NEW YORK – In celebration and support of the 10th anniversary of The Ukrainian Museum’s transformative expansion to its Sixth Street location, the museum and Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 113 on May 30 will present a benefit concert whose proceeds go to support the ambitious array of exhibitions, performances, programs and more that make up the current, critically heralded incarnation of this East Village-based cultural gem.
The Shelest Piano Duo, generously donating its time and talent for the evening, has gone through its own artistic transformation. Anna and Dmitri Shelest began their lives as young prodigies in their native Ukraine. Both made their debuts at age 11 – she at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, he as the winner of a competition during his time at Ukraine’s prestigious Special Music School for Gifted Children, to which he had been accepted at age 6.
Despite successful solo careers of their own, the married couple eventually joined forces as the Shelest Piano Duo, an experience they both credit as deepening their appreciation for the complexity, nuance and creative possibilities of their chosen instrument. As a duo they have won first prize at both the Bradshaw and Buono international piano competitions and made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2011, where they have appeared every year since. Their debut album, “Tutti,” features transcriptions of orchestral works by Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Gershwin.
Works by many of these artists will be performed at the museum benefit concert, along with pieces by notable Ukrainian composers such as Mykola Lysenko and Oleksander Zhuk. The Shelests will perform surrounded by the compelling art collected in the museum’s current exhibition, “Staging the Ukrainian Avant-Garde of the 1910s and 1920s,” honoring with their artistry an indefatigable institution that serves as the first and sometimes only introduction to Ukrainian art and culture for many visitors. In addition to celebrating and fund-raising, the evening serves as an opportunity to take pride in The Ukrainian Museum’s ever-evolving ability to powerfully showcase Ukraine’s myriad artistic assets within one of the world’s most important cultural capitals.
The Shelest Piano Duo concert takes place at The Ukrainian Museum on Saturday, May 30, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.ukrainianmuseum.org.