Ukrainian contemporary composers. Patrons and art managers

“God gave us music so that, first of all, we would be drawn upward by it...”, - Nietzsche F.

Music is a field of art that can overcome language barriers, and is understandable to the heart of every person. Almost every one of us loves to listen to music, a little less people know how to admire it, even fewer people on the planet are able to invent music, and Very few are given the gift of composing melodies that remain for centuries. We want to tell you about the geniuses of music born in Ukraine.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

The name of this living Kyiv composer is known all over the world. Our compatriots know him from the music written for Kira Muratova’s films “Three Stories” (2002), “Chekhov’s Motifs”, “Two in One” and “The Tuner” (2004).

His work was closely followed German philosopher and composer Theodor Adorno And Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke, and the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt calls Silvestrov “the most interesting composer modernity." Among the musical abundance of symphonies, requiems, and poems for orchestra written by Silvestrov, there are “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam,” unique in their simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

Today the famous composer is 77 years old. Despite his difficult fate, he managed to maintain a sense of beauty and convey it to people through music.

Among his works music for the film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, musical cycle “In the Carpathians”, Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano.

Nikolai Kolessa (1903-2006)

Worldwide famous composer, a native of the Lviv city of Sambir, Nikolai Kolessa lived to be 102 years old! It was comprehensive developed person. Behind him Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University(Krakow), faculty Philosophy and Slavic Studies of the University of Prague, training from famous Italian pianist Marietta de Gelli.

During his long life, Kolessa managed to work conductor at the Lviv Philharmonic and Opera Theater, write methodological aids, create music for the film "Ivan Franko" and many more wonderful pieces of music.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

with their own musical talents the composer owes it to his mother, an excellent pianist, who began teaching her son to play the piano as soon as he turned 5 years old. Already at the age of 9, Sergei wrote two operas: “The Giant” and “On the Deserted Islands”.

Among his famous works are operas "War and Peace", "The Tale of a real person", "The Player", "The Love for Three Oranges", ballets “Cinderella”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Tale of the Stone Flower”.

Nikolai Leontovich (1877-1921)

A man who managed to glorify Ukrainian carols throughout the world. The music he wrote for the folk “Shchedryk” became known throughout the world under the name Karol The Bells. And thanks to many arrangements and use in films, the melody has become a Christmas anthem.

Leontovich was excellent at violin, piano and some wind instruments. In the village of Chukovi, where the composer taught music, he managed to organize an amateur Symphony Orchestra.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

Despite foreign name and the surname of the composer Glier - a resident of Kiev. It’s just that he was born back in the 70s of the 19th century and b was the son of a Saxon subject. Reingold had heard music since birth, since his father and grandfather made musical instruments.

Here is just a small list of countries in which Gliere's works were performed: Austria, Greece, Great Britain, Germany, France, Denmark. A music school in Kyiv was named in honor of the great fellow countryman.

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

The creative energy of this composer is simply amazing. Besides writing music Lysenko was a musical ethnographer, collected and studied folk songs, rituals. He managed to become a talented teacher - he taught at the Kiev Institute of Noble Maidens, and in 1904 opened his own Music and Drama School.

In addition, Lysenko was a conductor, pianist and active public figure. He wrote the music for the “Children’s Anthem”, now world-famous as “Prayer for Ukraine “Great God, One!”

Mikhail Verbitsky (1815-1870)

Composer, social activist and priest Verbitsky went down in Ukrainian history as the author of the music for the national anthem.

Music and service to the church were the main centers in Verbitsky's life. He led the seminary choir and wrote liturgical music. In addition, the composer composed romances and created music for performances and orchestral concerts.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Ukrainian composer, choral conductor and singer (tenor). In 1790 he organized and led a choir of “soldiers’ children and free people” in Kyiv.

In 1790-1798 he taught a class of vocal music at the Kharkov Collegium and at the same time led choirs of church singers. Author of 29 church choral concerts, in a number of which he himself performed tenor solos. Wedel's compositions were influenced by Ukrainian folk songs.

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

Thanks to studying at the famous Glukhov school the child received an excellent musical education. A wonderful voice allowed the young musician go to study in Venice, Bologna, Rome and Naples.

Unfortunately, many of Bortnyansky’s secular works were lost. Court Archive singing choir St. Petersburg refused to publish them. And after the archive was disbanded, it turned out that most of the composer's works have disappeared.

Most of us love music, many admire and understand it, and some of us have a musical education and have mastered the ability to play musical instruments. However, the smallest percentage of the most talented members of the human race can compose melodies that fit across the centuries. Some of these people were born in Ukraine, in its picturesque corners. In the article we will talk about Ukrainian composers of the 20th century, and not only, who glorified Ukraine throughout the world.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

The famous Ukrainian composer was born in 1937 and still lives in Kyiv. Genius musical art famous all over the world. We hear his music in the paintings:

"Two in one";
"Tuner";
"Chekhov's motives";
"Three Stories"

Estonian colleague Theodor Adorno considers him the most interesting of all composers modern world. His work includes requiems, poems for orchestra, symphonies, and his “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam” are known and appreciated all over the world. Experts consider the piece of music unique in its simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

The 77-year-old modern Ukrainian composer lived a difficult life, but managed to maintain the strength of spirit and sense of beauty that permeates his works.

He wrote melodies for the legendary film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” and created a musical cycle called “In the Carpathians”. His Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano made him famous as one of the best Ukrainian composers 20th century for the whole world.

Miroslav's parents were intellectuals and received their education in Vienna. Skorik is the great-nephew of Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, of which he is immensely proud.

Nikolai Kolessa (1903-2006)

The Ukrainian composer, who was born in the city of Sambir, Lviv region, lived to be one hundred and two years old! This man amazes with his versatility. In his youth he graduated medical University in Krakow. His education did not end there; he entered the Faculty of Philosophy and Slavic Studies at a higher educational institution in Prague. Kolessa also studied with the legendary Italian Marietta de Gelli, who is a world-famous pianist.

