Fourteen Composers in Today’s Ukraine

 

 

 

Gerald Gabel

 

 

A Brief History

 

                   Ukrainian music has not been widely researched in the West likely because Ukraine has traditionally been in the political and cultural shadow of Russia. Prior to the middle of the twentieth century perhaps their best known composer was Dmitry Bortniansky who thrived at the end of the 19th century, yet studied and lived many years in Russia.  And while most are familiar with the dynamic “Great Gate at Kiev” from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition the gate itself is Ukrainian in origin, and the music is of a Russian composer and yields little insight into the music of this country!

 

                   Sacred chant from Byzantia was evidently introduced into Ukraine in the late tenth century when St. Vladimir converted to Christianity and adopted the sacred music of the Orthodox Church. By the middle of the eleventh century, Ukrainian melodies were being used in the liturgy and the sixteenth century witnessed a great flourish of polyphony inspired by music imported from Poland. Music in the church then became more diverse with the use of Bulgarian, Greek and Ukrainian melodies. But, in 1654, Ukraine and Russia established a political agreement causing many Ukrainian composers and performers to move to Moscow to study Western music. The loss of talent to Russia produced a reduction in Ukrainian musical activity for a great length of time.

 

                   There were some notable Ukrainian composers in the 19th century. These included Mykola Ovsianiko-Kulikovsky, S. S. Gulak-Artemovsky (1813-73), Petro Nistchynsky (1832-96), Pyotr Sokal'sky (1832-87). Volodymyr Sokal’sky(1863-1920) (a nephew of Pyotr), Mykola Arkas (1852-1909) and Mykola Kolachevsky (1851-97). They wrote in the standard genres of nineteenth century Europe with emphasis upon symphonic works, operas and folksongs. Such progress was facilitated by the establishment of the Kiev Philharmonic Society and the Kiev Russian Music Society. Through the efforts of the Russian Music Society, the Music College in Kiev was established in 1868.

 

                   Mykola Lysenko (born in 1842) is sometimes called the “father of Ukrainian music”. He was very interested in the folk songs of local peasants and composed many songs to texts of his countryman Taras Shevchenko. His primary teachers were Karl Reinecke at the Leipzig Conservatory and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Saint Petersburg. In 1904, he founded a musical institute in Kiev and was active as a composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and teacher. Composers influenced by Lysenko's music included Kyrylo Stetsenko (1882-1922), Yakiv Stepovy (1883-1921), Mykola Leontovych (1887-1921), and Alexander Koshyts. These composers were establishing a distinctly Ukrainian music. But the Soviet regime did not allow Stetsenko, Stepovy and Leontovych to continue their work and exiled F. S. Akimenko (1876-1945), Koshyts and Nestor Horodovenko. This brought an end to what might have been a flowering of Ukrainian music.

 

                   After inactivity during the early years under Soviet control, a new generation of Ukrainian composers became known.  Included in this group are Mykola Skorulsky (1887-1950), L. M. Revutsky (a leading figure at the Kiev Conservatory), and Boris Lyatoshyns'ky (1895-1969) who was a pupil of Rheinhold Glière. During this time, Lviv developed into an important center for Ukrainian musical activity. The Mykola Lysenko Music Institute was founded in Lviv in 1903.

 

                   The most prominent Ukrainian composers of the mid-20th century include Andriy Shtogarenko (born in 1902), Yuly Meytus (born in 1903), Konstantin Dankevych (born in 1905), A. Koss-Anatolsky (born in 1909), A. D. Fylypenko (born in 1912), Herman Yukovsky (born in 1913), Hryhory Mayboroda (born in  1913), Piaton Mayboroda (born in 1918), Vadym Gomoliaka (born in 1914), Viktor Kireyko (born in 1926) and Alexander Znosko-Borovsky (born in 1908).

 

 

The State of Composition in Ukraine Today

 

                        In 2007, I was in Ukraine for a total of 26 days meeting with and interviewing Ukrainian composers. The information contained in this article is a synthesis of information from these interviews. Ludmila Yurina was the first person I approached nearly two years ago with a proposal to meet and interview composers from Ukraine for purposes of presenting them to the western world in this article. She worked tirelessly to insure the success of this project.  To her, I extend gracious thanks and gratitude for her efforts.

        

                        The greatest obstacle in realizing this project was my poor understanding and abilities with either the Russian or Ukrainian languages despite my crash course in Russian.  The American Embassy in Kiev suggested a person to serve as translator for all meetings with composers and also with administrators at the National Academy of Music.  Alexander Krivyts is fluent in Russian, Ukrainian and English.  He proved to be a wonderful asset in all meetings. His attention to detail, cordial and gracious manner and magnanimous sense of humor were a great asset. To Alex, I also extend gracious thanks and gratitude.

 

          Ukraine, in essence, is a very young country.  After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was once again free to establish its own governance without control of Soviet leaders. This change has created economic difficulties. The government is taking steps to broaden its economic base to become more industrial and to welcome foreign investment. If such plans are successful, the future of Ukraine is bright. Its people are highly educated, resourceful and hard working.

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                   Conditions for composers in Ukraine are not very different from those of composers in the United States and other Western countries. Many composers earn their living teaching in the four state universities and numerous musical institutes throughout the country. Others work for composers’ unions in the larger cities even though there are limited job opportunities with these organizations. The unions are funded by the government through the Ministry of Culture which must support all arts on a limited budget. Igor Shcherbakov, director of the Kiev Composers Union, described conditions for composers in Kiev:

 

There are 196 composer and musicologist members.  According to rules, a ratio of composers to musicologists must be maintained (this was inherited from the time of Soviet control).  They organize an annual festival with 30 concerts for orchestra, choir and other ensembles.  It also organizes concerts of music of different composers.  There is not a lot of funding for this.  It is accomplished with money from the City of Kiev and the Ministry of Culture.  The Ministry of Culture provides most of the money to rent office space and pay the salaries of five employees per year.  There is little money for other things.  The festival is financed 80% by the Ministry and 20% by the City of Kiev.

 

When asked whether they actively seek donations from individuals, foundations or corporations, Shcherbakov responded:

 

Only 2 or 3 times in the past have private foundations donated funds for our activities.  Some embassies have helped.  They support composers from their countries.  A couple of foundations in Poland and Italy have helped by supporting composers from their countries.

 

Sergey Zazhytko, also an officer of the Composer’s Union, offered his perspective:

 

There are laws in the West which encourage private and corporate donations for the arts.  These laws don’t exist in Ukraine.  There are two areas of government support.  It supports composer organizations and individuals to partake in festivals.  Sometimes composer groups ask corporations to make donations but this is usually not successful.

 

          Besides the festival in Kiev, there are major festivals in other cities, most notably Lviv and Odessa, which support new music. When asked if there were many performance opportunities with the festivals and with other performance organizations, Alexander Shymko replied:

 

There are not many.  My pieces are played more in Poland than in Ukraine.  Progress has been made and more opportunities might be available in the future.  An emphasis upon our culture is needed in Ukraine and composers are receiving more state awards.  It helps that tickets are not required to attend our festivals because the concerts are free to the public.  This doesn’t help greatly because new directions in classical music are not as accepted by the public as developments in pop music.

 

          Sergey Zazhytko gave an interesting perspective on why some performing musicians are reticent to perform the music of living composers:

 

During Soviet times, people did not know Western styles and musicians did not play Western music.  It is difficult for performers of traditional music to learn new techniques and styles.  Therefore, I mostly work with young musicians.  They are more flexible and are willing to use new techniques.

 

          One composer, Olena Leonova, who has traveled to western Europe and spent several months teaching in Jamaica, noted: “I have the same opportunities as composers in other countries.  The same problems exist here as in other countries.”

 

          I asked, specifically, if there were sufficient opportunities for young and emerging composers.  Sergey Zazhytko laughed and replied:

 

The Ministry of Culture has plans for cultural activities.  Within their budget and plan, they support new music in Ukraine.  In general, the support is low.  They don’t differentiate on the basis of style.  Support is low for all styles.

