1993: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Much ado in sphere of cultural activity (12/26/93)

1993: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Much ado in sphere of cultural activity

In reviewing the over-all cultural scene, while noting marks of distinction in various areas, it is perhaps in the field of music that one continues to observe the highest level of performance and a marked sense of vitality.

One of the finest choirs in the world, the Shchedryk children's choir from Kyyiv, under the direction of Irena Sablina, was on its third North American tour, returning to Des Moines, Iowa, for a series of concerts with performances in 15 other midwestern cities. In existence since 1971, the world-class choir has become noted for its sublime music, professionalism and diverse repertoire. Having won the grand prix in Vancouver in 1992 in competition against 38 adult, chamber and youth choruses, Shchedryk also took the grand prize at the international children's choir competition held in Des Moines this year and previously, in 1991.
The piano world took "instant notice" of the Kyyiv-born piano duo of Valentyna Lysytsia and Oleksiy Kuznetsov as occasioned by the pianists' concert at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art on February 14. The concert received very favorable reviews by music critic John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune. The duo-pianists, 1991 graduates of the Kyyiv Conservatory, have a string of competition victories in Ukraine and Western Europe and first prize and commendations at the 1991 Dranoff International Two-Piano Competition in Florida.
The Leontovych String Quartet's performance at The Frick Collection on February 7, in a program of works by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Haydn, was reviewed favorably by The New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn. The quartet's musicians, who have been playing since 1971, are Yuri Mazurkevich and Yuri Kharenko, violinists; Boris Deviatov, violist; and Volodymyr Panteleyev, cellist.
Teodor Kuchar, a native of the U.S. of Ukrainian origin, was appointed principal guest conductor of the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra in Kyyiv. This marked a milestone in that country's musical history in that for the first time an individual from the West had been given a high-ranking post in the field. Mr. Kuchar's debut was at the Kyyiv Music Fest '92 as conductor of the Kyyiv Opera Orchestra. Mr. Kuchar, artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, is a violist with positions with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Queensland in Brisbane, and the West Australian Ballet in Perth.
The Ohio Boychoir, whose director, Alexander Musichuk, and five of the chorus's members are of Ukrainian background, performed along with world acclaimed singers and a select group of musicians and performing art groups in Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio" on May 28 at the Palace Theater in Cleveland.
Two Ukrainian soloists, tenor Volodymyr Hryshko of the Shevchenko State Theater of Opera and Ballet in Kyyiv and soprano Oksana Krovytska of the Lviv Philharmonic, appeared with the New York City Opera as debut artists this season. Mr. Hryshko (listed as Vladimir Grishko) appeared as Ruggiero in "La Rondine" and as Rodolfo in "La Boheme." This fall, Mr. Hryshko appeared as Lykov in the Washington Opera's production of Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride." In February, Ms. Krovytska sang Rossini's "Stabat Mater" with the Choral Arts Society of Washington at the Kennedy Center.
The concert "Lviv: 100 Years of Music," featuring a quintet of musicians from Ukraine - Yuriy Laniuk, cello; Bohdan Kaskiv, violin; Anna Klymashivska, piano; and Valeriy Buimister, a baritone - under the direction of composer Myroslav Skoryk, was presented as part of the group's concert tour of the U.S. and Canada from August 22 to October 5. The concert program, dedicated to works by Lviv composers of the last 100 years, featured works by Nyzhankivsky, Barvinsky, Liudkevych, Kos-Anatolsky, Kolessa, Sonevytsky, Skoryk and Laniuk.
The Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Hobart Earle, was on its first tour of the U.S in November. Mr. Earle was the first U.S. citizen to be named music director and principal conductor of an orchestra in the former Soviet Union. The Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra's U.S. tour included two performances on the East Coast: at Richardson Hall at Princeton on November 22, and at Carnegie Hall in New York on November 30.
Eighteen-year-old pianist Alex Slobodyanik opened the 1994 Young Concert Artists Series on November 16 at the 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts, with his New York recital. Mr. Slobodyanik will be presented as part of the series at the Kennedy Center in Washington on February 28, 1994. In 1990, at age 15, Mr. Slobodyanik became the youngest pianist ever to win the Young Concert Artists International auditions. Of Ukrainian-Russian parentage, Mr. Slobodyanik started piano lessons with his mother, Natalia, at the age of 6. He is the son of renowned concert pianist Alexander Slobodyanik.
