A parade of young virtuosos took place in the National Philharmonic

For the eighth time Kyiv hosted the New Names of Ukraine’s Young Stars festival, where the audience got a chance to have a sneak view of the future. Maybe these young talents will soon become worldwide celebrities. The performers, in spite of their young age, skillfully manage their instruments. The festival’s participants were representatives of not only Kyiv, but also Lviv, Donetsk, Mykolayiv, Sevastopol, Kharkiv, and Odesa schools. In general, 28 participants from ten of Ukraine’s cities came to the capital. The audience liked violinists Oleksandr Makarenko and Nazary Barvinsky (the latter, 12-old musician, is holder of the president’s scholarship), pianist Olha Kalabina, clarinetist Petro Zhupanov, trumpeter Mykhailo Hayduk, along with more experienced boys and girls who already have on their record victories at prestigious international contests: Artem Yavorsky, Oleksandr Poliakov, Yury Khvostov, and others. By a tradition, the program included opuses by world classics. Many musicians obtained a unique opportunity to perform accompanied by an orchestra. And not just an orchestra but one of Ukraine’s best musical groups, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko. The conductor said, “If children are gifted, it is easier to work with them than with adults lacking talent.”

Pitifully, the present festival featured only one gala concert. According to its organizers, the Ukrayina Mystetska [Art Ukraine] Company, the reason of such a shortening of the in the program was by no means the lack of young talent, but the usual lack of financing (they had to limit themselves with the funds of the Ministry of Culture and the Arts). However, in spite of all difficulties, the festival is still alive and discovers new names every year. Today those who first appeared here are known not only in their home country but also abroad. For instance, Mariya Kim, Serhiy Sukhobrusov, Valery Sokolov, and Anastasiya Platiuk are developing their professional skills abroad, combining their study with giving concerts in the most prestigious concert halls.