 

                   I asked all composers if their life is different now than it was before the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Only one composer, Volodymyr Zahortsev, emphatically and enthusiastically stated that his life was better. For him, having the freedom to write the music he desires, without censorship, is more important than other considerations. The youngest composers were mostly still engaged in studies at the Conservatories during this time and offered no opinion since they were not active during the time of Soviet rule.  Gennady Lyaschenko, who lived his entire life under the Soviet regime responded:

 

Composers were better supported under the Soviets and the government took care of them.  There was a publishing company.  It still exists but it is private now and they charge composers to publish a work. In Soviet times, the economy was planned and they knew what they would publish in advance.  I had one work published each year and they paid me!  I worked most of my life for the Soviets.  No one created obstacles for me and I continue to write in the same way.

 

          For composers whose styles and ideas were acceptable to the government, there were few problems. Others were subjected to censorship and, sometimes, imprisonment.  Igor Shcherbakov provided additional insight:

 

Maybe it is better in the sense that it is more open and composers can interact with composers and musicians of other countries.  Ukrainian people can’t listen to the world’s great orchestras because the state can’t finance tours for such concerts.  During Soviet times, composers were better supported.  On the other hand, one cannot replace freedom with money!  I started composing during the last years of Soviet control.  All music was ordered via the Ministry of Culture.  A sonata might take six months to compose and the Ministry gave 250 rubles.  But if I write a song about Lenin, I might receive 300 rubles – and a song takes a lot less time to compose than a sonata!  I changed my political views and refused to write the song about Lenin.  But now I would write the song to get the money!

                                                                                            

Gabel - “Might you write a song for your current President?”

 

Shcherbakov – “No!  He is alive!  For Lenin, maybe – he is history!

 

My family supports the idea that Ukraine should be free and independent.  I even took part in some demonstrations in 1991. On the other hand, countries should maintain friendly relationships.  Freedom is great but composers were better supported by the Soviets.  I would prefer the support.”

 

 

Yehven Stankovych

 

                   Yehven Stankovych (born 1942, in Svalyava) studied composition with Adam Soltys at the Lviv Conservatory from 1962-63, and with Borys Lyatoshynsky (1965-68) and Myroslav Skoryk (1968-70) at the Kiev Conservatory.  From 1970-76, he worked as an editor for Muzychna Ukraina, the lone music publisher in the Soviet Ukraine. Since then, he has been Professor of Composition at the Ukrainian Music Academy (formerly the Kiev Conservatory). Stankovych has composed several large works for the stage including the folk opera When the Fern Blooms for soloists, folk chorus, and small orchestra.  His works for dance include a ballet legend entitled Olha and full ballets entitled Spark, Prometheus, and the Vikings, and he has composed numerous film scores.  His orchestral output is quite large with eight symphonies, seven chamber symphonies, a sinfonietta, concertos for cello, violin, viola and violin with piano, as well as miscellaneous orchestral works. His chamber works include several recent compositions for mixed chamber ensembles as well as three sonatas for cello, two for violin and one for clarinet, two string quartets, a Concertino for flute and violin and two pieces for violin and cello.  Since 1991, he has produced several choral works on religious themes. There are also many secular choral works and works for solo piano and organ.

 

                   The Chamber Symphony No. 5 is in one movement and is scored for clarinet, six violins, two violas, two violoncelli, and one contrabass. The chamber ensemble is treated in a decidedly symphonic manner at times while, at other moments, it is a chamber work.  In measures 1-13, the major thematic units for the work are presented. The clarinet presents an initial opening line which is repeated in variations with extensions for the duration of the passage emphasizing the primary pitch focus on “f”, “a” and “c”. The strings present three gestures which will be important through the work: a 16th and 32nd note passage in measure two in the violin 1 part, a triplet sixteenth figure in measure 5 in violin 2, and a 32nd note passage in measure 8 in violin 3 (Example 1).

 

 

 

Example 1: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 1-8

 

                   In measures 34-35, all three of the violin figures comprise the entire accompaniment creating a complex texture before the clarinet entrance. The clarinetist’s focus is, once again, on  f  natural (Example 2).

 

Example 2: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 34-35

 

 

                   Beginning with the Piu Mosso in measure 71, the same string figures are found but now in their original form as well as in augmentation.  The clarinet retains a contour similar to the beginning but now featuring sextuplet sixteenth notes with an emphasis of f natural which moves to f# passing to g in measure 75 (Example 3).

 

Example 3: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 71-72

The climax of this section appears in measures 130 through 134. At this point, the clarinet solo has adopted some aspects of the original string figures. After displaying the same rhythms in measure 130, the strings progress in ascending eighth notes to the climactic chord at measure 134.  This sonority ranges from D#5 in the cello part up to E6 in the violin 1 part.  Except for the minor third between the first and second violins, the remainder of the ensemble is packed in half and whole steps created a tightly packed sonority of considerable tension. The clarinet figure in measure 134 outlines the same intervallic range as the strings but a perfect fourth higher (Example 4).

 

Example 4: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 130-134

                   The Piu Mosso in measure 135 presents a decidedly different texture than the frenzied declamation of the previous measures. This middle section of the work provides the greatest contrast and relief in the entire work.  Again, similar rhythmic figures may be found in the clarinet although greatly augmented. The strings sustain another tense sonority but with greater range for the ensemble from E flat2 to G6 (Example 5).

                  

 

Example 5: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 135-140

 

                   In measure 235, Stankovych increases the tempo to allegro.  At measure 247, he re-introduces materials heard earlier in the work in variation with the violoncello temporarily assuming the melodic line (Example 6).

 

        

Example 6: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. 247-248

 

 

                   This final section of the work recalls virtually all materials heard earlier in the work.  The final measures recall the climax of the first section with the rapid ascending runs in the clarinet followed by a final passage in which the instrument repeats a series of notes though here the passage is more varied and melodic in nature than earlier. The strings exhibit a similar ascent to a chord but this time the chord is sustained to the final two chords in the composition (Example 7).

 

 

Example 7: Stankovych, Chamber Symphony No. 5 mm. Measures 333 – end

 

                   The Mass “In Time of Famine” is an imposing work for orchestra, chorus, soloists and narrator which commemorates a very tragic time in Ukrainian history. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Stalinist regime was attempting to move all farmers onto collectives fulfilling one of the tenets of Stalinist philosophy.  The Ukrainian farmers resisted Stalin’s dictates preferring to maintain the land they owned and, in instances, had been a family heritage for centuries. Frustrated by this resistance, the Soviets instituted a famine upon Ukraine.  For decades the Soviet government denied that such a decision had been made.  With the downfall of the Soviets in 1991, documents were discovered which verified the fact that the famine was not a natural phenomenon. In the years 1932 and 1933, approximately one-third of the population of Ukraine died of starvation.  Hungry and with many citizens dying, the farmers’ resistance gradually weakened and they reported to the collectives. Assured of victory in the standoff, the government food supply lines were re-established.

 

                   With the establishment of the new Ukrainian government in 1991, a commemoration of this event was designated for a day in November each year. The citizens of Ukraine gather in a plaza in each city carrying candles for the souls of the people who died.  The candles are sometimes arranged in patterns with a huge cross at the center.  In Kiev, the Mass “In Time of Famine” of Stankovych is performed each year as part of this solemn ritual.

 

 

Volodymyr Zahortsev

 

        Volodymyr Zahortsev (born 1944, in Kiev) began private piano lessons at 15 with F. Kalikhman, a pupil of Rachmaninov, and music theory with O. Guberman. From 1962, he studied composition with Professors B. Lyatoshyns'ky and A. Shtoharenko at the former Kiev State Peter Tchaikovsky Conservatoire from which he graduated in 1968.  In the 60’s, he, together with his friends Valentin Silvestrov, Leonid Hrabovsky and Vitali Hodzyatsky, formed the informal group, known in Western countries as "Kiev Avant-Guarde". A performance of his Gradations (January 1980) by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Meta was an important event in his life. In 1968, he joined the Ukrainian Composers' Union.  Since 1968, his music has been performed in many cities of the world: New York, Boston, Berlin, Las Vegas, London, Zagreb and Bratislava.  He was a permanent participant in such festivals of new music as "Season's Premieres," and "Kiev Music Fest".  Zahortsev’s output includes works in all genres including sonatas for many instruments, four string quartets, a piano concerto and seven chamber concertos, four symphonies and numerous other orchestral works, an opera and works for chorus and orchestra.  In addition to the numerous sonatas, he has also written many works for solo piano, mixed chamber ensembles, and a chamber cantata.