Whoever Nikolai Filaretovich was during his long life. He conducted at the Lviv Philharmonic and Opera Theatre. Under his authorship many methodological manuals. Nikolai Kolessa also wrote the melody for the film “Ivan Franko”.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

He was truly a composer. The classics, which his mother, a talented pianist, brought up, influenced the filigree of his works. Mom began teaching Sergei to play the piano at the age of five. He wrote his first operas - “The Giant” and “On the Deserted Islands” at the age of nine.

Sergei Prokofiev is famous throughout the world for his operas:

“The Tale of a Real Man”;
"Love for Three Oranges";
"War and Peace".

He also wrote music for the ballets "The Tale of the Stone Flower", "Cinderella" and "Romeo and Juliet".

Nikolai Leontovich (1877-1921)

There are few instruments that this Ukrainian composer did not master: piano, violin, wind instruments... It can be confidently called a “one-man orchestra.” In his youth, in the village of Chukovi, where he lived with his family, he independently created a symphony orchestra.

Thanks to this man, the Ukrainian carol began to sound in many foreign films. This is the famous “Shchedrik”, who is known all over the world as Carol The Bells. The melody has many arrangements, and is rightfully considered the hymn of Christmas.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

He comes from a family of Saxon subjects and is a resident of Kiev by passport. Glier grew up in a musical environment. The men in his family were engaged in making musical instruments. Gliere's works are heard all over the world. Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece applaud him. One of the music schools in Kyiv bears the name of this composer.

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

Lysenko was not only a composer, he also made a great contribution to musical ethnography. Nikolai’s collection includes a lot of folk songs, rituals, and carols. In addition to music, he was interested in pedagogy, believing that there is no one more important than children.

There was a period in his life of teaching at the Kiev Institute of Noble Maidens. 1904 became a landmark year for him - he opened his own Music and Drama School.

What made Lysenko famous most of all was his “Children’s Anthem.” It is now known throughout the world as “Prayer for Ukraine.” In addition, Nikolai took an active civic position and took part in social activities.

Mikhail Verbitsky (1815-1870)

Verbitsky was a deeply religious man. Religion occupied leading place in his life. He was the director of the choir at the seminary and composed musical works for worship. In his creative heritage There are also romances. Verbitsky played the guitar very well and loved this instrument. He created many works for strings.

Verbitsky became famous after he wrote the music for the Ukrainian anthem. The verses for the anthem were composed by Pavel Chubinsky. The exact date of writing the song “Ukraine Has Not Die Yet” is unknown. There is information that this was the period 1862-1864.

The future anthem was first heard on March 10, 1865 in the city of Przemysl. This was the first concert in the lands of Western Ukrainians, dedicated to creativity Taras Grigorovich Shevchenko. Verbitsky himself was in the choir at the concert, conducted by Anatoly Vakhnyanin. Young people liked the song, and for a long time many considered it folk.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Artemy, in addition to his gift as a composer, had a wonderful high voice and sang in the choir. In the capital of Ukraine in 1790, he became the head of a choir of “soldiers’ children and free people.”

For eight years he taught vocals at the Kharkov Collegium, and also led church choirs.

He created 29 choral concerts for the church. At performances, he often led tenor solos himself. Wedel's works were greatly influenced by folk songs.

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

As a child he received an excellent education. Little Dmitry was lucky. He graduated from the legendary Glukhov school. Dmitry had a truly beautiful voice. He had a wonderful treble. His voice was surprisingly clear and flowed like a stream. The teachers loved and appreciated Bortyansky.

In 1758 he was sent with the singers to the chapel in St. Petersburg. The mother crossed her son, gave him a modest bundle of provisions and kissed him. Seven-year-old Dima never saw his parents again.

His talent allowed him to study abroad. To comprehend the basics of musical skill, he went to Venice, Naples, and Rome.

Alas, most of Bortnyansky’s secular works have not survived to this day. They were kept in the archives of the St. Petersburg singing choir, which refused to put them on public display. The archive was disbanded, and the works of the legendary author simply disappeared in an unknown direction.

For the first time, NV presents a special project of the Top 100 People of Culture - the highest echelon of the domestic artistic world, which has made a significant contribution to art and literature primarily over the last five years. Within its framework, the NV editors named the twenty best musicians countries - not as a rating, but as a selection in alphabetical order

Antony Baryshevsky

Pianist, 25 years old

Antony Baryshevsky is one of the youngest participants in the “cultural” hundred of NV, which does not prevent the capital’s virtuoso pianist from also being among the most titled.

People started talking about Baryshevsky back in 2000, when the 11-year-old (at that time) musician at the International Piano Competition in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz received a special prize in the category Horowitz debut.

Since then, Baryshevsky has participated in many international competitions V different countries As a result, he became a laureate of almost two dozen international competitions.

In 2013-2014 alone, the pianist won five foreign awards at once: he won the international piano competitions in Paris and the Arthur Rubinstein competition in Tel Aviv, brought first prize from the Interlaken Classics competition in Berne, Switzerland and the grand prix of the international music competition in Morocco, and also received second prize at the European Piano Evenings competition (Luxembourg).

Since 2012, Baryshevsky has been a soloist of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. He also tours abroad a lot - both solo and with orchestras. The talented Kiev resident has performed in concert halls in France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Morocco, Israel, and the USA.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk

The adjective cult has been firmly attached to the name of the main Ukrainian rock musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk for several years now. At a time when the success of musicians was determined by the number of records sold, the albums of Vakarchuk’s group Ocean Elzy sold hundreds of thousands of copies and received platinum status.

Now that the era of listening to music online has arrived, the impressive numbers of attendance at the band’s concerts speak eloquently of popular love. This summer, concerts as part of the tour dedicated to the band’s 20th anniversary, which took place in five cities of Ukraine, were attended by a quarter of a million listeners. And the Kiev show broke a record in the history of Ukrainian show business - listen Oceans at NSC Olympic 75 thousand people came.