The Kyyiv Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Roman Kaufman, had its New York appearance at the Ukrainian Institute of America on December 11. The 20 or so musicians, with pianist Daria Telizyn, appeared in concert in a program of works by Bach, Schnittke, Mahler, Bibyk and Rossini.
"Famine 33," director Oles Yanchuk's full-length feature film, which recreates the horrors of the manmade famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, was shown during the last two weeks of December in New York at the internationally famous Film Forum.
The Yara Arts Group's production of "Blind Sight" opened on April 15 at La Mama Experimental Theater Company in New York. Co-authored by Wanda Phipps, Yara director Virlana Tkacz and Watoku Ueno, the play is based on the early life and travels of Vasyl Yeroshenko, a blind world-traveling writer, virtually unknown in his own country, but celebrated in the Far East.
The Kashtan School of Ukrainian Dance of Parma, Ohio, celebrated its 15th season this year under the direction of its new artistic director, 21-year-old James Basso. Mr. Basso replaced David Woznak, the troupe's former artistic director under whose co-direction Kashtan has risen to distinction as one of American's top Ukrainian dance ensembles.
The "Spiritual Legacy of Ukraine" exhibit, featuring the work of Leonid Mohuchov of Chernihiv, was on tour March 25-May 11 with showings in Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto. Mr. Mohuchov's watercolor drawings of ancient churches and monasteries, as well as cultural and historical monuments, many of which were destroyed in the period 1948-1986, constitute a documentary history of Ukraine's rich cultural and spiritual heritage. The exhibit was sponsored by the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada and the Ukrainian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
An exhibition of contemporary art from Ukraine, titled "The Steppes of Europe," was held at the Warsaw Center for Contemporary Art, October 1-November 5. The exhibition, organized and curated by Jurij Onuch, the Toronto-based performance artist who in the 1980s was an active member of the artistic avant-garde in Warsaw, included some 50 works, mostly paintings but also sculpture-installation, mixed media and video by 12 artists living and working in Ukraine. The exhibit was sponsored by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the Stepan Batory (Soros) Foundation in Warsaw.
Contemporary art from Ukraine by 20 artists, all former members of the Artists' Union of Ukraine, was held October 6-28 at the Z Gallery in SoHo in New York.
A unique archaeological exhibit "Ukraine - Images from 5000 to 4000 B.C.: Treasures of the Trypillian Culture," which premiered in Kyyiv at the Pavlo Tychyna Memorial Museum of Literature in May on the occasion of the centennial of the discovery of Trypillian culture, subsequently traveled from Ukraine to Washington, where it was on view at the International Monetary Fund Visitor's Center in September. It was on view also at The Ukrainian Museum in New York, where it opened on October 24. The exhibition featured over 160 archaeological artifacts from the Trypillian culture.
The Ukrainian Museum in New York entered the second phase of an intensified fund-raising campaign with the goal of raising half of the estimated $3-3.5 million needed for the building of a new spacious structure to house the museum in its recently acquired East Sixth Street property. As a result of the community's positive response, the UM's building fund topped the $1 million mark. The UM's "Year of Development" campaign culminated with a gala luncheon at The Waldorf-Astoria on December 5, at which the guest of honor and keynote speaker was Ivan Dzyuba, minister of culture of Ukraine.
In a general assessment of the contemporary cultural scene in Ukraine, Minister of Culture Ivan Dzyuba noted (at The UM luncheon at The Waldorf-Astoria) that 1993 was an unprecedented year in terms of Ukraine's participation in international cultural life. Apart from acclaim accorded to talented young musicians at international competitions, Mr. Dzyuba referred to several very successful art exhibits, among them, the "Gold of Ukraine" exhibition held in Vienna and Edinburgh, and the "Ukrainian Avant-Garde" exhibit held in Munich, Vienna and Toulouse. He also noted the participation of the Pompidou Center in Paris in an upcoming centennial celebration of the birth of film director Oleksander Dovzhenko.
In Ukraine, President Leonid Kravchuk in November released a "Statement on the Return of National Cultural Treasures." Addressing the issue of the reclamation of cultural property, the statement notes that in light of Ukraine's independence spiritual revival, and historical and national self-awareness, there is a need to assess actual losses in the historical and cultural field, register architectural monuments and works of art, and historical, religious and cultural treasures found in other countries, and most importantly, study the possibility of the return of cultural property illegally removed from Ukraine. The statement ends with the proposal that an international conference, under the aegis of UNESCO, be held in Kyyiv to address "the problem of the return of national, cultural and artistic artifacts lost or replaced during World War II."

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