 

                     Zahortsev’s early style was similar to the European avant-garde of the 1960’s.  His Gradations for Orchestra, composed in 1962, exemplifies this style with angular melodies, quasi-serial pitch organization, use of a large percussion section, and new notation symbols for improvisational sections and moments. The work commences with a lively interchange between various instruments and sections of the orchestra.  In measure two, the vibraphone presents a notation for improvisation.  This returns many times in the work. After articulating the tense sonority (d4, e4, c#5 and f5), the performer improvises according to the shape of the following irregular, undulating line (Example 8).

 

Example 8: Zahortsev, Gradations for Orchestra mm. 1-3

 

 

Example 9: Zahortsev, Gradations for Orchestra, page 10

 

Example 10: Zahortsev, Gradations for Orchestra, page 11

 

 

Example 11: Zahortsev, Gradations for Orchestra, page 22

 

          His techniques for notating aleatoric or limited aleatoric moments seems to be an influence from the music of the Polish school of the 1960s. Page 10 of the score shows the accumulation of a string cluster sustained for the duration of an eight second segment.  Over the next thirteen seconds, the strings gradually change from a sustained cluster to a “cloud-like” cluster of short events performed sul ponticello (Example 9).

 

         As the strings build to a dynamic of ffff, this texture is abruptly replaced by a one-second sparse hocket between bells, horn, trumpet and trombone followed by another intense, though varied dense texture. This ten-second unit is very dramatic with all instruments playing at a high dynamic with considerable improvisation particularly in the violins and vibraphone. While the woodwinds and brass must perform specific pitches, there is some freedom in time proportions between parts. This example displays precisely notated events along with limited aleatorism and improvisation (Example 10).

 

          At the end of the work, improvisation dominates. Only in the brass and percussion are limited aleatoric events notated (Example 11). This conclusion is very dense and very dramatic with an abrupt cut-off. This work begins largely with precisely notated events.  It progresses to a mixture of precision with limited aleatorism and improvisation and in the end improvisation dominates.

 

                      Forty years later, Zahortsev completed his Kammerkonzert #7 for flute, B clarinet, violin, violoncello and piano. Virtually everything in the work is very precisely notated with the exception of the piano part in measure 128 (Example 12).

 

 

 

Example 12: Zahortsev, Zahortsev Kammerkonzert #7, mm. 128-131

 

                    While the textural nature of the work is much more conventional, the pitch language is similar to his works of the past. Measures 1-2 of the Kammerkonzert #7, present a sonority with d1 and c#2 in the piano, g2, b2 and c 2 in the cello with a sustained B 3 in the clarinet. The emphasis upon intervals of the seventh in this sonority are characteristic of the entire piece, even though other intervals gain greater prominence as the work progresses. Measures 3 and 4 are similar, with d 1 and c2 in the piano, a sustained c4 in the clarinet and with e3 and b2 in the cello (Example 13).

 

          The final chord of the work is drawn from the initial sonority with the piano articulating d1 and c#2 with the cello on g2.  The flute adds a c4 creating a pitch class cluster with the piano notes.  The cello g2 with the violin a 3 and clarinet f#3 create another pitch class cluster (Example 14).

 

 

Example 13: Zahortsev Kammerkonzert #7, mm. 1-9

 

 

Example 14: Zahortsev, Kammerkonzert #7 mm. 240-246

 

Myroslav Skoryk

 

          Myroslav Skoryk was born in Lviv (then Poland, now Ukraine) in 1938. He came from an educated Ukrainian family. His grandmother was a sister of an eminent opera singer, Solomea Krushelnytska. He began studying music in Lviv in 1945 but  in 1947, the Skoryks were repressed on political grounds and deported to Siberia. After Joseph Stalin's death they were allowed to return to Lviv where he studied at the Lviv State V. Lysenko Conservatoire (now the Lviv Music Academy) under Professors Stanislav Ljudkevych (music history and theory), Roman Simovych and Adam Soltys (composition) from 1955-1960. Between 1960 and 1963, he was engaged in post-graduate studies in composition at the Moscow State P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with Prof. Dimitri Kabalevsky.  Since 1963, he has lectured in music theory and composition at the Lviv Conservatoire and the Music Academy of Ukraine.  His output includes various musical genres:  an opera, a ballet, a “Requiem”, concertos (1 for orchestra, 1 for cello with orchestra, 3 piano concertos and 2 violin), pieces for orchestra, various ensembles, solo piano and solo works for other instruments and voices; music to numerous films and theatre plays; jazz and popular music.

 

           Skoryk completed his Ph.D. in musicology in 1967 and has authored the monographs “S. Prokofiev's Modal System” (Kiev, “Muzychna Ukrajina”, 1969), and “Structure and Expressiveness of Tunings in 20th-Century Music” (Kiev, “Muzychna Ukrajina”, 1984). He is a member of the Ukrainian Composers' Union and its secretary for many years, and has been head of the Board of the Lviv Branch since 1988. He has edited Ukrainian classic operas Na Rusalchyn Velykden by Mykola Leontovych, Kupalo by Anatol' Vakhnjanyn, and Roksoljana by Denys Sichynsky.  Stylistically he has continued traditions of the Lviv composers' school of organic unity with various primary genres. He has developed an personal modern vision of the Ukrainian style, especially incorporating Carpathian folklore, Lviv urban and salon music as well as contemporary popular music, especially jazz.

 

          Skoryk”s opera Moses is a fifty minute work scored for soloists, chorus and orchestra on a libretto written collaboratively with B. Stelmakh. In this work, one discovers the essential elements of Skoryk’s style: homophonic textures intermingled with polyphony, a tonal orientation enlivened by added note sonorities and occasional surprising chord successions all within a neo-romantic style. His Partita #5 for solo piano illustrates his style in miniature forms. The first movement, “Prelude,” begins with a C major triad but the first note heard is b3 adding the 7th to the initial sonority. In measure two, he adds an insistent c# sonority which ultimately resolves to d in measure 6. The harmonic succession from the first measure to the sixth moves from I7 to vi7 (with the right hand c# there is a hint of a split-third chord) to VI7 and ultimately to V7 in measure 6. The chiming of the c# in the right hand emphasizes the leading tone of “d” which resolves into the fifth of the “V” chord (Example 15).While the dominant seventh chord does resolve, in measure 7, to a tonic based sonority, it is unexpectedly colored as a quasi augmented sixth triad which is altered in the next two measures to support a chromatically descending line in the right hand from “E 5” to “B 4” at measure 12.  This sonority then thins to reveal, for the first time, the pure C major triad!

 

      After a repeat of the opening six measures, the resolution of the dominant chord in measure 20 is surprising. Measure 21 features a sequence of linear figures seemingly very foreign to the tonal declamation of the preceding measures.  With closer observation, one notices that the initial pitches of each figure utilize only the pitches of the work’s initial sonority.  This is true with the exception of the fourth figure beginning with a “d7”.  Measures 26 and 27 then effect chromatic descents in both voices which lead to another implication of “V” and, in measure 28, the opening is heard again (Example 16).

 

 

 

Example 15: Skoryk, Partita #5, Movement one, mm. 1-15

 

 

Example 16: Skoryk, Partita #5, Movement one mm. 20-28

 

 

 

Gennady Lyashenko

 

                   Gennady Lyashenko (born in Primorsk, 1938) graduated from the Lviv State Conservatoire where he studied with A. M. Soltis.  He has since established a formidable career as composer, musicologist and professor. A member of the Composer’s Union, a candidate of Musicology, professor at the National Academy of Music, he is author of numerous periodical articles and his dissertation, Fugue and Its Role in the Dramatic Compositions of Non-polyphonic Forms, is highly regarded.His main works reflect different genres of symphonic, chamber, choral, vocal and programmatic music.  He has composed five symphonies, numerous other compositions for symphony orchestra, four instrumental concerti, over thirty chamber instrumental works, choral works, songs and music for films. He is a classicist in the sense that technique and form are extremely important. Yet, he is willing to use programmatic content as the basis for his compositions, particularly if the program reflects typical Ukrainian culture.

 

                      Lyashenko’s Third Symphony, from 1982 begins with an extended pseudo-impressionistic passage featuring an ominous chord accompanying melodic interaction between the oboe and English Horn (Example 17). Page 2 features a variation of this opening texture with two clarinets engaged in countrapuntal interaction accompanied by harmonics in the harp. A return to the opening sonority and varied counterpoint between oboe and English Horn follows at rehearsal 1.  A variation of the clarinet and harp measures is heard with the contrapuntal lines assumed by flute and bassoon producing a static accompaniment and featuring oscillation back and forth between C4 and C5. As this section unfolds, he introduces a three-half-note figure in the timpani which becomes very important as the work progresses.