In the context of the revolutionary and military events taking place in the country, Vakarchuk’s songs acquired special meaning for most Ukrainians. Millions of his compatriots associate his work with the desire for changes that the country is waiting for, and the musician’s civic position is identified with their own.

In December 2013 Oceani performed on the stage of Euromaidan, and now they perform their songs in front of the Ukrainian military and residents of cities liberated from terrorists in eastern Ukraine.

Evgeniy Gudz

What Emir Kusturica and his No Smoking Orchestra are for the Balkan peoples, Evgeniy Gudz and his punk rock band Gogol Bordello are for the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian, who moved to the United States in the late 1980s, attracted the attention of audiences on both sides of the ocean with an explosive mixture of folk, rock, gypsy punk and carnival-like theatrical concerts.

The most famous fan of the rampant Gudz is the pop star Madonna, who invited him to star in leading role in film Dirt and wisdom(2008), where the main soundtrack was the band's music, and the director was the singer herself. She sang with a Ukrainian during her solo concert London Live Earth at London's Wembley, and the musical Rolling magazine Stone played the band's music at 50 best albums and 100 best songs of the year.

Since then, Gogol Bordello have recorded four full-length albums (seven in total), the last one is Pura Vida Conspiracy- came out in 2013.

And two years before it, the group’s first non-English-language record appeared My Gypsy, where Gudz included his version of the Dynamo Kyiv fan anthem and song Kiev my. Needless to say, the group’s infrequent tours in Ukraine always cause a stir, because in terms of the level of concert drive, few can compare with Gudzya’s company.

Jamala (Susana Jamaladinova)

Preserving identity, being original and at the same time recognized by a mass audience is not an easy task. On the Ukrainian stage, Jamala copes with it better than anyone else. Since the triumph music competition New wave in Jurmala, where in 2009 Jamala received the Grand Prix, she is true to herself in her style of performance, repertoire and closeness to her native Crimean Tatar roots.

The best evidence of Jamala’s creative self-sufficiency are both of her solo albums (For Every Heart, 2011 and All or Nothing, 2013), which are based on original compositions written by the singer herself. By the way, the singer sings in four languages - Ukrainian, Russian, English and Crimean Tatar.

Jamala tirelessly experiments, performing at large concert venues and in front of sophisticated audiences at music festivals such as Jazz Koktebel. In addition, she participates in opera productions and filming (soundtrack and role in the film Guide Olesya Sanina).

Now a singer who was nominated for an MTV Europe award in 2011 Music Awards in category Best Ukrainian artist, getting ready to go new album, where he experiments with electronic music.

Alla Zagaykevich

Among modern Ukrainian composers, Alla Zagaykevich is considered, if not a star, then a brilliant talent. And multifaceted. She is known for her works of both classical instrumental music (both symphonic and chamber) and electronic. Moreover, the composer is often called the “godmother” of Ukrainian experimental electronics.

However, Zagaykevich is not limited to just composing; she is the curator and inspirer of many electroacoustic projects and performances in Ukraine, such as the EM-VISIA (since 2005) and Electroacoustics (since 2003) festivals.

A few years ago, Zagaykevich, who heads the Ukrainian Association of Electro-Acoustic Music, founded her own Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, with which she recorded her debut CD Nord/Ouest in 2011.

At the same time, the Ukrainian artist’s creativity has long been noticed abroad. Zagaykevich is the winner of the international competition of contemporary classical and electroacoustic music Musica Nova (2011). Her works are performed in France, Canada, Austria, and she regularly participates in foreign festivals, including the Marathon of New Music in the Czech Republic, E-musika and Gaida in Lithuania, and Takefu International Music Festival in Japan.

Kirill Karabits

At the age of 37, Kiev resident Kirill Karabits has firmly established himself at the top of the international conducting Olympus. For more than five years he has led the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, one of the oldest and most respected in the UK. His resume includes collaborations with leading instrumental groups in America, Europe and Asia.

Great success came to Kirill Karabits, the son of the famous Ukrainian composer Ivan Karabits, with considerable difficulty. He studied in Kyiv and Vienna and won awards at prestigious international competitions several times. And then, having overcome serious competition of 60 people per seat, he received a position as assistant conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Today, Karabits has a contract with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra until 2016 and engagements with the best instrumental groups from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Last year he was named conductor of the year by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

However, in the musician’s busy touring schedule there is always a place for his homeland - several times a year he performs in Kyiv together with local musicians. While abroad, the conductor supports Ukraine accessible to people culture ways. For example, last spring he dedicated his concerts with the orchestras of the German Essen and the French Lille to the memory of the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred who died during the confrontations on the Kiev Maidan.

Like most Soviet children, Alexei Kogan attended music school from an early age, where he learned the violin without much desire. He did not turn out to be a violinist - Kogan jokes that his playing could only earn enough for an inexpensive lunch. But without exaggeration, he turned out to be the best jazz connoisseur in the country.

Once upon a time, a young Kiev resident began to collect all available records of what was then banned in the freedom-loving country. western music. During the years of perestroika, this unique collection made him a sought-after radio presenter - for several years he conducted daily broadcasts in which he played his favorite music from his personal music library.

Now he participates in the organization of the main jazz festivals in Ukraine, including the Koktebel Jazz Festival and the Lviv Alfa Jazz Fest. The latter is only four years old, but world jazz legends like British guitarist John McLoughin or American Larry Carlton have already performed here. The festival's concerts are broadcast by the popular French music channel Mezzo, and the Western press includes it in the list of must-attend events.

Despite the fact that most of Kogan’s adult life is connected with jazz, he still claims that he still doesn’t know enough about this music. The jazz guru is sure: “A person who delves deeply into a topic understands that this is just the beginning. You have to study all your life.”

