National Union of Composers of Ukraine. Famous Ukrainian composers: a list of names, a brief overview of works Ukrainian composers and their works

Famous Ukrainian composers The 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries made a significant contribution to the development of culture. They created and thereby glorified our Motherland. Therefore, today we will determine who are the outstanding Ukrainian composers.

FAMOUS UKRAINIAN COMPOSERS

1. Semyon Gulak-Artemovsky

Semyon Stepanovich Gulak-Artemovsky (1813-1873) - Ukrainian composer, singer, baritone (bass-baritone), drama artist, playwright, nephew of the writer P. P. Gulak-Artemovsky, author of one of the first operas on the Ukrainian-language libretto of the opera "Zaporozhets for Danube".
Gulak-Artemovsky left for Italy, where, after two years of study, he made his debut at the Florentine opera (1841). A significant place in the composer's work is occupied by ukrainian songs, in particular “There is a sycamore above the water”, “I don’t want to sleep”, “On the mountain and the reapers are reaping”- a rhapsody from a collection of seven songs under the general title "Ukrainian wedding". Hulak-Artemovsky visited Ukraine in 1843 to select singers and in 1850, when he toured with an Italian opera troupe.

2. Boris Lotoshinsky

Boris Nikolaevich Lotoshinsky (1894-1968) - Ukrainian composer, conductor and teacher, one of the founders of modernism in Ukrainian classical music.
A multiple jury member of international competitions, an active worker in the governing bodies of the Union of Composers of Ukraine and the Kyiv Conservatory, Lotoshinsky brought up a new galaxy of composers: I. Shamo, V. Silvestrov, I. Karabits, E. Stankovich, A. Kanershtein.
He was awarded the titles of Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1945), People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1968), State Prize of the USSR (1946, 1952) and the Ukrainian SSR. T. G. Shevchenko (1971).
Created operas "Golden hoop"(based on the story of Ivan Franko "Zakhar Berkut", 1929), Shchors("Commander", lib. I. Kocherga and Rylsky, 1937). Wrote works for choir and orchestra: "Ceremonial Cantata"(words by M. Rylsky, 1939), "Will"(words by T. Shevchenko. 1939);

3. Miroslav Skorik

Miroslav Mikhailovich Skorik (1938) - composer and musicologist, Hero of Ukraine, People's Artist of Ukraine, laureate of the Prize. T. G. Shevchenko, candidate of art criticism, co-chairman of the Union of Composers of Ukraine in 2006-2010, artistic director of the Kyiv Opera (since 2011). Great-nephew of Solomiya Krushelnitskaya.
Notable works: opera "Moses"(Libretto by B. Stelmakh after I. Franko, 2001), ballets "Bricklayers"(according to I. Franko, 1967); "Suite" (1961); "Melody" for violin and orchestra, etc.

4. Valentin Sivelstrov

Valentin Vasilyevich Sivelstrov (1937) - Ukrainian composer.
The composer is characterized by a technique in music - avant-garde, which he refuses in the 1970s, preferring postmodernism. The author himself calls his style "meta-music". The music of this period is dominated by meditative, contemplative moods.
Valentin Silvestrov - laureate of the International Prize. S. Koussevitzky (USA, 1967), International Competition for Composers "Gaudeamus" (Netherlands, 1970), State Prize of Ukraine named after. T. Shevchenko (1995), People's Artist of Ukraine (1989). He was awarded the Order of Merit, III degree (1997), Yaroslav the Wise, V degree (2007). Honorary Doctor honoris causa of the National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" (2011). Sivelstrov is the author of music for many films.
The most famous works:“Quiet Songs”, “Old Ballad”, “Ode to a Nightingale”, “Music in the Old Style”, etc.

5. Dremlyuga Nikolay

Dremlyuga Mykola Vasilyevich (1917-1998) - Ukrainian composer, teacher, musical and public figure, author of the first bandura concerto, member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine.
In 1946 he graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory in the composition class of L. Revutsky and the Faculty of History and Theory. Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1972), People's Artist of Ukraine (1993); Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine named after T. G. Shevchenko (1998, for Symphony No. 3, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine).
Artworks: oratorio "Lenin" (1970); "Under the Golden Eagle" (1957); suite "In Poland" (1962), etc.

6. Evgeny Stankovich

Evgeny Fedorovich Stankovich (1942) - Ukrainian composer, chairman of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine (since 2005), Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1980), People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1986), Hero of Ukraine (2008).
He studied at a music school, studied composition with Adam Soltys at the Mykola Lysenko Lviv State Conservatory.
Yevgeny Stankovich is the author of 6 symphonies and 10 chamber symphonies, opera, 5 ballets, instrumental concertos, film music, etc.
Notable works: folk-opera "When the Fern Blooms" (1978); for soloists, two mixed choirs "Requiem for those who died of starvation" (1992); for string instruments Symphony No. 4 (Sinfonia lirica) (1977) and others.