 

 

Example 17: Lyashenko, Symphony #3, Movement one, p. 1

 

 

          Rehearsal three produces a short outburst with triplet eighth notes in the brass and percussion. This enticing energy is cut short at rehearsal 4 with a return to another variation of the melodic counterpoint, this time, however, the counterpoint is replaced by a chordal representation of the melodic line with, initially, two instruments and, later, two additional instruments doubling each of the lines already presented. At rehearsal 5, the energetic material returns with the triplet eighths in the brass suggesting the possibility of an imposing march-like development later in the work.  This is the accompaniment for the main melodic line in the flutes and violins acting as an expansion of the line heard in the previous section.  At rehearsal 6, the march-like rhythms predominate (Example 18).

 

 

Example 18: Lyashenko, Symphony #3, Movement one, p. 15

 

                      At rehearsal 9, another pause in the action with a return to opening melodic fragments is followed by an increase in activity with rapid eighth note passages in woodwinds and strings followed by dramatic melodic passages in the brass. There is one more return to the very beginning of the work with a variation of the opening sonority and a brief recall of the opening oboe melody.  At measure fifteen, the march returns with the triplet eighth notes producing a relentless rhythmic background in the strings with melodic statements in the woodwinds and brass (Example 19).

 

 

Example 19: Lyashenko, Symphony #3, Movement one, p 46

 

          Rehearsal 18 displays the culmination of the first movement with an intense chordal sonority sustained in the strings and woodwinds. The brass proclaim the robust melodic materials and the percussion continue the march rhythms unrelentingly (Example 20).

 

 

Example 20: Lyashenko, Symphony #3, Movement one, p. 57

 

Lesya Dychko         

 

          Born in 1939 in Kiev, Lesya Dychko graduated from the Kiev M.V. Lysenko Secondary Musical School (in theory) in 1959 and, in 1964, she received a degree in composition from the Kiev National Musical Academy of Ukraine under Professors Dankevych and Lyatoshynsky. She completed post-graduate studies with Professors Lyatoshynsky and Pejko in 1971. Dychko has since then lectured at the Kiev Pedagogical Institute (1965-1966), in music history at the Kiev Arts Academy (1972-1994), at the Studio of the Honored Ukrainian State Bandura Players Choir (since 1965) and as a teacher at the National Musical Academy of Ukraine (composition and music theory) since 1994.  In 1989, she lectured about contemporary Ukrainian choral music in Canada.

 

          Dychko’s list of works is significant especially in the area of works for chorus.  She has, however, written many instrumental works.  The instrumental repertoire includes works for solo flute and violin, organ and piano and several works for orchestra including three suites and tone poems.  In the vocal area there are many works for vocal soloists with accompaniment ranging from piano or organ to orchestra.  There are also many works for SATB mixed chorus, female, male and children’s chorus. Particularly notable are 12 cantatas, 4 choral concertos, three ballets and an oratorio entitled “Vertep”. She has also composed music for film, animated films and popular science films. She continues the Ukrainian tradition in her religious music but her style has united features of Ukrainian folk and church choral singing and aspects of artistic and cultural universality.

 

          Dychko’s Triumphant Liturgy is a 73-minute work for a cappella chorus and soloists. The male soloists generally have lines reminiscent of traditional chant. The beginning of movement 9 displays one of the longest solo sections in the work. The majority of this section features the baritone/bass soloist with two short interjections from the tenor (Example 21). 

 

Example 21: Dychko, Triumphant Liturgy, Movement 9, opening solo section

 

                      The chorus enters as a response to the soloists with short “alleluias” interspersed between solo segments.  From measure 13 until the end, the chorus predominates with a lovely declamation featuring chordal planing of major and minor triads.  At the end of the movement, the development of chordal planing reaches a climax in seventh chords against a sustained D major triad (Example 22).

 

 

Example 22: Dychko, Triumphant Liturgy, Movement 9, m. 34 to the end

 

                      Movement 15 begins in B major featuring a one measure melody which is immediately repeated but with rhythmic alteration.  This primary melody is then stated a whole step higher and repeated before returning to the original texture (Example 23).

 

Example 23: Dychko, Triumphant Liturgy, Movement 15, mm. 1-8

 

                      The middle section of the work continues with the same melodic material but initially stated in C major with an immediate repetition. These two measures are then transposed up to D minor for two measures, then back to C and ultimately to A minor at the climax of the section in measure 15.  Throughout this section, the melodic line features an ascent from “e5” in measure 9, to “f5” in measure 11, to “g5” in measure 13, and ultimately to “a5” in measure 15.  The movement ends with a varied return to the opening section completing the ternary form (Example 24).

 

 

Example 24: Dychko, Triumphant Liturgy, Movement 15 mm. 9-17

 

Volodymyr Runchak

 

          Volodymyr Runchak is a composer, conductor and accordionist born in 1960 in Lutsk. He studied accordion at The Lutsk Music College and at the former Kiev State P. Tchaikovsky Conservatoire (which is now the National Music Academy of Ukraine) where he also studied conducting and composition. As a conductor, he has presented concerts with orchestras of Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and France, and has directed world and Ukrainian premieres of more than 100 works by contemporary composers. He was founder of the New Music concert series in Kiev.

 

         Runchak is a prolific composer with numerous works for symphony and chamber symphony, choral, mixed instrumental chamber ensemble, solo vocal and instrumental works, trios, quartets and quintets, a work for wind ensemble, a chamber opera and a work for an ensemble of Ukrainian folk instruments.  In his music, he has attempted to unite emotionalism and structural precision but, in the 1990s, he became concerned that the world of classical music was too serious and he decided to instill humor by giving some of his works unconventional titles such as “Quasi Sonata No. 2 - An Attempt at Self-Analysis” or his “AntiSonatas Nos. 28, 29 and 53”.

 

                    Runchak’s Time “X” or Farewell, Non-Symphony is scored for a quintet of flute (doubling alto flute), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), piano, violin and violoncello.  All performers are also instructed to sing (mostly humming) at the beginning and near the end of the work.  This is realized as an ongoing alternation between two distinct textural types:  the first features short and crisply articulated notes in a cluster configuration with some sustained notes hummed by the performers. The second type features lyric motives presented imitatively between two instruments for the majority of the work with an occurrence of three-part counterpoint toward the end of the work.

 

          The opening section reaches its apex at rehearsal two. In the first measure, three layers of activity are present. The flute plays short sixteenth and triplet eighth notes while also singing short notes. The clarinet performs a chromatically descending line in flutter-tongue while the violin and ‘cello engage in short, rapidly articulated events with the cello’s 64th note passages surpassing the speed of the violin. The next two measures display a complex interaction between layers in short reiterated notes maintaining the same cluster of the first measure.  In this instance, the three layers are flute and clarinet combined, the piano, and violin and cello combined.  It is a rhythmically intricate passage producing an effect not unlike klangfarbenmelodie even though it is static in terms of pitch movement (Example 25).

 

 

Example 25: Runchak, Time “X” or “Farewell, Non-Symphony” Rehearsal 2, mm. 1-3

 

                      The first appearance of the lyric texture is at rehearsal 3. Here the clarinetist plays the lead line.  While sustaining a pitch on the instrument, the player must also hum a related line. It is a challenge for the performer, but the result is very engaging (Example 26). Texture “A” returns at rehearsal 4. It builds quickly in density and then recedes to the entrance of texture “B” at rehearsal 5. This time the clarinetist is playing bass clarinet while singing in unison or octaves with the instrument.  After a short interruption recalling texture “A”, the cellist performs a counterpoint to the clarinet/singing line at rehearsal 6 (Example 27). This interaction is a linearization of the cluster activity of texture “A”. In the fifth measure of rehearsal 6, the pianist joins the clarinet and cello with a generally chromatically descending line recalling the flutter-tongued clarinet passage at rehearsal 2.

