CONCERT REVIEW: Zuk duo opens window to rich musical culture (02/23/97)

CONCERT REVIEW: Zuk duo opens window to rich musical culture

by Wolfgang Bottenberg

MONTREAL - The internationally renowned piano duo team Luba and Ireneus Zuk, assisted by Eugene Husaruk, violin, and Marcel Saint-Cyr, cello, presented a concert of music by Ukrainian composers on February 10 at the Pollack Concert Hall of McGill University.

For the Montreal audience, this was a very special experience. It is known that musical standards in Ukraine, as well as in other Eastern European countries are high, but little is known here about their musical creations. The occasional appearance of a world famous composer from one of the Eastern European countries seems to Western audiences to be an isolated phenomenon.

This concert by Luba and Ireneus Zuk went far to dispel this myth. It was proof that musical creativity in Ukraine builds on a firm tradition, and that in its scope and quality, meets world standards.

Of the compositions that were presented at this concert, a few were by older composers whose stylistic orientation was a rich late romanticism, but with clear evidence of knowledge and appreciation for new idioms. Among these were a violin sonata by Victor Kosenko (1896-1938) with a Brahmsian flavor. A "Dumka" by Vasyl Barvinsky (1888-1963), and "Lyric Piece and Dance" by Mykola Dremliuha (b. 1917), both for cello and piano, incorporated Ukrainian folk music into a rich harmonic texture .

The majority of the compositions presented were by living composers who had written their works specifically for the Zuks. The scope of these works, their technical demands and their solid compositorial craft demonstrated the high esteem in which Luba and Ireneus Zuk are held in Ukraine. It was obvious that the best composers there consider it an honor and a challenge to write for this team.

For the attentive listener, it was also an indication that there is great stylistic diversity among contemporary composers of Ukraine.

The concert opened with "Dramatic Triptych" by Lesia Dychko (b. 1939), a substantial work that evokes archaic chants and ritual dances in a complex and tightly effective pianistic style.

A very different atmosphere was created by Oleksander Krasotov (b. 1936) in his "Antiphons." Here the interest was primarily rhythmical. It is a large-scale composition, with relentless forward driving motion, but also with a sense of humor.

In an even more pointed manner, humor was evident in the final composition of the evening, "Three Dances for Two Pianos" by Myroslav Skoryk (b. 1938). In this composition, popular traditions from non-Ukrainian sources predominate: Spanish-Moorish, American blues and French Can-Can. The result was a colorful work with some lovely inventions, although some sections seemed to continue these ideas for too long.

Luba and Ireneus Zuk are ambassadors of a very unusual kind: they bring the works of Canadian composers to the attention of European audiences, and they encourage composers from these countries to write new works for them, which are then heard in Canada. Their favorite cultural exchange is with Ukraine, the land of their origin. For the many Ukrainians living in Canada and in the U.S., it is a significant cultural link with the finest traditions of their homeland. For us Canadians, it is the opening of a window into a rich and stimulating contemporary musical culture.

Dr. Wolfgang Bottenberg is professor of music at Concordia University in Montreal.

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