Works by contemporary Ukrainian composers performed at Chicago's UIMA (10/12/03)

Works by contemporary Ukrainian composers performed at Chicago's UIMA

by Maria Kulczycky

CHICAGO - New music, contemporary music and modern music are terms that can be used interchangeably to describe music experiments. They may include atonal technique, serialism and electro-acoustical elements.

In mid-September, a concert at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago featured this type of performance, particularly as created by five composers born in Ukraine. Most pieces were U.S. debuts.

The five were selected after extensive research by William Jason Raynovich, artistic director of the MAVerick Ensemble, a performance group resident at the institute.

The music could be characterized as avante-garde because it contained elements of electro-acoustical sounds, music performed in different spaces in the hall, and sounds created by instruments played in unconventional ways.

One of the composers, Virko Baley, currently principal guest conductor and artistic advisor of the Kyiv Camerata, as well as a faculty member of the music department of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, was present at the concert. His piece, "Emily Dickinson Songbook," was sung by Robin Morgan, soprano, accompanied by pianist Brad Haag. For the last poem, Mr. Raynovich played the voice part on the cello. The composition was warmly received by the large, mostly non-Ukrainian audience.

The first piece on the program, "The Middle of the Void" (C.A.G.E.) by Roman Yakub, was originally composed in 1992 and dedicated to the memory of John Cage. It uses the pitches of C, A, G, and E as the main material for the composition. Electronic elements in the piece include the Korg M1 synthesizer and computer software such as Alchemy and Cakewalk. An important aspect of the performance is instrumental theater, which includes lengthy silences in which the performer moves around and out of the hall. Jennifer Leckie, a violinist, performed the piece.

"John Cage's music often investigates all sounds of music, including silence," explained Mr. Raynovich. "The silent sections between the playing segments are just as important as the music."

Mr. Yakub received his early musical training in Lviv, then moved to the United States, where he earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a doctorate from Boston University, where he taught electronic and computer music.

The last piece, "Way to Meditation," was performed by six members of the MAVerick ensemble. Constructed of two extremely contrasting movements without a break between them, it moved from expressive and dramatic music to a meditative and clarified end. The work was composed by Alexander Shchetynsky, who was born Kharkiv in 1960. His works, previously performed by the Moscow Opera Theater, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Warsaw Philharmonic, are composed in a post-serial style based on a combination of quasi-serial procedures, with special attention to attractiveness of sound material and to melody as a source of expression.

The youngest composer represented at the concert, Sergey Pilyutikov, was born in Uzin, near Kyiv, in 1965. A student of Mr. Shchetynsky, he graduated from the Kharkiv Art Institute in 1985. He lives in Kyiv, where he founded Ensemble Ricochet, a group of young Ukrainian musicians who perform modern and contemporary music. His composition, "Together with Light Air," was performed by Lisa Goethe-McGinn, a flutist, with tape accompaniment.

Charles Lipp, a bassoonist, performed "Project for Bassoon and Tape" by Lviv-born Boguslaw Schaeffer. Mr. Lipp explained that he worked with the composer to explore the sound capacity and range of various types of bassoons.

"MAVerick Ensemble is providing the opportunity for audiences interested in new artistic formats to experience new works that counter established artistic trends," explained Mr. Raynovich. "We are particularly delighted that we were able to find the work in this genre being produced by artists of Ukrainian heritage, and to give them an opportunity to have their pieces played."

MAVerick Ensemble will perform four additional concerts at UIMA in the 2003/2004 season. Their concerts complement the highly regarded classical music series being offered for the 13th year at the institute.

More information on the concerts, exhibits and lectures at the institute, as well as a tour of its highly regarded permanent collection, can be found on the web at www.uima-art.org.

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