Alexandra Koltsova (Kasha Saltsova)

Winner of two NePops awards for the best female rock vocals Alexandra Koltsova has long become an iconic character in Ukrainian pop rock - first with her band Krikhitka Tsakhes, and then, after the death of the band’s guitarist Mikhail Gichan, with the project Krikhitka.

Another evidence of how much the public fell in love with the bewitching voice of the permanent frontwoman and the same soulful lyrics of Krikhitka, in 2010, there was an all-Ukrainian tour in support of the album Recipe (the debut record of the renewed group), which toured 15 of the largest cities in the country.

Although, by Koltsova’s own admission, she cannot be “just a musician.” “You can’t sit on the edge of your seat in your own country,” says the singer, whose career began in journalism. Leader Krichitki, by the way, who was born in Russia, quietly takes on dozens of good deeds in what has become for her native Ukraine, - from the environmental initiative Eco-Torba, participation in actions to combat AIDS and organization charity concerts to help children with cancer before supplying equipment to fighters in the ATO zone and fighting for lustration of power.

“If I were a man and didn’t make music, then the SBU would have a file on me as an extremist,” Koltsova sneers.

Roman Kofman

The British newspaper The Telegraph named him one of the greatest conductors of our time, and the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung ranked him on a par with Evgeny Mravinsky, one of the twenty best conductors of all time according to BBC Music Magazine.

Roman Kofman is worthy of these flattering words. He is the first and only Ukrainian to lead the Western European opera house: from 2003 to 2008, Kofman was artistic director of the Bonn Opera and the Bonn Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven. With him, the conductor received the prestigious international Echo Klassik award for his recording of an oratorio by Franz Liszt Christ. In total, during his career, Kofman managed to work with 80 foreign orchestras.

And he is known to domestic listeners as the permanent director of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra of the National Philharmonic, whose chief conductor he has worked since 1990.

During this time, Kofman, who tirelessly updated the orchestra's repertoire, discovered for Ukrainians the music of the best compatriots and contemporaries (including Valentin Silvestrov, Miroslav Skorik, Evgeniy Stankovych), and little-known works of Western classics. Thus, in 2009-2010, he became the first conductor in the world, under whose leadership the orchestra performed all of Mozart’s symphonies in one concert season.

Natalia Lebedeva

Jazz music is an exchange of living energy, Natalya Lebedeva, who is called the best jazz pianist in Ukraine, is convinced. “You see how a person improvises before your eyes, creates a plot, tells a story,” Lebedeva says about jazz. “The public should observe this process. Jazz music exists for its sake.”

Kiev resident Lebedeva is not only a pianist, but a real one-man orchestra - a jazz composer, arranger, teacher and band leader all rolled into one. Jazz band Lebedeva Trio, where, besides her, in different time included Igor Zakus, Konstantin Ionenko (both bass guitar) and Alexey Fantaev (drums), since the mid-2000s they have published three full-length albums and have been performing successfully both in Ukraine and abroad. Thus, in 2008-2010, the trio gave concerts in Poland as part of the Slavic Jazz Festival with a program based on the music of Frederic Chopin, as well as in Slovakia.

Considering that the Ukrainian jazz music is just going through the stage of its formation, Lebedeva is doing everything to support this process. She is a participant in many joint projects with aspiring jazz musicians, as well as the organizer of children's jazz festivals O'Keshkin Jazz and Atlant-M

Oleg Mikhailyuta (Bassoon)

It's hard to believe, but in June 2014, the Ukrainian hip-hop group TNMK celebrated its 25th anniversary - the team dates back to 1989.

Growing up with the country, Tanks remain one of the brightest, sincere and uncompromising Ukrainian groups - for which they have been loved by the public all these years. Wherein TNMK They are constantly expanding both the geography and the scale of their activity.

So, in 2012, the group toured more than ten festivals in Ukraine, Poland, Russia and Germany, and in 2013 they realized a long-time dream - they played a series of concerts in Ukrainian cities Symphonic hip-hop together with the Youth Symphony orchestraSlobozhansky. The initiator of the tour was Mikhailiuta, who from time to time takes on the role of both sound producer and video director TNMK.

And although Oleg Mikhailyuta (Fagot), a graduate of the Kharkov Conservatory, joined the musicians only in 1994, along with the founder of TNMK Alexander Sidorenko (Fozzy), he became one of the key figures not only for the group, but for all Ukrainian music of the era of independence.

Like Fozzie, Bassoon accomplishes a lot in addition to his musical activities. In recent years, he has repeatedly tried himself as a host and participant in various television shows, and with his popularity he helped the Ukrainian-language film dubbing industry to get on its feet. For example, the blockbuster hero spoke in the voice of Mikhailiuta Pirates Caribbean Sea Jack Sparrow.

Lyudmila Monastyrskaya

In honor of her great predecessor, she is called the new Solomiya Krushelnitskaya and also the best Aida of our days. The owner of a unique dramatic soprano, Lyudmila Monastyrskaya, is without a doubt one of the world's strongest opera singers of our time.

Since 2010, she has conquered the best foreign stages: the Ukrainian was invited to perform leading roles by the New York Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala, Berlin's Deutsche Oper, and London's Covent Garden. Moreover, in each of these theaters, Monastyrskaya made a splash, collecting enthusiastic responses from the press, colleagues and spectators. Although the parts she performs are leading roles in operas Attila, Nabucco, Longing, Masquerade Ball, Aida, Macbeth, Rural Honor- among the most difficult and responsible for opera singers.

Among Monastyrskaya’s partners are world stars such as the Spaniard Placido Domingo and the Italian Leo Nucci. And the schedule foreign performances Ukrainian, as befits an opera diva, is scheduled long in advance.

However, she does not miss the opportunity to perform in Ukraine - in National Opera. In one of the interviews, when asked which country Western listeners consider her to represent, the singer replied: “[They are] perceived only as a Ukrainian [singer]. And this gives me incentive and inspiration. That’s how I was raised.”