7. Vladimir Ivasyuk

Vladimir Mikhailovich Ivasyuk (1949-1979) - Ukrainian composer and poet. Hero of Ukraine (2009, posthumously).
One of the founders of Ukrainian pop music (pop music). Author of 107 songs, 53 instrumental works, music for several performances. A professional physician, a violinist, he perfectly played the piano, cello, guitar, masterfully performed his songs. Extraordinary artist.
Awards: diploma winner of the All-Union Review of Young Composers (1978), laureate of the Republican Komsomol Prize named after. N. Ostrovsky (1988, posthumously) laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine. T. G. Shevchenko (1994, posthumously).
Artworks:"Chervona Ruta", "Vodogray", "Ballad of Mallow", Suite-Variations for chamber orchestra (1977), etc.

8. Alexander Kozarenko

Alexander Vladimirovich Kozarenko (1963) - Ukrainian composer, pianist, musicologist.
He graduated from the Lviv Music College and the Kyiv Conservatory and postgraduate studies, piano class. Trained at the University of Würzburg (Germany, 2004). Doctor of Arts (2001).
Laureate of the All-Ukrainian Piano Competition. N. Lysenko (1984), winner of the All-Russian competition of chamber ensembles (1986). Laureate of State Prizes of Ukraine for composition: them. L. Revutsky (1996) and them. N. Lysenko (2001). Member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine and the New Music Association. A significant influence on the work of A. Kozarenko was made by many years of cooperation with theater groups, the fruits of which are music for more 50 performances.

Also, a significant contribution to the development of art was made by such composers as: L. Dichko, A. Zagaykevich, A. Bilash, V. Kosenko, M. Kolessa, T. Petrinenko and others.

Dated to the 18th millennium BC. The flutes found at the site of Molodovo in the Chernivtsi region are attributed to the same time).

In general, primitive music had a syncretic character - song, dance and poetry were merged and most often accompanied rituals, ceremonies, labor process, etc. In the minds of people, music and musical instruments played an important role as amulets during spells and prayers. In music, people saw protection from evil spirits, from bad sleep, from the evil eye. There were also special magical melodies to ensure the fertility of the soil and the fertility of livestock.

Soloists and other singers began to stand out in the primitive game; developing, the elements of musical expressive language are differentiated. Recitation on one tone without the exact regularity of interval moves (a descending gliding movement of a primitive melody in close, most often neighboring, sounds) led to a gradual expansion of the sound range: the fourth and fifth are fixed as natural boundaries for raising and lowering the voice and as reference intervals for the melody and their filling with intermediate (narrow) passages.

This process, which took place in ancient times, was the source from which folk musical culture arose. It gave rise to national musical systems and national features of the musical language.

Folk song art

The practice of folk song that existed in ancient times on the territory of Ukraine can be judged from ancient ritual songs. Many of them reflect the integral worldview of primitive man and reveal his attitude to nature and natural phenomena.

The original national style is most fully represented by the songs of the central Dnieper region. They are characterized by melodic ornamentation, vocalization of vowels, modes - Aeolian, Ionian, Dorian (often chromatized), mixolydian. Connections with Belarusian and Russian folklore are clearly seen in the folklore of Polesye.

Instrumental folklore and folk instruments

The rise of professional music

File:Ukrainian musicians.jpg

Ukrainian musicians of various periods

There is information about the professional musical art of the East Slavic tribes from the time of Russia. With the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 10th century, church singing appeared on the territory of modern Ukraine, which was formed under the influence of Byzantine and Slavic folk music. In the XII-XVII centuries, the monophonic "znamenny" chant spread in Orthodox churches, which also significantly influenced the work of composers of subsequent eras.

XVII-XVIII centuries

Secular professional vocal and instrumental music, which existed in the estates and military units, began to develop in the cities from the 17th century. Workshops of musicians appeared, and orchestras and chapels were created under the magistrates. On the basis of folk song and Kantian traditions in the 18th - early 19th centuries, the song-romance to the verses of various poets became widespread. One of the first to introduce, Grigory Skovoroda began to create in this genre, who introduced civil, philosophical and lyrical themes into the song genre.

Of particular importance in the Ukrainian musical culture of the 18th century was the Glukhiv song school, created on the initiative of Daniel the Apostle in 1730, whose pupils were Dmitry Bortnyansky, Maxim Berezovsky and Artemy Vedel. After graduating from the Glukhov school, Bortnyansky and Berezovsky continued their studies at Italian music schools, which were the centers of European music of that time.

Combining the traditions of partes singing and modern techniques of European writing determined the uniqueness of the work of these composers. Having become the court bandmaster in St. Petersburg, and since 1796 - the head of the court chapel, formed almost exclusively from students of the Glukhov school, Bortnyansky greatly influenced the development of Russian musical culture. He also became the first composer of the Russian Empire, whose musical works began to appear in print.

19th - early 20th century

The 19th century in the history of music was marked by the emergence of many national schools on the world stage, which was associated with the growth of the national self-awareness of European peoples. Following the Polish and Russian, the Ukrainian national school of composers also appeared.

Following the Ukrainian writers and poets, professional musicians of the 19th century began to turn to folk themes, to process folk songs, which were performed by talented amateur amateurs accompanied by folk instruments - kobza, bandura, cymbals, violins, lyres, etc. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ukrainian music, the first symphonic and chamber-instrumental works appeared, among the authors of which are I. M. Vitkovsky, A. I. Galenkovsky, Ilya and Alexander Lizoguby.