 

 

Example 26: Runchak, Time “X” or “Farewell, Non-Symphony” Rehearsal 3, mm. 1-3

 

 

Example 27: Runchak, Time “X” or “Farewell, Non-Symphony” Rehearsal 5 and the beginning of  Rehearsal 6

 

 

Example 28: Runchak, Time “X” or “Farewell, Non-Symphony” Rehearsal 8, mm. 1-5

 

                      At rehearsal 7, the two textural types begin to unite even though both are varied. At rehearsal 8 (Example 28), the pianist is rapidly alternating articulations of C and A#, fortississimo at the upper end of the keyboard. The violin and cello enter with a similar interaction but in more extended durational values. Finally, the flute and clarinet return with frenetic materials featuring rapid runs interspersed with more linear statements. This passage continues to its apex in rehearsal 11 followed by a denouement to the final section  and featuring a return to the lyric texture “B”.  Initially the flute and ‘cello engage in a duet but after an interruption from the piano, the clarinet and flute alternate statements before the violin assumes the main line at rehearsal 15. 

 

 

 

 

Ludlmilla Yurina

 

                      Ludmila Yurina is a composer and pianist born in Uzin. She was a 1981 graduate of the Glière State Music College in Kiev with a degree in piano performance and in 1990, she graduated with a degree in composition from the National Music Academy of Ukraine where she studied with Yehven Stankovych.  She completed postgraduate courses at the National Music Academy of Ukraine earning a Diploma with Distinction and attended master classes in Germany with P. H. Dittrich, I Arditti, H. Zapf, G. Staebler, J. Durand, Wolfgang Rihm and Rene Lachenmann. Since 1995, she has been a Professor of Composition at the National Music Academy. 

 

                      Yurina expends great energy in support of musical events in her country and in Europe. From 1990-1992, she was a music director in theaters and studios in Kiev.  Since 1993, she has been a member of the organizing committee and coordinator of programs for the International Forum of Young Composers in Kiev and she was the 1997 Artistic Director of the Festival of Modern Ukrainian Art entitled “Meta-Art” where she presented her lecture entitled “Theoretical Problems of New Music and Visual Art”.  In 1999, she presented a lecture on Ukrainian music for flute at the Rheinsberg (Germany) Academy of Music and, since 2002, she has been Chair of the Ukrainian Association “Women in Music”. Yurina is a member of the National Composers’ Union of Ukraine, the Adkins Chiti Foundation (Italy), National Soviet of Women of Ukraine, International Association of Women Composers, European Conference of Promoters of New Music (Holland), and the New Music International Association. 

 

                      Yurina has composed several works for full and chamber orchestra including a Concerto for trombone and orchestra and shorter, one-movement works including Incoming for full orchestra and Ran-nan for chamber orchestra. She has produced works for mixed chamber ensemble and small chamber groups and there are a few works for solo voice and chorus with varying instrumentations.  Her compositions for solo instruments are numerous including seven works for solo piano, as well as single works for solo trombone, flute, oboe and violoncello and she is also one of the few composers from Ukraine to compose works using electronics including Perseus-Beta-Algol for computer sounds and live electric guitar. She has also written music for two films entitled The Garden of the Shadows and Streams. 

 

                      Her Incoming (That One Might Enter) for orchestra is a tightly constructed eight-minute quasi rondo form which begins with interaction between two gongs. Shortly thereafter, the bells enter with a basic thematic unit from which the source pitch material for the entire work emanates. While the bells continue with rhythmically altered versions of the original line, other instruments enter with variations building a rhythmically activated sonority based upon the original pitch materials (Example 29).

 

 

Example 29: Yurina, “Incoming” mm. 9-11

 

                      Measure 25 introduces an increase in tempo with short, harsh chords in the strings as a background to increased melodic and figural activity in the winds and percussion. Gradually, all of these materials are passed back and forth between orchestral sections and there is a recession back into a less active section serving as a variation of the opening of the work with additions of melodic and figural elements from the second section.

 

                      At measure 78 (Example 30), the tempo increases to 128 and a more vigorous and unrelentingly rhythmic texture is introduced. The timpani provide the primary force with block chords in the winds and strings.  The chords are not always articulated simultaneously between sections creating a constant but consistent and timbrally differentiated pulsation. The durations of pitches in the block chords gradually increase and the intensity of the timpani subsides as well, leading back to the opening section with a counterpoint of gongs.  This time, however, the strings sustain an “icy” cluster sonority which gradually decreases in dynamic until the end (Example 31).

 

 

Example 30: Yurina’s “Incoming” mm. 98-100

 

 

Example 31: Yurina, Incoming String Sonority for the Last Section

 

                      Yurina’s Gemma is a tour de force for solo flute with a similar pitch language but it is entirely different in nature. The work is based on pitch relationships and also upon an exposition of the range of timbral resources of the instrument. In terms of pitch, the work begins with a centricity on “e4”.  In measure 15, the range of emphasis begins to expand to form a cluster between d4 and f4. There are momentary emphases on d , g, and a, but these appear to be offered as relief and expansion of the basic set (Example 32).

 

 

Example 32: Yurina, Gemma mm. 1-23

 

                   In the same measures, she introduces most of the timbral resources for the work. With the first note, the flautist hums in unison with the e4 in the flute.  Then she manipulates the width of the vibrato and ends with a descending glissando away from the central pitch. In measure 9, flutter tonguing is introduced. At measure 17, the flautist performs a rapid passage of key clicks followed by a series of multi-phonics. Throughout the work, this set of timbral techniques are constantly re-introduced and varied creating a challenging work for the performer technically in a very tightly organized structure.

 

 

 

Sergei Zazhytko

 

          Sergei Zazhytko was born in 1962 in Chernigiv, and studied piano and composition, from 1974 to 1982, under Yehven Stnakovych. In 1990 he graduated from the former Kiev State P.Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Ukraine and from 1990 to 1994, he worked as an editor at the publishing house Muzychna Ukraina. Since 1994, he has worked as a consultant at the Ukrainian Composers' Union in Kiev.

 

          Zazhytko’s catalog features works for orchestra, string orchestra and a Concerto for Horn and Orchestra.  He has also written a string quartet and woodwind quintet and numerous works for mixed chamber ensemble. His chamber music and solo production includes several songs, works for solo piano, solos for violin, viola, cello, clarinet, oboe and flute. Prominent in his catalog are “theatrical works” with soloists or actors with various accompaniments including dancers. Three of his theatrical works are unified by title even though the content of each is decidedly different but since they are all theatrical in nature, they form a “family” of works and the composer has decided to solidify this affiliation with fictitious names of a family: Zbigniev Batjuk, Nestor Batjuk and Luka Batjuk.  All three works feature sharp wit and humor while, at the same time, presenting interesting sonic designs. Zazhytko’s WELL for piano is a tour de force in which the piano becomes an instrument for timbral and textural exploration. The tempo is fast and the rhythmic ordering is, most of the time, reminiscent of fast passages in gamelan music of Bali and Java.  Funeral Dances for string orchestra is a two movement work somewhat traditional in harmonic and pitch structure. The primary feature is that the entire composition is performed pizzicato and without any arco.  The first movement is largely homophonic in texture with the quarter note tempo at 136.  The second movement is more contrapuntal in nature at a minimally slower tempo of 132 (Example 33).  A climactic moment features an incessant octave ostinato in the cellos and double bass with pizzicato quadruple stops in the violin and viola parts (Example 34).

 

 

Example 33: Zazhytko, Funeral Dances, Mvt. 2 mm. 37-44

 

 

Example 34: Zazhytko, Funeral Dances, Mvt. 2 mm. 65-67

 

 

Igor Shcherbakov

 

          Igor Shcherbakov was born in 1955 in Dnipropetrovsk and graduated from the former Kiev State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire where he studied composition with Vitaliy Kyreiko, From 1980-84, he served on the staff of the Ministry of Culture and since 1985, he has been the chief editor of Muzychna Ukraina and is currently a lecturer of composition at the Kiev National Music Academy. Shcherbakov has been director and musical editor of the festivals "International Forum of Youth Music" and "Musical Premieres of the Season". Since 1999, he has been the Head of the Kiev Branch of the National Union of Ukrainian Composers. 

 

          Shcherbakov has written numerous works for orchestra mostly in the form of concertos.  These include a concerto for piano and orchestra as well as those for a soloist with chamber or string orchestra.  In the latter category the solo instruments are piano, viola and two for violin.  He has composed several works for chorus including three cantatas.  There are numerous solo and chamber works, a children’s opera, an opera/oratorio entitled Taras and a “musical-stage action on canonical texts for soloists, children's and mixed choirs, and a large symphony orchestra” entitled Jesus.