Victoria Polevaya

Admirers of contemporary music are listening to the works of Ukrainian Victoria Poleva classical music in the best halls - from the USA and Chile in the west to Korea and Singapore in the east. It is appreciated by critics and included in their repertoires by leading instrumental and choirs peace. In 2013, the works of the gifted Kiev resident were performed for the first time by the cult American ensemble Kronos Quartet.

Polevaya, who has been repeatedly awarded Ukrainian and international prizes, writes music in choral, chamber-instrumental and symphonic genres. IN early years The aesthetics closest to her was the avant-garde. Today, critics rank it among the popular Western style of sacred minimalism, when deep spiritual themes are revealed through the repetition of simple musical phrases.

Such a creative transformation was quite natural for Polevaya. After all, according to her in my own words, for the composer what is primarily important is not novelty as such, but simplicity and truthfulness of expression.

Alexander Polozhinsky

Poet, citizen and frontman of the Tartak group Alexander Polozhinsky has always been more than just a musician.

In 2005, barely leaving the stage of the Orange Revolution, the unofficial anthem of which became Tartak’s bitter composition I don't want, the leader of the group, together with other fellow musicians, organized an all-Ukrainian tour Don't be a bad guy.

Difficult to find best symbol all musical career Polozhinsky than this action, which soon grew into the still existing social movement for European values for Ukraine.

In each of Tartak's albums - and over the past ten years the band has released five records - the author of all the group's lyrics, Polozhinsky, finds words that are necessary and close to compatriots with an active civic position.

“If we want to give up something, we must formulate what we will build instead,” the leader of Tartak recently noted, analyzing the consequences of Euromaidan, of which he was an activist.

In his work, Polozhinsky never tires of “building.” This spring the musician presented a solo project Buv'є , during which he will perform his own compositions that are not included in Tartak’s repertoire.

Maryana Sadovskaya

A native of Lvov and a resident of Cologne, Maryana Sadovskaya is often compared to the cult Icelandic singer Björk - the singers are related by the energy of their music and the desire to experiment with genres and styles. Both draw inspiration from folk art, making it attractive and understandable to listeners around the world.

I’m always interested in building bridges - between cultures, between what was and what is,” Sadovskaya, whose songs are listened to on all continents, formulates her creative task.

She began her career as an actress at the Lviv Theater. Lesya Kurbasa Sadovskaya is convinced that everyone can sing - you just need to open your heart to music. There is some truth in this, but only a few receive invitations to collaborate from the cult American ensemble Kronos Quartet. The Lviv resident wrote a piece especially for a joint performance with this group Chernobyl. Harvest, presented last year first in Kyiv and then in the famous Lincoln Center hall in New York.

Maryana Sadovskaya - Piemo, piemo (Ukrainian folk Lemk song)

Sadovskaya travels a lot - in Poland she collaborates with the theater Garzhenitsa, in New York - with the experimental troupe Yara Arts Group, and in Germany she has her own band, Borderland. She goes on ethnographic expeditions to Ireland, Egypt and Cuba. Her interpretations of Ukrainian folklore brought the singer the prestigious German RUTH award last year.

Valentin Silvestrov

At the end of the 1950s, an unprecedented incident occurred at the Kyiv Conservatory. A third-year student at the Kyiv Institute of Civil Engineering, Valentin Silvestrov, was transferred to the main music university in Ukraine without exams. Since then, he has given no reason to doubt that his true calling is to be an architect of music, not of stone.

Today Silvestrov is the most famous contemporary Ukrainian composer abroad. Moreover world fame came to him much earlier than recognition in his native land. While the USSR looked with suspicion at Silvestrov’s avant-garde experiments, from which his unique personal style was later formed, he already became a laureate in the late 60s prestigious award Sergei Koussevitzky (USA) and the international competition of young composers Gaudeamus (Netherlands).

And to this day the name of the Ukrainian, whose heritage includes symphonies, orchestral works, choral and chamber cantatas, as well as instrumental music, are performed on world stages and music festivals. In addition, Silvestrov’s music, known in the West no less than in Ukraine, becomes part of the soundtracks for films of film celebrities - Kira Muratova and Francois Ozon.

Valentin Silvestrov - Symphony No. 5

Meanwhile, the composer lives in Kyiv and admits that he is quite comfortable writing music in his native country. Among what Silvestrov wrote in Lately, - music, dedicated to events on the Maidan: a new version anthem of Ukraine and music to a poem by Taras Shevchenko Caucasus, which was read on Maidan by deceased protest participant Sergei Nigoyan.

Oleg Skrypka

If Ukraine, like America, had its own Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Oleg Skrypka, without a doubt, would be among the first to be included in it. His main musical creation is the legendary Vopli Vidoplyasova- has been one of the most popular bands in the country for almost 30 years.

Folk melody and powerful energy of live performances made BB in demand both at home and abroad.

However, within the framework of one project, even a successful one, Violin is cramped. Only for Last year, in addition to touring with family BB throughout Ukraine and Europe, he managed to play a number of concerts with his jazz cabaret Fun and go around North America, performing with violinist Vasily Popadyuk.

Touring does not prevent the artist from holding the festival for 11 years in a row The land is dark. This year, the main ethno-action of the capital changed its location for the first time, moving to a Kiev park Feofaniya, and, according to most guests, it has reached a qualitatively new level.

If we add to this the successful jazz-folk festival last summer Montmarte on Andreevsky Spusk and rich in alternative music Rock Sich, DJ sets at parties in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine, as well as a recently opened restaurant serving haute Ukrainian cuisine Canapa, then it becomes obvious - towards its main goal - to turn Ukraine into a country of dreams - Violin is moving by leaps and bounds.

Evgeniy Filatov

Evgeniy Filatov is one of the most consistent and innovative Ukrainian musicians, equally popular at home and abroad. His music at the intersection of funk, soul, pop-rock and hip-hop is listened to in Europe and Asia; he gathers halls in Ukraine, Russia and the USA. The main stars of domestic show business are eager to collaborate with him.