The activities of amateur theaters and the opening of the first professional theaters (in 1803 in Kyiv, and in 1810 in Odessa), which staged musical and scenic works on national subjects, played an important role in the development of Ukrainian opera. The first Ukrainian opera is considered to be Zaporozhets beyond the Danube by Gulak-Artemovsky (1863). In Western Ukraine, composers M. M. Verbitsky, I. I. Vorobkevich, V. G. Matyuk worked in various genres of choral and instrumental (including symphonic) music.

The basis for the development of national professional music was the activity of Mykola Lysenko, who created classical samples of works in different genres: 9 operas, piano and instrumental, choral and vocal works, a work based on the words of Ukrainian poets, including those on the words of Taras Shevchenko. He also became the organizer of a music school in Kyiv (1904; from 1918 -).

N. Lysenko."God the Great, One"(inf.)
N. Lysenko. Cantata "Breaking the rapids"(inf.)
N. Leontovich."Shchedryk"(inf.)

The creative principles of Lysenko were adopted by N. N. Arkas, B. V. Podgoretsky, M. N. Kolachevsky, V. I. Sokalsky, P. I. Senitsa, I. I. Rachinsky, K. G. Stetsenko, Ya. S. Stepova, N. D. Leontovich, D. V. Sychinsky, Ya. O. Lopatinsky, S. F. Lyudkevich, O. I. Nizhankovsky and other composers.

In the second half of the 19th century, the choral movement became widespread, the choral societies "Torban" (1870) and "Boyan" (1891) arose. Higher opera houses were opened in Kyiv (1867) and Lvov (1900), music schools under the Russian Musical Society in Kyiv (1868), Kharkov (1883), Odessa (1897) and other cities.

The Ukrainian theme is also present in the works of Franz Liszt, who traveled around Ukraine in the late forties of the 19th century. Among his works are the pieces for piano "Ukrainian Ballad" and "Thought", as well as the symphonic poem "Mazeppa".

At the beginning of the 20th century, a galaxy of Ukrainian performers gained worldwide fame. Among them are singers Solomeya Krushelnitskaya, O. Petrusenko, Z. Gaidai, M. Litvinenko-Wolgemut, singers M.E. Mentsinsky, A.F. Mishuga, I. Patorzhinsky, B. Gmyrya, pianist Vladimir Horowitz, choral conductor A.A. Koshitz. Choral arrangements by N. D. Leontovich became known outside of Ukraine.

History of the first sound recordings

The first gramophone records with singing in Ukrainian were released in 1899 by Emil Berliner in London. The recordings were made during the tour of the Russian choir S. Medvejedeva. One record was called “Chornohmari”, probably it was a duet of Oksana and Andrey from the opera “Zaporozhets behind Danube”, another disc was the song “The sun is low”. These records are currently unknown. In 1900, "Emil Berliner" recorded seven more Ukrainian records. In Lvov in 1904-1905 recordings of Ukrainian songs performed by A. A. Krushelnytska were made, and in 1909 by F. N. Lopatinskaya.

In Kyiv, in 1909-1911, the recording studio "International Extra-Record" worked, among the first recordings of which (July 1909) buv P. I. Tsesevich, probably other Ukrainian performers (the catalogs of the studio have not been preserved). Of particular interest are 11 recordings of soprano E. D. Petlyash with piano accompaniment by N. V. Lysenko. Three records from this series were found and are in the funds of the house-museum of N.V. Lysenko in Kyiv, they recorded the songs “Gandzia” - “I go through the meadow, I lead the horse”, “Wind the wind” - “Kari eyes” and “Oh mother told me" - "Not returning from the campaign." Only a studio worked in Kyiv, and records were made in Berlin.

Since 1911, the recording company "Extrafon" worked in Kyiv, which for the first time in Ukraine began to produce records on the spot. The first Ukrainian records made in Kyiv were the recordings of Zor M. A. Nadezhdinsky with the songs “Walking Chumak on the Rinochka”, “Oh, the turtledove flew”, “Oh, the girl went”, “That siva zozulya was cuddling” and others, only 7 songs ; tenor I. E. Gritsenko - “The sun is low”, “At Guy, Guy” to the words of T. G. Shevchenko, “I marvel at the sky” (words by M. Petrenko) and others, 6 songs in total; 6 songs by E. D. Petlyash. These recordings were made earlier, by the International Extra-Record studio. In 1912, "Extraphone" released 10 Ukrainian songs performed by the choir of Ya. in 1914, for the anniversary of T. G. Shevchenko - records with songs to the words of the poet performed by Tsesevich, Gritsenko, Karlashov, Petlyash and the Nadezhdinsky choir. The recordings included such works as “Roar of the Dnieper” , “I wide valley ...”, “Yakbi me cherevichki”, “Fires burn, music is warm”, “Water flowing in the blue sea”, “The youth have passed”.

Musical culture 1917-1918

At the same time, the Soviet government opened a number of musical institutions in different cities of Ukraine. Among them are opera and ballet theaters in Kharkov (), Poltava (), Vinnitsa (), Dnepropetrovsk (), Donetsk (), choral and symphony groups.