 

          Shcherbakov claims that the Polish school of composers, in general, exerted a very strong influence upon his music. Specifically, the music of Witold Lutoslawski is important. There are influences from minimalism as well: for instance, he will repeat a figure but for shorter periods of time than in the music of some minimalists. This technique is employed to stretch the form.  His music is a mix of neo-romanticism with some limited aleatorics. Foremost, he lists Beethoven as his greatest influence. His music is mostly intuitive but he is always cognizant of the structure of the work, particularly harmonically!

 

          His Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra begins with the pianist rapidly re-articulating a sextuplet on D 4. This figure will be the cohesive thread throughout the composition. The pianist steadily reiterates this note for the first 26 measures with occasional subtle occurrences of a second important figure in the violins (Example 35).

 

 

Example 35: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, mm. 11-12

 

                      In measure 22, the first desk of ‘cellos present a linear motive which becomes the primary basis for melodic structure in the composition.  The use of harmonics is important as the melody consistently emphasizes the upper registers of the instruments (Example 36).

 

 

Example 36: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, Violoncello 1 melody, mm. 22-24

 

                     This introductory section continues to grow gradually toward a climactic moment at measure 58.  At this point in the work, the strings share several layers of figural activity as a background to figures and runs in the pianist’s left hand. The right hand continues the re-articulation of D 4. This proves to be only the lightning before the storm as the densely activated texture continues to build with similar materials to measure 74 (Example 37).

 

                      Measure 74 is the beginning of the second large section of the work. The reiterated D 4 figure now moves to the strings. The violas take this figure initially after which it is passed to the lower violins, back to the violas and eventually the entire string orchestra dramatically spreads the figure throughout its range.  At the same time, the pianist gradually develops a variation of the materials from the opening section.  Measures 132-33 present the initial climactic moment of this section with a quasi-cluster figure in the strings and a harmonic tremolo in the piano. At measure 133, the strings suddenly change to the repeated D pattern with a range from D 3 to D 6 (Example 38).

 

                      Measures 152-161 provide a re-transition to a varied statement of the opening section of the work. The pianist resumes articulation of the repeated D 4 in the left hand.  In measure 172, the soloist assumes a melodic fragment from the violins as the basis for a protracted development which continues to the end of the concerto.  This melodic statement is drawn from the violoncello motive in measures 22-24 with rhythmic alteration and inverted (Example 39).

 

          The pianist presents the complete melodic idea for the composition in measures 199-204. It is interesting that the melody is stated in full at the end of the composition.  All preceding materials are a development of the melodic idea.  This is a technique similar to a technique in the music of Charles Ives called “cumulative form”.  Ives would forgo the exposition of a Sonata-Allegro form and begin with the development.  Only with the beginning of the recapitulation is the melody heard in its entirety (Example 40).

 

 

Example 38: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, mm. 132-33

 

 

Example 37: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, mm. 68-70

 

 

 

Example 39: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, mm. 171-173

 

 

Example 40: Shcherbakov, Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, mm.199-203

 

 

 

Hanna Havrylets

 

                    Hanna Havrylets was born in 1958, in Vydyniv, and graduated from the Lviv State Lysenko Conservatoire, which is now the Lviv State Lysenko Musical Academy, in 1982.  Her composition studies were under the direction of Prof. V. Flys and she completed post-graduate studies with Prof. Miroslav Skoryk at the former Kiev State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire.  Since 1992, she has lectured in composition at the National Musical Academy of Ukraine in Kiev and has been a member of Ukrainian Composers’ Union since 1985 and has served as Deputy Head of the Kiev Branch of the Ukrainian Composers’ Union.

                   Her output includes symphony, chamber instrumental, vocal instrumental, choral music, and popular songs on verses by Ukrainian poets, and arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs for male chorus. For orchestra, Havrylets has composed three concertos (for viola, piano and a third for viola with string orchestra), a chamber symphony and other works for orchestra.  She has composed several works for mixed chorus as well as female and male chorus and a substantial Stabat Mater for mixed chorus and orchestra.  Her Chamber Cantata is for soprano solo with chamber orchestra and she has composed a monumental ninety-minute work entitled “The Gold Stone Will Be Sown By Us” for Folk Voice, Boy’s Choir, Orchestra, Instrumental Groups and Ballet.  Her chamber music also includes two string quartets, two woodwind quintets and a saxophone quartet.  She has composed several works for piano solo as well as solos for tenor and soprano saxophone, violin, flute, viola and soprano.

 

                   Havrylets’ Canticum for string orchestra, composed in 1999, is a beautifully soulful work bearing powerful emotional content. The beginning of the work is centered in B flat and, although it is tonal, the use of accented passing tones, added notes and suspensions, the tonal framework is imbued with rich and deftly handled dissonance. The opening emphasizes the use of passing and neighbor tones relative to the three component pitches of a B major triad (Example 41).

 

 

Example 41: Havrylet, Canticum for String Orchestra, mm. 17-26

 

                     At rehearsal 2, an increase in activity and density with the addition of violas, signals a motion toward introducing the remaining instruments of the orchestra.  This is established between rehearsals 3 and 4.  But the focus remains on the B triad with accented dissonant treatments.

 

                      The work began with the low instruments of the orchestra, followed by an introduction of the remaining instruments.  At rehearsal 4, emphasis is placed upon the upper strings. The B major triad is here replaced by a B diminished triad with passing tones increasing the level of dissonance (Example 42).  Rehearsals 5 through 12 comprise the central portion of the large three-part form.  Here the materials of the opening section are developed and varied in a multitude of ways. The level of added-note dissonance is increased producing some cluster sonorities even though some pitches are displaced by octaves (Example 43).

 

 

Example 42: Havrylets, Canticum for String Orchestra, mm. 39-44

 

 

Example 43: Havrylets, Canticum for String Orchestra Sonority of mm. 76-77

 

 

            Example 44: Havrylets, Canticum for String Orchestra, mm. 93-96

 

 

Example 45: Havrylets, Canticum for String Orchestra, mm.196-203

 

         Interesting textural constructions are also found in which the simple scalar melodic designs of the opening section are no longer present.  Here they are replaced, at times, with highly angular lines against a static background (Example 44). Rehearsal 12 signals a return to the opening material. It commences as before with the low strings re-introducing B with a gradual inclusion of the remaining instruments.  This process is temporally compressed in order to highlight the primary element of this concluding section.  An emphasis is placed upon the ascending scalar pattern of the opening but it is here treated in imitation. In example 43, the primary line (D-E -F-A ) is found in the first viola part.  It is answered at rehearsal 15 by the violins (Example 45).

 

 

 

Oleksandr Shchetynsky

 

            Oleksandr Shchetynsky was born in Kharkov in 1960 and, in 1983, he graduated from V. Borisov's composition class at the Kharkov Art Institute.  He took part in Summer Courses for Young Composers in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland (1990, 1991), where he attended lectures by Louis Andriessen, Witold Lutoslawski, Krzyzstof Penderecki, Boguslaw Schaeffer, Magnus Lindberg and he completed the course of computer music at the Krakow Music Academy, Poland. Between 1982 and 1990, he taught composition at a children's music school in Kharkov and, from 1991 to 1995, he taught composition, instrumentation and techniques of contemporary composition at the Kharkov Art Institute.  He has delivered a cycle of lectures on modern and contemporary music at the Ukrainian National Music Academy in Kiev and he lectured on Ukrainian music, giving master classes and presented his own works at international symposia in Austria, Germany, Macedonia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. He was among the organizers of several contemporary music festivals in Ukraine and Russia and, in 1995, founded the concert series New Music in Kharkov. Since 1997 he has been a member of the Art Council of the International Contemporary Music Festival Contrasts in Lviv and, in 2001, he was program coordinator of the International Youth Music Forum in Kiev. He has received major international awards for his orchestral work Glossolalies, his chamber work The Preacher's Word for soprano and string quartet, Flute Concerto and his Baptism, Temptation and Prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ for bass, clarinet, trombone, viola, cello and double bass, Sonata da camera for cello and chamber ensemble and his opera Annunciation. 

