MUSIC REVIEW: First concerto for bandura premiers in U.S. (01/31/93)

MUSIC REVIEW: First concerto for bandura premiers in U.S.

by Bohdan Storozuk

The Ukrainian bandura, for the first time on the American continent, was featured as a solo instrument with a symphony orchestra on December 5, 1992, here in the small town of Rescue, Calif.

In a world premiere, Ola Herasymenko Oliynyk performed the First American Concerto for Bandura and Orchestra, written by her husband, composer Yuriy Oliynyk, with the Sierra Symphony. The orchestra was conducted by Hank King. As an added attraction, the brilliant, recently discovered Concerto in D Major by Dmytro Bortniansky was also performed for the first time on the bandura with a string orchestra.

The premiere was enhanced by the presence of Vasyl Herasymenko, Ola's father, who designed the highly advanced 65-string concert bandura on which the music was performed. This event clearly demonstrated that the Ukrainian national instrument in its advanced concert form, could easily compete with other classical instruments on the most exclusive and sophisticated world stages.

The orchestra began the program with a performance of the "Overture to King Stephan" by Beethoven. This interesting piece clearly showed its theatrical origin. Under the watchful eye of Maestro King, the orchestra played well, and immediately seemed at home with this piece. Mr. King was able to bring out the dramatic contrasts in this moody composition.

Next came the joyful and bright Concerto by Dmytro Bortniansky. This concerto was originally written for the harpsichord and a string orchestra. It was completely unknown until 1985, when the cellist Dmytro Markevych discovered it in the archives of the French National Library in Paris.

The tone quality of the bandura, as played by the nimble fingers of Ms. Herasymenko Oliynyk, seemed to be an ideal substitute for that of the harpsichord. After an orchestral introduction, the bandura came in bright and clear. The joyful exposition, with the bandura and orchestra exchanging melodies and fast passages, was followed by a gentle and lyrical development section in a minor key.

With the return of the first theme in the recapitulation, the bouncy mood was fully restored. This led to a beautiful cadenza for bandura solo, which exploited the various major and minor themes of the concerto. At the end, the string orchestra joined the bandura for an exuberant finale. This piece is considered to be one of the best instrumental pieces by Bortniansky, the Ukrainian genius who was a contemporary of Mozart.

Mr. Oliynyk's First American Concerto for Bandura and Orchestra consists of three contrasting movements. The thematic material retains Ukrainian character in a neoromantic style. In this elaborate composition, the bandura and the orchestra complemented each other in a tense, dramatic succession. The first theme, in a minor key, was followed by a dance-like theme in major tonality. Melodies, played by various orchestral instruments, were often accompanied by rapid passages on the bandura. In some sections the bandura sounded rich and exotic against the orchestral background. An elaborate cadenza for bandura, also in a virtuoso style, led to the conclusion of the first movement with the entire orchestra joining in.

The dreamy second movement began with an orchestral introduction. The bandura came in with a joyful musical message that seemed to stir happy memories in the mind of this reviewer. The mood became more and more agitated as the back and forth exchanges between the bandura and the orchestra led to a powerful climax. The dreamy mood was restored with the return of the original theme. The movement ended as softly as it began.

The rhythmic, folklike dance character of the third movement became immediately evident. The orchestra followed the bandura with great enthusiasm in an intricate texture. The rapid and difficult movement kept the players on the alert. The bandura danced through the rhythmic melodic lines with grace and ease. The display of various techniques in the bandura part made one wonder how one instrument can be so diverse in its application.

Another brilliant cadenza at the end of this movement, a bandura solo, recalled the themes from the first movement and created a dramatic mood toward the end. Highly chromatic progressions again demonstrated the full capacity of this marvelous Ukrainian instrument. Again, the orchestra joined in for a grand finale to conclude this exciting movement.

The composer was called to the stage with applause. He took the opportunity to reassure the audience that, contrary to the program which listed him as having lived from 1685-1750, he was alive and well. He also corrected the program notes that listed Bortniansky as having been born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and assured the audience that Bortniansky was a full-blooded Ukrainian, born in Hlukhiv, Ukraine, while reminding everybody that Ukraine is now an independent country and fully reinstated on all world maps.

At the request of the audience, Ms. Herasymenko-Oliynyk played two solo encores, and again was rewarded by generous applause.

After the intermission, the concert was concluded with Symphony No. 4 by Felix Mendelssohn. This most popular of Mendelssohn's symphonies came off with a lot of spirit.

The entire concert showed us once again that Ukrainian music not only holds its own in comparison with world music, but even sparkles with its own originality and exotic character.

The American audience fully appreciated our composers, the bandura and the soloist, with repeated spontaneous applause.

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