1930s - 1950s

Starting from the second half of the 1930s, the musical art of Soviet Ukraine developed mainly in line with socialist realism, which became the only creative method of literature and art officially permitted in the USSR. Cultural figures who deviated from this method were subjected to severe criticism and persecution. Thus, the works of B. Lyatoshinsky and L. Revutsky were sharply criticized at the plenums of the Union of Composers, and the latter, after 1934, practically left his creative activity, confining himself to teaching and editorial work.

At the same time, a mass Soviet song arose in Ukraine, one of the first creators of which was Konstantin Boguslavsky. In the 1930s, the first operas on Soviet themes appeared, including Shchors by B. Lyatoshinsky (1930), Perekop by Y. Meitus (1937). Songs dedicated to the Communist Party and its leaders have become entrenched in the repertoires of professional and amateur groups.

A significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian musical art was made by the composer and teacher Mykola Vilinsky (a student of Vitold Malyshevsky), who worked first at the Odessa and then at the Kyiv Conservatory.

In Western Ukraine, which until 1939 was part of Poland, the composers V. A. Barvinsky, S. F. Lyudkevich, A. I. Kos-Anatolsky, and the folklorist F. M. Kolessa worked.

In the post-war period, among the prominent Ukrainian composers were Hryhoriy Veryovka, the brothers George and Platon Mayborody, Konstantin Dankevich, A. Ya. Shtogarenko and others. Among the well-known performers is the tenor Ivan Kozlovsky. Claudia Shulzhenko, a native of the Kharkov region, became widely known thanks to the performance of front-line songs.

1960s - 1980s

The 1960s became the time for the breakthrough of the Ukrainian musical school on the world stage, the penetration of the latest trends in European music into Ukrainian music. In Kyiv, the Kyiv Avant-Garde group was created, which included Valentin Silvestrov, Leonid Grabovsky and Vitaly Godzyatsky. Due to discrepancies with the official musical circles of the USSR, members of the Kyiv Avant-Garde were subjected to various kinds of pressure, in connection with which the group eventually broke up.

In the same years, Platon and Georgy Mayborody, K. Dankevich continued to work. During this period, Boris Lyatoshinsky created his last two symphonies. In the 1970s - 1980s, composers M.Skorik, E.Stankovich, I.Karabits and others became famous.

The national school of vocal art received worldwide recognition. The brightest representatives of the Ukrainian opera scene are A. Solovyanenko, Dmitry Gnatiuk, Bella Rudenko, E. Miroshnichenko, Roman Mayboroda. A significant event in the musical life of Ukraine was the staging of Shostakovich's opera Katerina Izmailova in Kyiv in 1965.

In parallel with the formation of pop music in Western countries, in Ukraine, as in other countries, the Soviet pop music flourished. The work of Vladimir Ivasyuk, the author of more than 100 songs, whose life was tragically cut short in 1979, stands out especially.

Among the songwriters of those years, A.I. Bilash, V. Vermenich, and later I. Karabits are also known. In the same years, pop singers won popularity - Sofia Rotaru, Nazariy Yaremchuk, Vasily Zinkevich, Igor Belozir, Taras Petrinenko, Alla Kudlay and others.

At the same time, typical modern musical and musical-poetic projects were born, including the satirical theater “Do not Cry!” V. Morozova (1970s), the Dead Piven group and the rock-bard group Lament of Jeremiah (second half of the 1980s).

Contemporary music

Educational and concert institutions

Historically, Ukraine has received an extensive system of educational and concert musical organizations, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine. Among them:

Theaters

opera houses in Kyiv, Kharkov, Lvov, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk
theaters of musical comedy in Kharkov and Odessa, as well as an operetta theater in Kyiv
Children's musical theater in Kyiv

Concert institutions

National philharmonic and philharmonics in all regional centers of Ukraine,
Houses of organ and chamber music in Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Bila Tserkva, Lvov, and Kharkov
palaces of culture and houses of culture in many cities of Ukraine.

Musical educational institutions

The training of professional musicians is carried out by:

Conservatories (music academies) in Kyiv, Odessa, Lvov, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk
Music faculties at Kharkiv University of Arts and Kiev University of Culture
Musical schools in different cities of Ukraine.

Concert bands

As of 2008, there are 10 national and 2 state teams in Ukraine. Of these, 10 are located in Kyiv and one - in Odessa.

The East Slavic tribes, from which the Ukrainians descend, certainly had a talent for music. On the lands of modern Ukraine found the original musical instruments, whose age is from three to twenty millennia. A high level of musical culture was noted - a powerful feudal state of the IX-XII centuries. On the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, we still see the image of musicians playing the flute, trumpets, lute, pneumatic organ. The chronicles and legends mention the gusli singers Boyan, Or, Mitus.

The Tatar-Mongol invasion interrupted the cultural process for a long time. However, already in the XIV-XVI centuries, in the era of the formation of the Ukrainian nation, there was a rapid development of music. Since then, national (and therefore world) culture has been enriched by such original genres of folk art as the historical duma, Cossack songs, peasant round dance songs, dance tunes, and the like. It was a significant contribution of Ukrainians to the universal treasury.