 

          In the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Virko Baley has described Shchetynsky’s music as:

 

essentially that of a structuralist, relying on a synthesis of a variety of modernist techniques and exploring in each piece a particular musical metaphor. This method explains his reliance on pieces with descriptive titles. The influence of an especially eastern European variety of minimalism (more meditative and less didactic) is also apparent in the carefully worked out relationship between different degrees of sound and silence, the predominance of soft dynamics, and in the smallest details and changes in pitch, timbre and rhythm.

 

          He has written over twenty works for mixed chamber ensembles and three more for soprano with mixed chamber ensemble.  Works for smaller chamber ensembles include quartets for saxophones, strings, woodwinds and percussion as well as a percussion trio. He has a sizable list of solo works, with or without accompaniment, for flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, trombone, violin, viola, violoncello, piano, organ, accordion, guitar, voices, and vibraphone as well as sonatas for piano and piano with percussion.  He has also composed for electronic media.

 

          The Pas De Deux for two violoncellos (1996) of Shchetynsky is highly virtuosic and complex in structure.  In a program note, Shchetynsky commented about this work:

 

It is a virtuosic flight (dance) of sound lines, as

though analogous to a ballet duo where the performers

have a chance to show their mastery.  It is an

“abstract music” operating with intangible sound

images which is also typical of classical white ballet.

 

                      The work begins with an agitated line of short events between pitches e 5 and f#5 in the cello 1 part.  This ambitus gradually expands to include pitches between f4 and a#5. These events are colored with occasional glissandi and microtonal Inflections. These inflections are indicated as either playing a quarter-tone sharp or a quarter-tone flat.  The second ‘cello enters in measure two with a decidedly more lyrical statement.  Present in this part as well are microtonal inflections (Example 46).

 

 

 

Example 46: Shchetynsky, Pas de Deux, mm. 1-6

 

                        These materials continue to be developed and expanded displaying the necessity of ever greater virtuosity. Between measures 19 and 24, the two ‘cellos are engaged in a complex interaction indicative of the idea explained in the program note. -  two virtuosos displaying their mastery but not necessarily with the same motivations. They are two disparate entities co-existing. The first ‘cello part now exhibits rapid changes between arco, pizzicato and glissando in a line which is gradually more angular.  In measure 22, he adds the technique of playing arco while adding a trill. This is injected immediately after a pizzicato dyad and followed by glissandi. At the same time, the second ‘cello is still more lyric but less so than at the beginning of the work. There is more microtonal inflection in this part due largely to use of more chromatic events. There is also the addition of harmonics and ricochet bowing in measures 23-24 (Example 47).

 

 

 

Example 47: Shchetynsky, Pas de Deux, mm. 19-24

 

            The second part of the work displays greater emphasis upon the use of passages in harmonics, rapid 32nd note runs intermingled with aspects of the opening lyrical line of the 2nd ‘cello (Example 48).

 

 

Example 48: Shchetynsky, Pas de Deux, mm. 71-79

 

                      At the climactic moment of the work, passages in 32nd notes predominate with occasional alterations between arco and pizzicato. This leads, in measure 117, to a dramatic, simultaneously arpeggiated glissando of quadruple stops into the highest register of both instruments.  There is a return to the 32nd note runs and ultimately the reintroduction of idioms encountered at the beginning of the second part of the composition (Example 49).

 

 

Example 49: Shchetynsky, Pas de Deux, mm. 115-117

 

 

 

Irina Alexeychouk

 

          Irina Alexeychouk was born in Sverdlovsk in the Lugansk region of Ukraine and received her musical education in the Kiev National Academy of Music studying piano with Igor Riabov, organ with Galina Bulibenko and composition with Yakov Lapinsky. She completed her program of study in 1993 with specialties in piano and composition with honors. From 1993 to ‘96, she was a post-graduate student in the composer’s department of the Kiev National Academy of Music. Since 1994, she has taught composition at the Kiev National Academy of Music.

 

          Not surprisingly, Irina has composed numerous works for piano, and especially for piano duo, including a Concert Fantasy and Suite for piano duo, and numerous works for solo piano including two sonatas.  She has three works for strings including a string quartet and works for solo violin and cello with piano accompaniment. Her list of vocal and choral works is impressive with three song cycles and a cantata with other shorter works for chorus. In the symphonic category, she lists a suite and two symphonic poems, a full symphony, a cantata-mystery for soloists, SATB chorus and orchestra and a concerto for two pianos and orchestra.

 

 

          “From Shining Emptiness…” (2004) for string quartet exhibits essential aspects of Alexeychouk’s style. The first section of the work includes a repeating background, lasting 15 measures, in the viola and second violin. Such passages are evidence of the influence of minimalism in her music. The repetitions do not continue for long periods, however. The first violin begins with a drone of a P5 from B5 to F#5 while the cello presents the opening line (Example 50).

 

 

Example 50: Alexeychouk, From Shining Emptiness… mm. 11-16

                      After a brief transition, there is a varied repetition of the opening statement.  The ‘cello now has the drone on F2 and C3 with the violin assuming the primary line. The inner parts have the same repeating pattern but stated down an augmented octave.  At  m.  35, the cello and violin sustain B2 and E6 respectively.  The cello note is trilled and the violin note is produced with a bowed tremolo.  The inner parts now assume the primary line with a wonderful imitative passage based upon consonant intervals though they are not always consonant with the violin and cello (Example 51).

 

 

Example 51: Alexeychouk, From Shining Emptiness… mm. 35-41

 

            A new major section begins at the Allegro Inquieto at measure 73.  The first seven measures are introductory material to the main texture of the section at measure 80.  The introductory material will, however, return later. At measure 80, the lower three parts establish a polyrhythmic layered background which functions in the same was as the second violin and viola in the opening section. The violin presents a soaring and sometimes angular melodic line (Example 52).

 

 

Example 52: Alexeychouk, From Shining Emptiness… mm. 84-88

 

                      After a return to the introductory materials of the second section, a new texture is established with sustained notes in one part, a repeated note in another part, a short line with staccato notes in the third part and a harmonic played sul ponticello with a constant glissando in the other part.  These elements are passed imitatively between the four parts (Example 53).

 

Example 53: Alexeychouk, From Shining Emptiness… mm. 108-111

 

                      Textural construction becomes increasingly more important in the following measures.  Measures 137-143 are the climactic point.  Here the compositional aesthetic is not linear in the traditional sense even though all parts engage in linear activity.  The primary focus is upon creating a unique and active textural construction to propel the work forward.  A reduction in vertical density and textural emphasis leads to materials of the opening of the work at measure 167 (Example 54).

 

 

Example 54: Alexeychouk, From Shining Emptiness… mm. 137-140

 

 

 

Olena Leonova

 

 

Each and everyone has his or her own melody. Music is a state that we enter while going through a particular stage of our lives. It makes us experience a wide range of emotions that attune us to higher frequencies enabling us to resonate with the vibrations of the universe itself! 

 

                   Olena Leonova's musical language consists of a wide range of stylistic and timbral means of expression, where twelve-tone progressions harmoniously co-exist with a lyrical melodicism.  Her main priorities in music lie in transcending traditional boundaries of beauty and freedom of expression. Taking a deep interest in jazz harmony and polyrhythms, as well discovering John Coltrane’s "Matrix" system, made a definite paradigm shift in her musical approach, opening an entirely new perspective. "I love writing for jazz musicians", Olena says, "Besides playing the notes that you wrote, they contribute their own material to your piece, it is a real pleasure to have that kind of creative input that takes your music to a higher level!"

 

                   Olena Leonova was born in Irpen – a small town outside of Kiev in 1971. She started studying music at the age of six at the Lysenko Music School for gifted children. There she received a primary foundation that set the pace for her entire musical career. After finishing at the Lysenko Music School, she enrolled in the former "Tchaikovsky Conservatory" majoring in piano and musical composition, where she studied orchestration, form and analysis, and various composition techniques with Professor Uri Ishenko. After graduating in 1994 with the diploma in musical composition (equivalent to a master’s degree), she was offered a position as a principal accompanist with the voice department of the "Tchaikovsky Conservatory" where she worked until 2002. During that period, she performed with various chamber groups, some of which had Olena's music in their repertory. The same year, she went to "Acanthes School of Music Summer Program" located in Avignon, France, where she wrote Kanzone, (a piece for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin and cello), and there she was introduced to the world of electronic music. In 2003, after being offered a creative study grant "Gaude Polonia", she went to Krakow, Poland where she stayed for six months studying composition and electronic music with Marek Stachowski, and Boguslaw Schaffer. While studying in Krakow she wrote a chamber piece Aeolian Harp (alto-flute, cello, vibra-harp, computer generated sounds), Quintet (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano), and Light Sifting Thru the Lives (chamber orchestra piece). In the winter of 2004, she moved to Mandeville, Jamaica, to teach piano and music theory to children. "It was so rewarding," Olena says, "to hear all these kids playing the music of Debussy and Rachmaninov so well, despite that the music was written so far away.  It gave me a real sense that music is truly a universal language, for me it was as much of a learning experience as it was for them." After returning to Kiev the same year, she participated in several modern music festivals, among others, "Kiev Music Fest," where her work "Aeolian Harp" was performed at Chamber Hall of the Kiev Philharmonic, and started making her way into Kiev's jazz scene as a pianist.

