Julian Kytasty brings sound of the kobzari to Chicago (05/05/02)

Julian Kytasty brings sound of the kobzari to Chicago

by Orysia Antonovych

CHICAGO - The figures on the walls of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, painted by Volodymyr Makarenko, became a backdrop for a wonderful concert presented at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago on April 4. The warm hues of Mr. Makarenko's paintings complemented the rich sounds of the bandura as played by the virtuoso Julian Kytasty.

Sounds of the Black Sea swept into the gallery and found their voice in the music from his new CD, "Black Sea Winds: The Kobzari of Ukraine." Zenon Modrytzkyj, president of the Ukrainian Artistic Center, which presented the concert, welcomed Mr. Kytasty and Motria Poszewanyk, who organized a bandura master class with Mr. Kytasty (sponsored by ODUM) the evening before the concert, introduced the guest.

Mr. Kytasty is a third-generation professional bandurist who is a performer, composer and music educator. He first learned to play the instrument from his father, Petro, and his grandfather, Ivan Kytasty, both of whom were professional performers in Ukraine. His great-uncle, Hryhory Kytasty, who had been the director of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus since the group's inception in Kyiv in 1942, was a great influence on him and on others of his generation.

Mr. Kytasty's music combines a mastery of traditional styles with a distinctly contemporary sensibility. He was artistic director of the New York Bandura Ensemble in 1980-1988 and again since 1997. He has created theater music for Yara Arts Group, a resident company at LaMama ETC in New York, for dance, and most recently scored the documentary film, "My Mother's Village," a 2001 National Film Board of Canada Production directed by John Paskievich.

His performances and teachings have taken him all over the world, from Carnegie Hall to the steps of a village church in Brazil. Highlights include two tours to Ukrainian communities in Argentina and Brazil in 1987 and 1988 where he performed 30 concerts. He gave bandura workshops to over 200 students and helped found bandura schools in Buenos Aires, Apostoles, Obera, Prudentopolis, and Curitiba.

He toured Ukraine in the 1989-1990 season with a trio of bandurists from North America - one of the first performing groups from abroad to perform there free of Soviet-era censorship. They performed over 100 concerts with a repertoire focusing on music of the kobzar tradition, historical and moralistic songs, music of diaspora composers and of composers arrested and executed during the Stalinist terror - all material that had been banned or discouraged from performance during the Soviet period.

Besides his solo projects, Mr. Kytasty currently performs with several ensembles. One is The New York-based Experimental Bandura Trio, which draws on sources as disparate as ancient kobzar modes and tunings, minimalist composition and free jazz.

He is also a frequent collaborator with Canadian singer Alexis Kochan. Their acclaimed world music ensemble Paris to Kyiv has performed for the World Music Institute in New York, the Carpenter Center in Long Beach, the Small World Music Festival at Toronto's Harbourfront Center, and on festival programs and concert series in Germany, Poland, the United States and Canada.

Their latest recording, "Paris to Kyiv-Prairie Nights and Peacock Feathers," received a nomination for the Prairie Music Awards. Mr. Kytasty and Ms. Kochan researched and authored the Ukraine section of the new edition of the Roug Guide to World Music. They have also collaborated with Michael Alpert of the groundbreaking New Jewish ensemble Brave Old World on "Nightsongs From a Neighboring Village," a concert program exploring the inter-connections of Ukrainian traditional music and the Jewish musical traditions that grew up alongside it.

Mr. Kytasty's newest CD, "Black Sea Winds: The Kobzari of Ukraine" has recently been released on Londons's November Music label. The new disc is the first full length CD recording devoted to the music of the kobzari - Ukraine's legendary blind singers/bandurists.

Mr. Kytasty has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with musicians from many cultures and performance traditions, from African drummers to Buryat throat singers. Upcoming collaborations include New York performances with Mongolian master musician Battuvshin and a cross-Canada tour this summer with a new ensemble featuring Mr. Kytasty, Chinese pipa player Liu Fang and Hindustani slide guitar virtuoso Debashish Bhattacharya.

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