FROM DUMA TO OPERA

Indeed, in those distant years, Ukrainian singers and bandura players often performed at entertainments at the courts of Polish kings and Russian tsars, who then ruled the western and eastern regions of Ukraine, respectively. Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, and later Ukrainian soldiers as part of the Russian army carried their melodies to many European countries. Thus, the Ukrainian dance "Cossack" entered the French ballets of the mid-18th century. An echo of a Ukrainian lyrical song can be heard in one of Bach's preludes.

Beethoven used the melody of the song "A Cossack rode across the Danube" for piano variations. Liszt wrote two paraphrases on Ukrainian themes - the ballad "Oh don't go, Gritsya" and "Complaint" to the melody "the winds blow".

Naturally, most often Russian composers turned to Ukrainian melos - Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov. Their operas, symphonic and chamber works, using real or stylized Ukrainian melodies, received worldwide recognition. Operas on Ukrainian themes were also created by Polish composers (A. Minheimer, M. Soltis).

Favorite songs and dances formed the basis of folk operas, operettas, dramas, with which numerous amateur theater groups traveled everywhere. Among the classic examples are the opera Zaporozhets beyond the Danube by the talented singer and composer Gulak-Artemovsky (he studied and performed in Italian theaters), as well as Natalka-Poltavka in the musical edition of Nikolai Lysenko. Already at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, these operas were successfully staged in Europe, and the last one was also performed overseas. Nikolay Lysenko, the founder of the national school of composers, collected, processed and propagated folk songs and introduced them into various musical genres. This business was developed by his followers - Stanislav Lyudkevich, Kirill Stetsenko, Yakov Stepnoy, Nikolai Leontovich and others. Leontovich's outstanding choir "Shchedryk", with its contrapuntal addition, gained immense popularity. In particular, it is included in the program of the now famous Swing Seagers octet, which exists in a variety of transcriptions.

Folk song melos in combination with the traditions of classical music determines the originality of the Ukrainian national opera. The range of genres of the opera - from the heroic-historical "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Lysenko and, in modern times, "Bogdan Khmelnitsky" by Konstantin Dankevich to the lyrical-dramatic works in the direction of modern themes - "The Young Guard" by Julius Meitus (this piece was once staged in many theaters in Eastern Europe, in Vietnam, etc.) and "Milani" by George Maiboroda.

The rich possibilities of folk song in the field of dramatic symphonism are revealed by Lev Revutsky, Boris Lyatoshinsky, Andrey Shtogarenko. Their works are more and more confidently entering the expanses of world music.

VARIETY OF SONG AND DANCE

Folklore influences directly or indirectly reflected on the original songwriting of contemporary composers, including the most popular of them - both in Ukraine and abroad - Platon Maiboroda, Igor Shamo, Volodymyr Ivasyuk, Oleksandr Bilash. It is known, for example, that the lyrical romance "My dear" by P. Mayboroda was performed by various singers in many languages of the world, including Japanese.

In Ukraine, the art of choral singing has long been developed - folk, church, academic, and these traditions, one way or another, have been preserved. A triumphant success was accompanied by a tour in France (1929) of the State Ukrainian wandering choir (“Thought”) under the direction of Nestor Horodovenko. The choir of Alexander Koshyts gained world fame, which gave many touring concerts in Western Europe, the USA, Canada, and Australia.

The State Ukrainian Folk Choir, organized during the Second World War by Hryhoriy Veryovka (his name was given to this group), rose to a new level, and under the direction of Anatoly Avdeevsky, the choir, whose composition is complemented by orchestral and dance groups, gave hundreds of concerts on tour across all continents. A critic of a Spanish newspaper enthusiastically wrote that "when a country wants to stand guard over its culture, it must follow the work of the Verevka choir, doing it with the same love."

No less popular in the world is the State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Ukrainian SSR under the direction (and now named after) Pavel Virsky. According to the newspaper "Vradini", this ensemble "surpasses other groups in the acrobatic dances, coherence, which is breathtaking ..." In the dances of the ensemble, scenes from the ancient and modern life of Ukraine are played out with great taste and artistic brilliance. Under the direct influence of the ensemble, the dance ensemble "Zaporizhzhya Cossacks" was created in France (headed by Gregoire Lagoydyuk). Many amateur groups, participants of various international folklore festivals, also enjoy success.

Ukraine, rich in beautiful voices, has long “supplied” its singers to neighboring peoples and countries (in particular, for the court singing chapel in St. Petersburg in the 18th-19th centuries), from where the singers went to study in Italy. This was the fate of Bortnyansky, Berezovsky, Gulak-Artemovsky and Nikolai Ivanov.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, their fame was increased by Ivan Lichevsky (soloist of the Paris Grand Opera in 1908-1910), Platon Chesevich, who toured Europe with Fyodor Chaliapin.

The famous Solomiya Krushelnitskaya is rightfully ranked among the five outstanding singers of that time. With her talent, she saved Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly, was one of the best performers of operas by Wagner and R. Strauss. “How many modern singers should have learned the art of recitation from a Ukrainian woman,” her voice “has no equal,” noted the venerable Italian singer and teacher J. Lauri-Volpi. The names of such outstanding singers, soloists of the best European theaters as Alexander Mishuga, Modest Mentsinsky and Orest Rusnak will forever remain in the history of the world opera. Subsequently, Ivan Patorzhinsky, Maria Litshenko-Wolgemut, Boris Gmyrya, Zoya Gaidai distinguished themselves.

