Commemorative concert features top talents (12/07/97)

Commemorative concert features top talents

by Helen Smindak

NEW YORK - A program featuring some of the finest Ukrainian talents of the U.S. and Ukraine could only be described as exceptional. And that's exactly what an October concert at The Cooper Union in lower Manhattan turned out to be, bringing on stage tenor Volodymyr Grishko, coloratura soprano Alexandra Hrabova, world-renowned pianist Alexander Slobodyanik, dancer Andriy Cybyk and New York's popular Promin vocal ensemble.

The occasion was part of solemn weekend events commemorating the 50th anniversary of Akcja Wisla and the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), as well as the 50th anniversary of raids by some UPA divisions. The performers chose material that suited the subject, resulting in a subdued and modulated, but lovely production. Sometimes less is more.

Mr. Grishko, who hails from Kyiv and is appearing at the New York City Opera this season in "La Traviata" and "Macbeth," sang Petro's yearning aria "Sontse Nyzenko" from the opera "Natalka Poltavka" and Leontovych's contemplative work "Dyvlius Ya na Nebo."

From Ms. Hrabova, a soloist of the Lviv Theater of Opera and Ballet and a recent arrival on these shores, there were skillfully executed presentations of quiet songs by Liudkevych and Kytasty and a very fine rendition of Kropyvnytsky's "Soloveyko," ending with a series of trills resembling a nightingale's song. Both Ms. Hrabova and Mr. Grishko were accompanied by pianist Sonia Szereg.

With his performance of the sonorous march from Beethoven's Sonata Opus 26, Mr. Slobodyanik demonstrated the expertise and bold execution that brought him critical acclaim after his Carnegie Hall debut in 1968. Before attempting his second work (Liszt's thunderous "Mazepa"), he made a surprise move - he brought on stage young Vitalii Baran of Lviv, one of the winners of this year's Horowitz piano competition in Kyiv, who was touring in the U.S. at the time with other winners. The young pianist's performance of Myroslav Skoryk's "Variations," with ponderous chords contrasting with quieter, brooding passages, could be considered flawless.

Included in the concert were recitations by actor Volodymyr Kurylo, who also served as master of ceremonies, and an interpretive dance, titled "Strakhittia Viiny" (The Horrors of War), that portrayed a soldier wounded in battle, choreographed and danced by Mr. Cybyk, an assistant instructor of the Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Dance Studio. A slide montage prepared by Petro Bokalo and narrated by Mr. Kurylo depicted scenes in the Lemko village of Zavadka, which was particularly hard hit by Akcja Wisla's resettlement of Lemkos to other parts of Poland.

Sorrowful folk songs arranged by Hryhoriy Kytasty and Yevhen Kozak, the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen's song "Oy u Luzi Chervona Kalyna" and the fervent prayer for Ukraine's safety "Bozhe Velykyi, Yedynyi" were presented by the Promin ensemble, which has been directed by Bohdanna Wolansky since its inception 25 years ago.

For the finale, Ms. Wolansky directed a combined group of guest artists and Promin singers in a stirring performance of the prayer "Vladyko Neba i Zemli" from Hulak-Artemovsky's well-known opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem."

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