 

                   The primary influences upon her work are from Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Sofia Gubaidulina, Boguslaw Schaffer, Krzysztof Penderecki and jazz music.  The discovery of jazz opened the world of improvisation to her. She lamented there were so few classically trained musicians who can improvise in Ukraine.  She explained, “They go to a music school because their parents told them to go! They don’t like improvised music:  only playing from a score.  But all musicians can improvise – it is a skill and takes practice.” Her most recent experiments in composition include an attempt to combine classical and jazz approaches in creating an improvised classical music.

 

                   Hidden Secrets of the Desert (2003) is a work which displays Leonova’s desire to include improvisation within a composed framework. The instrumentation is for an ensemble not unlike a jazz quartet including soprano saxophone, piano, bass guitar and Middle Eastern percussion.  The work commences with an extended saxophone solo with sparse accompaniment of rain stick and chimes.  The saxophone part is precisely notated while the percussion is ad libitum (Example 55).

 

 

Example 55: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, mm.1-4

 

                      The solo part gradually explores ever higher and lower ranges of the instrument with timbral inflections such as glissando, controlled vibrato, breathy sound, sub tones and key tapping. The apex of this solo reveals increased rhythmic activity with greater angularity and rapid re-articulations of pitches (Example 56). At measure 32, the piano enters with a pattern of four beats which is repeated with only three beats and is repeated again with four beats.  This final four beat pattern is immediately repeated followed by a pattern change in m. 36.

 

 

Example 56: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, saxphone solo, mm. 17-21

          The piano part continues in similar fashion as the pattern gradually alters achieving its widest ambitus and rate of articulation at the climax of the soprano saxophone solo (Example 57).

 

 

Example 57: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, mm.42-43

                      Measure 44 has rests with a long fermata in all parts except percussion. This textural reduction serves to prepare for the introduction of the bass guitar which initially mimics the opening soprano saxophone solo before changing into its own unique solo with entrances of the saxophone (Example 58).

 

 

 

Example 58: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, mm. 44

                      With all instruments introduced, the composer enters the second large formal section at rehearsal C. The meter changes to 7/8 with an increase in tempo to eighth note equaling 320. The bass guitar and percussion establish the basic pattern with the piano and saxophone entering five measures later. Here the saxophone has a solo which is entirely ad libitum until rehearsal D. The composed patterns in bass guitar and piano are notated but gradually alter throughout this section.

                      At rehearsal D, a variant of the first piano pattern is introduced with a duet between the saxophone and bass guitar. The bass line is similar to the first bass entrance, producing an interesting texture comprised of lines presented in different sections of the work but are now overlapped. Meanwhile the saxophone takes the lead with a composed solo (Example 59).

 

 

Example 59: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, mm.85-91

 

                      This section continues similarly with instruments occasionally resting while another instrument becomes the temporary focus. In a sense, they are trading solos.  Activity builds to the climactic moment of the work at measure 122. A varied return to the beginning of the composition prepares the end of the composition with all instruments, one by one, performing a diminuendo to silence (Example 60).

 

 

 

Example 60: Leonova, Hidden Secrets of the Desert, mm.120-122

 

 

 

Ivan Tarenenko

 

                      Ivan Tarenenko was born in Kaniv in the Cherkassy region of Ukraine.  He is a composer, pianist and pedagogue who is a member of the National Union of Composers and Secretary of the Board of the National Union of Composers.  A graduate of the Kiev National Academy of Music where he studied composition with V. Kyreyko, A. Shtogarenko and Gennady Lyashenko, he also pursued post-graduate courses in composition at the National Academy with Gennady Lyashenko. Tarenenko has worked as a tutor in the Kaniv State College of Culture.  Since 1998, he has been a music teacher at the Kiev Academy of Arts for Children. Since 1999, he has been a lecturer in the Department of Composition of the Nation Academy of Music.  Between 2000 and 2003, he was Dean of the Faculty of Music and Director of the Centre of Festivals and Contests of the Kiev Academy of Arts for Children. He has been a consistent participant in the Kiev Music Festival as well as of Musical Premieres of the Season, Autumn Jazz Marathon, Kiev-May-Jazz and the International Form of Young Composers’ music all held in Kiev.

 

                      As a performer, Tarenenko presents programs of his own compositions and improvisations.  He created a jazz band with which he performs as a composer and pianist.  He has appeared with numerous internationally renowned performers of jazz.             He is a founder and president of the International Festival of Academic and Contemporary Music “Farbotony” which premiered in 1999. Since 2003, he has been General Director of the Festival.

 

                      Among his most prominent works, Tarenenko lists a symphony, a symphonic cantata, a cantata for soloists, choir and orchestra, and concertos for viola and piano with DJ set.  He has composed several works for chorus and two multi-media works.  These include a work for harpsichord and computer generated sounds as well as East Coker for 2 actors, piano quintet and tape.  His chamber output includes solo works for bassoon and viola, a string quartet, a clarinet quartet, a piano quintet, works for mixed chamber ensembles and many compositions for jazz ensembles. Tarenenko has written several compositions utilizing a folk stringed instrument called a bandura. He writes for the instrument in a work for saxophone quartet, percussion, bandura and piano.  Most notably, he featured the instrument in a concerto for bandura and orchestra.

 

                      “In search of the Way…” (2003) for saxophone solo is a technically demanding work which challenges basic and extended techniques. It begins with a fragmented re-articulation of G4 which gradually expands in pitch range before settling once again on G4 momentarily.  This opening section presents many techniques to be explored in the work – rapid articulation, facile motion between various rhythmic divisions of the beat, extended techniques (glissando and vibrato control in this passage), as well as rapidly outlining sonorities (Example 61).

 

                      The remainder of the first section expands upon these materials introducing grace-note figures, micro-intonation, and flutter-tongue. Near the end, the pitch center moves to A 5 in measure 25 which is immediately followed by a contrasting passage between A 5 and G4 (measure 27), only to re-establish A 5 at the end  (Example 62).

 

                      The central section of the work continues exploration and contrast between the same techniques. New to this section is the introduction of contrast between playing in the usual manner with key slaps (Example 63). 

 

 

Example 61: Taranenko, In Search of the Way… mm. 1-8

 

 

Example 62: Taranenko, In Search of the Way… mm. 25-29

 

 

Example 63: Taranenko, In Search of the Way… mm. 45-46

 

 

Example 64: Taranenko, In Search of the Way… mm. 76-82

 

          Approaching the climax of the composition at the end of section two, Taranenko features rapid runs with rhythmically diverse subdivisions of the beat.  This leads to a slowing of the pace with triplet quarter notes in the upper register performed with trills and, ultimately, to the highest note possible on the instrument.  The effect of this climax is very engaging (Example 64). The final section is a varied return to the beginning with recollections of materials introduced in the middle of the work.  At the end, pitch-class G re-establishes its dominance except on G5 rather than G4.

 

 

Acknowledgments

 

For Myroslav Skoryk's examples: ©2006 Duma Music, Inc.

 

Ihor Shcherbakov: Konzert für Klavier und Streichorchester (1996) published by Sordino Ediziuns Musicalas, CH-7180 Disentis/ Mustér. (Switzerland)


Hanna Havrylets: Canticum für Streichorchester (1998) published by Sordino Ediziuns Musicalas, CH-7180 Disentis/ Mustér. (Switzerland)

 

Permission to reprint from Lesya Dychko, Triumphant Liturgy © Kamernee CHOIR, Kiev.

 

Permissions for Gennady Lyashenko and Yehven Stankovych from Muzychna Ukrania.