Despite all the diversity of Ukraine's cultural ties with the world, it is unlikely that a Ukrainian song or dance, opera or symphony would have received publicity and echo if it were not for foreign Ukrainians living on all continents of the planet. At different times, and for various reasons, leaving Ukraine, they brought with them Shevchenko's "Kobzar" and a Cossack bandura. In the Americas, in Australia and in Europe, where they settled, new generations appeared, whose representatives often never visited the native land of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. However, most of them sincerely love Ukrainian music, which has become one of the main factors of national identity. Today it is difficult to find such a Ukrainian community in the world that would not have its own choir, musical ensemble or dance group.

As a rule, not only people of Ukrainian origin are involved in such circles, but also representatives of other ethnic groups, which contributes to the popularity of Ukrainian music in a particular area. Ukrainian foreign amateur teams always participate in festivals of various ranks. Reference can be made, for example, to the Mosaic Festival held in the city of Regina in accordance with Canada's multicultural policy. Work in amateur groups gives birth to its own composers, choirmasters and choreographers, who often improve their skills in Ukraine.

The heritage of Ukrainian music is inexhaustible, because it is constantly enriched. It is open to everyone, because it is not for nothing that they say: "What you gave, you kept."

P.S. The ancient chronicles say: In the history of Ukrainian music, among other things, the national psychology of the Ukrainian people has fought back. Probably the psychologist Eduard Surzhik could conduct a study of the dependence of national psychology on the musical culture of a particular people.

Most of us love music, many admire and understand it, and some people have a musical education and have mastered the ability to play musical instruments. However, the smallest percentage of the most talented members of the human race are able to compose melodies that fit through the ages. Some of these people were born in Ukraine, in its picturesque corners. In the article we will talk about Ukrainian composers of the 20th century, and not only, who glorified Ukraine to the whole world.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

The famous Ukrainian composer was born in 1937 and still lives in Kyiv. The genius of musical art is famous all over the world. We hear his music in pictures:

"Two in one";
"Tuner";
"Chekhov's motives";
"Three stories".

Estonian colleague Theodor Adorno considers him the most interesting of all the composers of the modern world. In his work there are requiems, poems for orchestra, symphonies, and his "Four Songs on the Verses of Mandelstam" are known and appreciated all over the world. Experts consider the piece of music to be unique in its simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

The 77-year-old modern Ukrainian composer lived a difficult life, but managed to maintain the fortitude and sense of beauty that imbued his works.

He wrote melodies for the legendary film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", created a musical cycle called "In the Carpathians". His Carpathian Rhapsody for Violin and Piano made him famous as one of the best Ukrainian composers of the 20th century in the whole world.

Miroslav's parents were intellectuals and were educated in Vienna. Skoryk is the great-nephew of Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, which he is immensely proud of.

Nikolai Kolessa (1903-2006)

The Ukrainian composer, who was born in the city of Sambir, Lviv region, lived to be one hundred and two years old! This man is amazing in his versatility. In his youth, he graduated from the Medical University in Krakow. On this, his education did not end, he enters the faculty of philosophy and Slavic studies at a higher educational institution in Prague. Kolessa was also trained by the legendary Italian Marietta de Gelli, who is a world famous pianist.

Whoever Nikolai Filaretovich was during his long life. He conducted at the Lviv Philharmonic and the Opera Theatre. Under his authorship, many methodological manuals have been published. Nikolai Kolessa also wrote the melody for the painting "Ivan Franko".

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

He was truly a composer. The classics, on which his mother, a talented pianist, brought up, influenced the filigree of his works. Mom started teaching Sergei how to play the piano at the age of five. He wrote his first operas - "The Giant" and "On the Deserted Islands" - at the age of nine.

Sergei Prokofiev is world famous for his operas:

"A Tale of a Real Man";
"Love for Three Oranges";
"War and Peace".

He also wrote music for the ballet "The Tale of the Stone Flower", "Cinderella" and "Romeo and Juliet".

Nikolai Leontovich (1877-1921)

There are few instruments that this Ukrainian composer did not own: piano, violin, wind instruments... He can be safely called a "man-orchestra". In his youth, in the village of Chukovi, where he lived with his family, he independently created a symphony orchestra.

Thanks to this man, the Ukrainian carol sounded in many foreign films. This is the famous "Shchedryk", which is known all over the world as Carol The Bells. The melody has many arrangements, and it is rightfully considered a Christmas anthem.

Reinhold Gliere (1874-1956)

He comes from the family of a Saxon subject and a citizen of Kiev by passport. Gliere grew up in a musical environment. The men in his family were engaged in the manufacture of musical instruments. Gliere's works are heard all over the world. Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece applaud him. One of the music schools in Kyiv bears the name of this composer.

