SOUNDS AND VIEWS: Prof. Roman Sawycky remembered (10/01/00)

SOUNDS AND VIEWS

by Roman Sawycky

Prof. Roman Sawycky remembered

Claimed by critics to be the most prominent western Ukrainian male pianist of his generation, Roman Sawycky Sr. (1907-1960) also excelled as critic and teacher in Europe and America, where he lived, since 1949, in Philadelphia. His students, sudh as Virko Baley, Ivan Vesolovsky, Taissa Bohdanska, Maria Zahaykevych, Ivan Zadorozhny, Oleh Kryshtalsky, Liubomyr Krushelnytsky, Yuriy Oliynyk, Juliana Osinchuk and Roman and Irene Stecura later matured into productive composers, conductors, pianists, musicologists and managers. Prof. Sawycky worked for 11 years in America after he left Ukraine and his close collegues behind.

Forty years ago this co-founder and chief organizer of the Ukrainian Music Institute of America Inc. passed away, but he remained in the memories of Lvivites and Philadelphians alike. Recently this anniversary was marked in western Ukraine where Roman Sawycky was very active before the war.

On January 22 Radio Lviv arranged a special broadcast featuring the station's music editor, Olena Onufriv, and musicologist Natalia Kashkadamova. They presented effective, also little-known material about Sawycky complete with his historical recordings - some never aired before. This writer, the pianist's son, joined the program with memoirs of his father's early interest in recordings and work at that very radio station during the war years.

On February 5, a memorial liturgy was celebrated in Lviv's Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Transfiguration near the Opera and the Zankovetska Theater (in which Sawycky performed as soloist in the 1939 premiere of Vasyl Barvinsky's Piano Concerto, with Mykola Kolessa conducting).

And on March 2, the Solomiya Krushelnytska Museum, directed by Halyna Tykhobayeva, in Lviv held a separate program of remembrance. It was organized by Irena Luzhetska of the Lviv museum's staff, who spoke of the pianist's career in post-war Germany where one critic compared Sawycky with virtuoso Ossip Gabrilowitch.

A timely exhibit of historical photos and publications was set-up with items from Prof. Kashkadamova's collection. This piano specialist expounded on the pianist's performance style and his community work, while another authority, Liudmyla Sadova explained Sawycky's teaching methods, recently published under Ms. Kashkadamova's editorship (in Ukrainian). Musicologist Yuriy Bulka spoke on the musicians's contributions to broadcasting (in which Sawycky was accompanied by the eminent late musicologist Wasyl Wytwycky, 1939-1944).

Besides the lectures, the audience was treated to Sawycky's own phonodiscs of Beethoven's 32 Variations and the the UMI director's 1959 appearance at the opening of the Steinway grand piano at Citizen's Hall, Philadelphia, as recorded by his son. The humorous monologue "My Car" (from a 1950 disc) testified to Sawycky's dramatic gifts and his avid interest in technology.

Recollections by Prof. Oleh Kryshtalsky, Ukraine's distinguished pianist and a student of Sawycky, and Prof. Mykola Kolessa, composer-conflllctor laureate, gave particular distinction to the proceedings and drew additional listeners.

Being unable at the moment to express my gratitude personally to all those mentioned above, I am taking this opportunity to say wholeheartedly: Thank you, one and all!

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