This native of Donetsk began as a DJ, performing under the pseudonym Dj Major. After some time, he was noticed by producers, and as a result, collaboration with TNMK, Smash, Ani Lorak, Tina Karol and others. His debut album with own project The Maneken was released on the French label Somekind Records and was sold in many countries around the world, including Japan, which is difficult for Ukrainian musicians to reach.

Today the musician has five records with songs in English and Russian. At his Major Music Box studio, he works together with the best soul singer of Ukraine Jamala, as well as another performer, Nata Zhizhchenko. Together with the latter, Filatov came up with new project Onuka, where modern music technologies are seamlessly combined with folk instruments.

Andrey Khlyvnyuk

X hip-hop and funk rock group Boombox, whose founder, soloist and lyricist is Andrey Khlyvnyuk, is one of the most success stories in modern Ukrainian music. Over the ten years of its existence, the team released six full albums, and half of them - over the past four years. And one of the first Boombox records Family Business became gold in Ukraine: more than 100 thousand copies were sold.

Quantity did not affect quality: over the course of a decade, the group became one of the most popular not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia, where they equally successfully collected full concert venues, and in 2009 received the famous Russian prize Muz-TV in the nomination Best hip-hop project.

Khlyvnyuk publicly supported Euromaidan, and in the spring all the group’s performances in the Russian Federation were suddenly canceled. But this fall the group will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a tour of Europe - in November Boombox will be heard in Riga, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow, Antwerp and Paris.

Khlyvnyuk and his team are no strangers to long-distance tours: in February 2011, the team toured the USA and Canada, and last year, together with Dmitry Shurov (Pianoboy), gave concerts in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Dmitry Shurov

Dmitry Shurov is called the most brilliant and successful pianist in the domestic show business. By the age of 32, he participated in the recording of albums by leading bands in Ukraine and Russia and played several thousand live performances

It all started with a collaboration with a cult rock band Ocean Elzy- in the first half of the 2000s, Shurov co-authored albums Model And Supersymmetry, which became perhaps the most successful in the history of the group. Large-scale tours in support of the records were not complete without the virtuoso musician. Shurov was one of those members of the golden cast Oceans, who took the stage at the NSC Olimpiyskiy this summer during a performance dedicated to the team’s 20th anniversary, which attracted a record audience for Ukraine.

The next steps in the pianist's career were popular indie band Esthetic Education and collaboration with the most famous Russian rock singer Zemfira. The singer, known for her high demands on musicians, invited Shurov to record an album Thank you, which stands out among others due to the special splendor of its arrangements. And then she played live concerts with him for three years.

Today, a native of Vinnitsa Shurov is busy working on solo project Pianoboy. However, according to the apt remark of the musician himself, the roles may be different, but the essence does not change. He still plays the keyboard masterfully and writes songs. It’s just that now his music is accompanied by his own voice.

The materials used photos of Alexander Medvedev, Natalia Kravchuk and Elena Bozhko

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Read the TOP 100 People of New Time culture in the special issue of NV No. 20 dated September 26, 2014

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

The famous Ukrainian composer was born in 1937 and still lives in Kyiv. The genius of musical art is famous throughout the world. We hear his music in the paintings:

"Two in one";
"Tuner";
"Chekhov's motives";
"Three Stories"

His Estonian colleague Theodor Adorno considers him the most interesting of all composers of the modern world. His work includes requiems, poems for orchestra, symphonies, and his “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam” are known and appreciated all over the world. Experts consider the piece of music unique in its simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

The 77-year-old modern Ukrainian composer lived a difficult life, but managed to maintain the strength of spirit and sense of beauty that permeates his works.

He wrote melodies for the legendary film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” and created a musical cycle called “In the Carpathians”. His Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano made him famous throughout the world as one of the best Ukrainian composers of the 20th century.

Miroslav's parents were intellectuals and received their education in Vienna. Skorik is the great-nephew of Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, of which he is immensely proud.

Nikolai Kolessa (1903-2006)

The Ukrainian composer, who was born in the city of Sambir, Lviv region, lived to be one hundred and two years old! This man amazes with his versatility. In his youth he graduated from the Medical University in Krakow. His education did not end there; he entered the Faculty of Philosophy and Slavic Studies at a higher educational institution in Prague. Kolessa also studied with the legendary Italian Marietta de Gelli, who is a world-famous pianist.

Whoever Nikolai Filaretovich was during his long life. He conducted at the Lviv Philharmonic and Opera Theatre. Many teaching aids have been published under his authorship. Nikolai Kolessa also wrote the melody for the film “Ivan Franko”.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

He was a truly outstanding Ukrainian composer. The classics, which his mother, a talented pianist, brought up, influenced the filigree of his works. Mom began teaching Sergei to play the piano at the age of five. He wrote his first operas - “The Giant” and “On the Deserted Islands” at the age of nine.

Sergei Prokofiev is famous throughout the world for his operas:

“The Tale of a Real Man”;
"Love for Three Oranges";
"War and Peace".

He also wrote music for the ballets "The Tale of the Stone Flower", "Cinderella" and "Romeo and Juliet".

Nikolai Leontovich (1877-1921)

There are few instruments that this Ukrainian composer did not master: piano, violin, wind instruments... We can confidently call him a “one-man orchestra”. In his youth, in the village of Chukovi, where he lived with his family, he independently created a symphony orchestra.

Thanks to this man, the Ukrainian carol has appeared in many foreign films. This is the famous “Shchedrik”, who is known all over the world as Carol The Bells. The melody has many arrangements, and is rightfully considered the hymn of Christmas.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

There was a period in his life of teaching at the Kiev Institute of Noble Maidens. 1904 became a landmark year for him - he opened his own Music and Drama School.

Mikhail Verbitsky (1815-1870)

Verbitsky was a deeply religious man. Religion occupied a leading place in his life. He was the director of the choir at the seminary and composed musical works for worship. His creative heritage also includes romances. Verbitsky played the guitar very well and loved this instrument. He created many works for strings.