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

Lysenko was not only a composer, he also made a great contribution to musical ethnography. In the collection of Nikolai there are a lot of folk songs, rituals, carols. In addition to music, he was fond of pedagogy, believing that there is no one more important than children.

There was in his life a period of teaching at the Kiev Institute of Noble Maidens. 1904 was a landmark year for him - he opened his own School of Music and Drama.

Most of all, Lysenko glorified his "Children's Anthem". Now it is known all over the world as "Prayer for Ukraine". In addition, Nikolai took an active civic position and took part in social activities.

Mikhail Verbitsky (1815-1870)

Verbitsky was a deeply religious person. Religion occupied a leading place in his life. He was the director of the choir in the seminary, he composed musical works for worship. His creative heritage also includes romances. Verbitsky played the guitar perfectly and adored this instrument. He created many works for strings.

Fame came to Verbitsky after he wrote the music for the anthem of Ukraine. The lyrics for the anthem were composed by Pavel Chubinsky. The exact date of writing the song "Ukraine has not died yet" is unknown. There is information that it was the period 1862-1864.

For the first time, the future anthem sounded on March 10, 1865 in the city of Przemysl. It was the first concert in the lands of Western Ukrainians dedicated to the work of Taras Grigorovich Shevchenko. Verbitsky himself at the concert was in the choir, the conductor of which was Anatoly Vakhnyanin. Young people liked the song, and for a long time many considered it folk.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Artemy, in addition to the composer's gift, had a beautiful high voice and sang in the choir. In the capital of Ukraine, in 1790, he became the head of the choir of "soldiers' children and free people."

For eight years he taught vocals at the Kharkov Collegium, in addition, he led the choirs of church choristers.

He created 29 choral concertos for the church. At performances, he often led tenor solos himself. Wedel's works were greatly influenced by folk song.

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

As a child, he received an excellent education. Little Dmitry was lucky. He graduated from the legendary Glukhov school. Dmitry had a truly beautiful voice. He had a great treble. His voice was amazingly clear and flowed like a stream. The teachers loved and appreciated Bortyansky.

In 1758 he was sent with choristers to the chapel of St. Petersburg. The mother crossed her son, gave him a modest bundle of food and kissed him. Seven-year-old Dima never saw his parents again.

His talent allowed him to study abroad. To comprehend the basics of musical skill, he went to Venice, Naples, Rome.

Alas, most of Bortnyansky's secular works have not survived to this day. They were kept in the archives of the St. Petersburg Singing Chapel, which refused to put them on public display. The archive was disbanded, and the works of the legendary author simply disappeared in an unknown direction.

First of all, we note that the background Ukrainian music as such begins in Soviet Ukraine, in 1920-30, when it was initially based mainly in Kyiv and Kharkov.

In large Ukrainian cities, operetta theaters begin to open, philharmonic societies are founded, young composers resort to instrumental creativity and become at the forefront of Ukrainian music. A pioneer, a major center around which young composers began to accumulate was the Leontovich community (1923). Its honorary members are: Lev Revutsky, teacher of composition in Kyiv, author of symphonies and many piano works, Boris Lotoshinsky, professor at the Kyiv and Moscow conservatories, adherent of contemporary Ukrainian music. Together they literally brought up a galaxy of composers. Viktor Kosenko, Mikhail Verikivsky, Valentin Kostenko, Ignat Khotkevich, N. Fomenko, K. Boguslavsky and others also worked during these years.

The period of the 30s was one of the most intense times for progress Ukrainian music, which aspired to high professionalism and showed itself in absolutely different styles. At the same time, theatrical musical art is developing and the concert life is progressing. Education is actively unfolding, interest in the national well-known instrument, the bandura, is being revived. After 1930, music, like other areas of art, began to be interpreted as a means of party propaganda. Composers are forced to churn out solemn laudatory compositions - songs in honor of the Soviet homeland, the party, the leaders of communism. At the same time, they strengthened totalitarian control over music. By a government decree of 1932, the Association of Modern Ukrainian music, uniting innovative composers who focused on Western movements music such as jazz. Society. M. Leontovich was renamed and reorganized into the All-Ukrainian community of revolutionary musicians, valid until the age of 31, and also created the Association of Proletarian musicians Ukraine in 1928, which operated until 1932.

Life Ukrainian music also manifested itself in the development of opera theaters in large and small centers, as in Kharkov, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk. The repertoire was mostly traditional - Italian or German opera, but even then in Ukrainian.

Ukrainian music in the 40s - 50s

1941 - 1945 were inscribed in history Ukrainian music as a complex and ambiguous period. This, of course, was caused by historical events that determined the essence and meaning and direction of the artistic process, stipulated genre dominants, attraction to certain ideological, thematic and figurative spheres.

The beginning of V.O. the war became a turning point for Ukrainian music and culture in general. Ukrainian artists and musicians fought on the fronts. A large number of performing groups, theaters, philharmonic societies, faculty of many musical educational institutions were evacuated to the republics of the USSR. In this way Ukrainian music continued its further development - but in a different national context, in a different cultural atmosphere.

