THE ARTS: World-class cimbalom player entrances audiences in Cleveland (04/22/01)

THE ARTS

World-class cimbalom player entrances audiences in Cleveland

by Nadia Tarnawsky and Michael Flohr

CLEVELAND - A plaintive melody is heard from a tylynka ... soon the soft tremolo of the cimbalom supports the shepherd's call ... within moments a fiery Hutsul dance ensues. This scene comes straight out of the Carpathian mountains ... or does it?

Alexander Fedoriouk, a world-class cimbalom player effortlessly creates this soundscape.

Tonight, an audience filled with hip young people at an art gallery near downtown Cleveland is transported to the Carpathians, and they are screaming and applauding as if it were a rock concert.

Peggy Latkovich of the Cleveland Free Times said of his performance "things really got cooking when Mr. Fedoriouk took hammers to the cimbalom. His fiery playing was jaw-droppingly fast, evoking gasps from the audience." While Mr. Fedoriouk is well known among many Cleveland and New York audiences, it is time to introduce the greater Ukrainian community to this talented performer on the eve of his first solo album.

Mr. Fedoriouk was born in Novy Rozdil, Ukraine, but spent most of his life living and working in Kolomyia. He chose to play the tsymbaly (cimbalom) over the trumpet or violin at the age of 6, setting his life on a path that would cross continents to folk festivals, jazz clubs, concert halls and appearances on over 17 albums and two films. As a child he studied in Kolomyia and in time went on to study tsymbaly performance with Georgy Agratina, national artist of Ukraine, at the Kyiv State Conservatory. Mr. Fedoriouk also "learned a lot of repertoire" by playing for weddings in the Carpathians. Keeping to Hutsul tradition, Mr. Fedoriouk also learned how to make and repair instruments. "Since my father used to make cimbalom sticks for me, I learned wood craft from him," he states. "Then I started making pan flutes and folk flutes." With this wealth of experience behind him, Mr. Fedoriouk began playing with the Ukrainian folk ensemble Cheres. Eventually the leader of Cheres arranged for a tour of the U.S. for the ensemble.

With Cheres, now based in New York City, Mr. Fedoriouk has performed in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations as well as prominent cultural festivals. He also plays cimbalom with the Eastern European folk band, Harmonia, based in Cleveland. With this ensemble he has brought the music of Ukraine and Eastern Europe to audiences at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington as well as other high profile performances in the United States.

One of his most notable collaborations has been with jazz flutist Herbie Mann at the Blue Note in New York City and on Mann's latest release, "Eastern European Roots." Besides performing jazz on his cimbalom, Mr. Fedoriouk has made appearances with symphonic orchestras on many important works. He recently performed with the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall for Kurtag's "Grabstein für Stephan" in addition to serving as soloist for Kodaly's "Hary Janos Suite" for the Cleveland Orchestra's Youth Orchestra. This collaboration brought Mr. Fedoriouk to New York's Carnegie Hall.

Through his varied performances, Mr. Fedoriouk has promoted the music and instruments of his homeland. It may have been unimaginable to him on the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, but here in the art galleries of Cleveland and the clubs of New York, there are endless possibilities.

His first solo album, "Cimbalom Traditions" presents the traditional folk music of Eastern Europe. The works selected reflect the varied cultures of the region and the multiple cultures which utilize the cimbalom such as the Ukrainian, Romanian, Hungarian, Rusyn, Slovak, Moldovan and Gypsy. Featured on the album are the band Harmonia as well as special guests like Vasyl Heker, the spectacular violinist from Ukraine.

To obtain a copy of "Cimbalom Traditions," please send $17 ($15 for the CD and $2 for shipping) to Folk Sounds Records, P.O. Box 609067, Cleveland, OH 44109; make checks payable to: Alexander Fedoriouk. For further information, check out Mr. Fedoriouk's website at http://listen.to/cimbalom or e-mail [email protected].

Mr. Fedoriouk will perform in concert with the folk band Harmonia, at INSIDE gallery in Cleveland on April 26 and 27.

Nadia Tarnawsky is an ethnomusicologist and professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Michael Flohr is a pianist and member of the American Federation of Musicians. The couple resides in Cleveland.

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