The future anthem was first heard on March 10, 1865 in the city of Przemysl. This was the first concert on the lands of Western Ukrainians dedicated to the work of Taras Grigorovich Shevchenko. Verbitsky himself was in the choir at the concert, conducted by Anatoly Vakhnyanin. Young people liked the song, and for a long time many considered it folk.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

For eight years he taught vocals at the Kharkov Collegium, and also led church choirs.

He created 29 choral concerts for the church. At performances, he often led tenor solos himself. Wedel's works were greatly influenced by folk songs.

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

His talent allowed him to study abroad. To comprehend the basics of musical skill, he went to Venice, Naples, and Rome.

First of all, we note that the background Ukrainian music as such begins in Soviet Ukraine, in 1920-30, when it was initially based mainly in Kyiv and Kharkov.

In large Ukrainian cities, operetta theaters are beginning to open, philharmonic societies are being founded, young composers are resorting to instrumental creativity and are starting to form Ukrainian music. The pioneer, a major center around which young composers began to gather, was the Leontovich community (1923). Its honorary members: Lev Revutsky - teacher of composition in Kyiv, author of symphonies and many piano works, Boris Lotoshinsky, professor of the Kyiv and Moscow Conservatoires, an adept of the modern, at that time, Ukrainian music. Together they literally raised a galaxy of composers. During these years, Viktor Kosenko, Mikhail Verikivsky, Valentin Kostenko, Ignat Khotkevich, N. Fomenko, K. Boguslavsky and others also worked.

The period of the 30s was one of the most intense times for progress Ukrainian music, who strived for high professionalism and showed herself in completely different styles. At the same time, theatrical musical art is developing and concert life is progressing. Education is actively developing, interest in national famous instrument- bandura. After 1930, music, like other areas of art, began to be interpreted as a means of party propaganda. Composers are forced to churn out solemn compositions of praise - songs in honor of the Soviet homeland, the party, the leaders of communism. At the same time, they strengthened totalitarian control over music. Government decree of 1932 closed the Association of Modern Ukrainian music, uniting innovative composers who were guided by Western movements music, such as jazz. Society named after M. Leontovych was renamed and reorganized into the All-Ukrainian Community of Revolutionary musicians, valid until 31 years, and also created the Association of Proletarian musicians Ukraine in 1928, which operated until 1932.

Life Ukrainian music also manifested itself in the development of opera theaters in large and small centers, such as in Kharkov, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk. The repertoire was mainly traditional - Italian or German opera, but even then in Ukrainian.

Ukrainian music in the 40s – 50s

The years 1941 - 1945 were written into history Ukrainian music as a complex and ambiguous period. This, of course, is caused by historical events that determined the essence and meaning and directions artistic process, stipulated genre dominants and a gravitation towards certain ideological, thematic and figurative spheres.

Beginning of V.O. the war was just a turning point for Ukrainian music and culture in general. Ukrainian artists and musicians fought on the fronts. A large number of performing groups, theaters, philharmonic societies, teaching staff of many musical educational institutions were evacuated to the republics of the USSR. Thus Ukrainian music continued its further development - but in a different national context, in a different cultural atmosphere.

IN Ukrainian music At that time, the folklore of the peoples of the USSR was included with full rights and was closely and actively studied by composers and musicologists. The musical heritage of the Bashkir people attracted the attention of P. Kozitsky, G. Verevka, Kazakh folklore was reflected in the works of M. Skorulsky, Turkmen - in the works of Y. Meitus and A. Znosko-Borovsky. The leading themes of the works are the dominance of the idea of a single desire for victory, patriotic themes, the theme of protecting the native land and cultural heritage.

Signs musical life At that time, there was an extremely high creative activity of numerous amateur groups, which embraced the broad masses with the spirit of artistic creativity and introduced them to classical musical development. The level of performing skills of such groups was often quite high. It is not for nothing that a significant part of them received the well-deserved title of people and the opportunity to show their skills and art outside the state, to get acquainted with musical foreign culture. Among the most popular professional groups of that time were the academic choir of bandura players of the Ukrainian SSR, the Ukrainian choir Verevka, the Virsky folk dance group, the symphony orchestra of Ukraine, the choral academic choir “Dumka”, the Lysenko Quartet and others.

The theme of the party, happy Soviet life and socialist labor, captured by the labor enthusiasm of the masses, at that time loses its canonical status, but does not lose its significance. At the same time, all innovative searches were unofficially slowed down. Such duality was adequate to the very atmosphere of that time, which combined the oppositional - criticism of Stalinism - and the official - preservation of the foundation of communist ideology.

Sixties in Ukrainian music.

“The Sixties” dubbed an entire culture, a unique generation Ukrainian and the Soviet intelligentsia and authors, who intensively manifested themselves in the politics and culture of the 60s. These were times of partial weakening of the totalitarian regime, a period that was later called the Khrushchev Thaw. The sixties then spoke out in defense Ukrainian language and culture, demanded freedom in art. Their mentality was formed on the basis of humanistic democratic Western traditions. They literally increased the population's interest in their own cultural heritage. The sixties directed their creativity towards visualizing the existing problems of life, so to speak, painful issues that were often previously simply hushed up. Some of the first sixties in Ukraine were Lina Kostenko and Vasily Simonenko.

The 1960s are a breakthrough Ukrainian music, composition school on major arenas around the world, as well as the development and application latest trends Euro-cultures. In Kyiv, a group of artists “Kiev Avant-Garde” was formed, which was joined by such famous domestic figures as Vitaly Godzyatsky, Leonid Grabovsky, Silvestrov and others. Members of this organization began to be harassed and harassed by the authorities, as a result of which the organization disintegrated.

Around the same time, such composers as Georgy and Platon Mayborody, Dankevich K., Lyatoshinsky B. continued to create. Our school of vocal art received real recognition throughout the world. Big names Ukrainian opera stage: E. Miroshnichenko, Solovyanenko A., Rudenko B., Gnatyuk D. One of the very significant events that time - a production of Shostakovich's opera “Katerina Izmailova” (1965, Kyiv).

