, Rozumovskys family, and others.”
Please tell us about the pieces that will be performed in the first concert and about its participants.
“While working on the program I decided to include pieces written by composers and performed at the period of formation of classical music in Ukraine. There will be performed Prelude by Volodymyr Pukhalsky (composer, pianist, and the first rector of the Conservatory) and also the famous Concerto for Voice and Orchestra by Reinhold Gliere (second rector, public activist, and composer). We must remember that the legendary Sergei Rachmaninoff blessed the creation of university in Kyiv. Children’s choir ‘Dzvinochok’ will perform a piece from his famous Vespers (we will open the evening with this piece). Audience will hear the famous Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. By the way, this work is associated with Pukhalsky – he was one of the first musicians who performed it. Music from the collection of Rozumovskys will be performed at the concert as a tribute to the great Ukrainian patrons, especially to Andrii Rozumovsky (he beautifully played violin and made a huge contribution to the development of Ukrainian and European cultures), – Concerto in D Major for Clavier and Orchestra. Music by Dmytro Bortniansky, Leopold Kozeluh, and Borys Liatoshynsky will be also performed at the concert. In the second part of the concert there will be the world premiere. Recently researchers found the manuscript of String Quartet No.1 by Lev Revutsky (famous composer and music teacher, he was among the first graduates of the Conservatory). The scores have been restored and reconstructed by the famous composer, our contemporary Viktoria Poliova.
“Musicians of different generations will participate in the concert: ‘Kyiv Soloists’ Ensemble and I; young pianist, student of National Music Academy of Ukraine Roman Lopatynsky; talented guitar player, winner of national and international competitions Marko Topchii; soprano Zoia Rozhok (soloist of National Opera of Ukraine), and the children’s choir ‘Dzvinochok.’”
How often do you intend to hold concerts of the Jubilee Series? Will you present your program only to the Ukrainian audience or will you take it on a tour abroad?
“The next concert will be held on April 4 and the one after that will take place on September 27. There will be three programs in the series. I plan to devote the second concert to the music teachers. I want to present piano music of modern composers: Yevhen Stankovych, Valentyn Silvestrov, Volodymyr Huba, Ihor Shcherbakov, Zhanna Kolodub, Lesia Dychko, etc. I also want to present music by talented composer whose music is not performed very often – Herman Zhukovsky, the year 2013 will mark the 100th anniversary of his birth. The third concert will be entirely dedicated to Borys Liatoshynsky – one of the founders of the modernist trend in Ukrainian music.
“What concerns the series of Elite Evenings, we have an intension to expand our audience. In June we will take this project to France. We will present young talented Ukrainian musicians and works of Ukrainian classics and contemporary composers to the French audience.”