Although Boris Nikolaevich Lotoshinsky has already finished his creative activity, he is also being enrolled in the sixties. After all, he taught Grabovsky, and Silvestrov, and Karabits, and Dychko, and Stankovych, who later became the sixties. When in the 1960s it began to gradually rise " iron curtain", a huge wave of information about music west. Everyone started to admire her. And Boris Nikolaevich created his famous Fourth Symphony. Lotoshinsky in the 1960s returned to eternal ideas and the question of what truth is, and gave a brilliant concept regarding the eternal cycle of life, embodying the idea in the echoes of bells - a symbol of eternity.

Ukrainian original music little by little it acquires the status of the most striking artistic phenomenon. In this genre there is a very significant contribution to the development Ukrainian music made by V. Ivasyuk (1949-1979) - a very famous singer and composer, author of legendary immortal hits like “I’ll go to the distant mountains”, “Chervona Ruta”, “Vodograi” and others. First of all, the artist’s work is based on folklore primary sources. By the way, the song “Chervona Ruta” gave the name major festival Ukrainian music and songs.

Ukrainian music 70-80 years

Over these decades Ukrainian music experienced a turbulent time like never before. Its basis was the realities of Soviet life, those turns of history that resulted in the period of the so-called thaw, liberalization, revival of spiritual life, and a way out of the artificial isolation of Soviet art.

Continue creative work artists of the “older generation” - B. Lotoshinsky, Revutsky, Dankevich, Zhukovsky, Taranov, Klebanov. The “middle” generation is active - K. Dominchen, the Mayboroda brothers, V. Gomolyaki, I. Shamo and others. It begins active work at the turn of the 50-60s: Bibik, Belash, Buevsky, Grabovsky, Gubarenko, L. Dychko, Ishchenko, Karabits, G. Lyashenko, Skorik, Zagortsev, Stankovich, Guba, Godzyatsky and others. It is thanks to these names that Ukrainian music strives for European modernism.

The 70s and 80s became a period of explosive development of software music, which made it possible to avoid any genre definitions and fully reveal individual artistic aspirations. Essentially multi-genre works arose - a synthesis of instrumental and vocal principles and a choral symphony, symphony-ballet.

During this period of fruitful development he receives education. The system of artistic education is being significantly expanded: a network of children’s and youth’s musical schools, musical schools Their graduates receive higher education at the Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa conservatories, the Kharkov Institute of Arts, the Kharkov Institute of Culture with the Kyiv branch. In 1968, the already independent Kiev Institute of Culture opened the Nikolaev and Rivne educational faculties.

Active is periodical collection scientific works“Ukrainian musicology” (since 1964). Since 1970, the publication of the magazine “ Music“, the magazine is printed “ Folk art and ethnography”, in a word, Ukrainian music receives additional let its development.

Ukrainian music in the 80s and 90s

The indicated period is perestroika in the 80s, the collapse of the USSR, and Ukraine gaining independence in the 90s. This period was marked by the emergence of new cultural trends. The changes that started in our country contributed to the resumption of the interrupted cultural-modernist tradition of the 20s and the democratization stream of the 60s. The main feature of development Ukrainian music and Ukrainian art of this time becomes a rethinking of established principles and a search for new creative principles. Second half of the 80s. Indicated by the appeal of domestic sociologists, cultural scientists, art historians to the concepts of Western culture, to the renewal of the spiritual foundations of life, revival national traditions, takes on various forms of cultural dialogue between socialist realist and alternative types of thinking.

In the early 90s, numerous non-state organizations appeared in Ukraine. creative teams, voluntary societies of various kinds, a significant part of which very successfully begin to cooperate with foreign cultural and educational organizations and contribute to the introduction of Ukraine into the world space.

An important means of understanding the processes occurring in Ukrainian music, it becomes possible to hold numerous scientific conferences devoted to the consideration of new cultural and philosophical problems of musicology, issues of the theory and history of musical art, modern views on the system of training musical specialists, etc.

At the end of the 80s, music festivals began to be organized in Ukraine, the programs of which consisted of works of various stylistic branches, at which works from classics and actually to the avant-garde were presented. At these festivals they found a display newest types arts, such as video installations, instrumental musical theater, various performances. Dissemination of information about the achievements of Ukrainian and foreign artists in the field of contemporary music promotes a series of concerts “ New music”(Kyiv, Kharkov). Development picture Ukrainian music complement the author's and anniversary concerts of composers, gala evenings organized by the Center music information Union of Composers of Ukraine and its regional branches.

One of the leading places in musical During the 80s and 90s, piano music took over. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of national and international piano competitions, as well as the spread of the practice of premier concert performances piano works Ukrainian composers abroad (Austria, Germany, China, USA). The big picture Ukrainian music enrich numerous competitions and festivals of other genres of art, in particular organ and chamber music, spiritual, choral, brass and jazz, opera, as well as popular modern songs and the like. These events expand the scope of communication between domestic and foreign composers, performers, teachers, promote the exchange of experience, expand the geography of participants, influence communication with representatives of the mass media (press, radio, TV).

Multi-directionality and multi-vector artistic trends allows us to define them as postmodern, where, on the one hand, the preservation, rethinking and renewal of the achievements of the past can be traced, and on the other, there is a rejection of tradition, intensive searches and experiments.

Ukrainian music end of the twentieth century

Popular music And Ukrainian rock music are clearly represented at such festivals as “Chervona Ruta”, “Chaika”, “Tavrian Games”, etc. Modern Ukrainian rock music. Among the famous names are “Okean Elzy”, “VV”, “TNMK”, “Skryabin”, “Dead Piven”. Ukrainian rock festivals are held regularly and successfully.

About modern Ukrainian music, you can easily regularly find out about all its new products and premieres on our website “”. Discover modern and independent Ukrainian music!