AT Ukrainian music of that time, the folklore of the peoples of the USSR was included in full rights, was closely and actively studied by composers and musicologists. The musical heritage of the Bashkir people attracted the attention of P. Kozitsky, G. Verevka, Kazakh folklore was reflected in the work of M. Skorulsky, Turkmen - in the works of Y. Meitus and A. Znosko-Borovsky. The leading themes of the works are the dominance of the idea of a single desire for victory, patriotic themes, the theme of protecting the native land and cultural heritage.

Signs of musical life at that time were the ultra-high creative activity of numerous amateur groups, which embraced the broad masses with the spirit of artistic creativity and introduced them to classical musical refinement. The level of performing skills of such groups was often quite high. It is not for nothing that a significant part of them received the well-deserved title of people and the opportunity to show their skills and art outside the state, to get acquainted with musical foreign culture. Among the most popular professional groups of that time were the Ukrainian SSR Academic Bandurist Choir, the Verevka Ukrainian Choir, the Virsky Folk Dance Group, the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra, the Dumka Academic Choir, the Lysenko Quartet and others.

The theme of the party, a happy Soviet life and socialist labor, captured by the labor enthusiasm of the masses, at that time loses its canonical status, but does not lose its significance. At the same time, all innovative searches were unofficially hampered. Such duality was adequate to the very atmosphere of that time, which combined the opposition - criticism of Stalinism - and the official - the preservation of the foundation of communist ideology.

the sixties in Ukrainian music.

An entire culture, a unique generation, was dubbed “Sixties” Ukrainian and the Soviet intelligentsia and authors, who intensively manifested themselves in the politics and culture of the 60s. These were times of partial weakening of the totalitarian regime, a period which was later called the Khrushchev thaw. The sixties then came out in defense of the Ukrainian language and culture, demanded freedom in art. Their mentality was formed on the basis of humanistic democratic Western traditions. They literally raised the interest of the population in their own cultural heritage. The sixties focused their creativity on the visualization of the existing problems of life, so to speak, painful issues that were often simply hushed up before. One of the first sixties of Ukraine - Lina Kostenko and Vasily Simonenko.

1960s is a breakthrough Ukrainian music, composer school to major arenas around the world, as well as the development and application of the latest trends in Euro-culture. In Kyiv, a group of artists "Kyiv Avant-Garde" was formed, which was joined by such famous domestic figures as Godzyatsky Vitaly, Grabovsky Leonid, Silvestrov and others. The members of this organization began to be harassed and persecuted by the authorities, as a result of which the organization collapsed.

Around the same time, such composers as George and Platon Mayborody, Dankevich K., Lyatoshinsky B. continued to create. Our school of vocal art received real recognition in the whole world. big names Ukrainian opera stage: E. Miroshnichenko, Solovyanenko A., Rudenko B., Gnatyuk D. . One of the most significant events of that time was the staging of Shostakovich's opera Katerina Izmailova (1965, Kyiv).

Although Lotoshinsky Boris Nikolaevich has already finished his creative activity, he is also recorded in the sixties. After all, he taught Grabovsky, and Silvestrov, and Karabits, and Dychko, and Stankovich, who later became members of the sixties. When the “Iron Curtain” began to gradually rise in the 1960s, a tremendous wave of information about music west. Everyone started to admire her. And Boris Nikolayevich created his famous Fourth Symphony. Lotoshinsky in the 1960s returned to eternal ideas and the question of what is truth, and gave a brilliant concept regarding the eternal cycle of life, embodying the idea in the echoes of bells - a symbol of eternity.

Ukrainian author's music gradually acquires the status of the brightest artistic phenomenon. In this genre, a very significant contribution to the development Ukrainian music made V. Ivasyuk (1949-1979) - a very famous singer and composer, the author of legendary immortal hits like "I'm going to the distant mountains", "Chervona Ruta", "Vodogray" and others. First of all, the artist's work is based on folklore primary sources. By the way, the song "Chervona Ruta" gave the name to a major festival Ukrainian music and songs.

Ukrainian music 70-80 years

Over these decades Ukrainian music went through a turbulent time like never before. It was based on the realities of Soviet life, those turns of history that resulted in the period of the so-called thaw, liberalization, the revival of spiritual life, the way out of the artificial isolation of Soviet art.

Artists of the "older generation" continue their creative work - B. Lotoshinsky, Revutsky, Dankevich, Zhukovsky, Taranov, Klebanov. The “middle” generation is active - K. Dominchen, the Mayboroda brothers, V. Gomolyaki, I. Shamo, etc. Active activity begins at the turn of the 50-60s: Bibik, Belash, Buevsky, Grabovsky, Gubarenko, L. Dychko , Ishchenko, Karabits, G. Lyashenko, Skorik, Zagortsev, Stankovich, Guba, Godzyatsky and others. It is thanks to these names that Ukrainian music aspires to European modernism.

The 70s and 80s were a period of explosive development of software music, which made it possible to avoid any genre definitions and fully reveal individual artistic aspirations. Works that were essentially polygenre arose - a synthesis of instrumental and vocal principles and a choral symphony, a symphony-ballet.

During this period of fruitful development, he receives education. the system of artistic education is expanding significantly: a network of children's and youth musical schools, musical schools. Their graduates receive higher education at the Kyiv, Lvov, Odessa conservatories, the Kharkov Institute of Arts, the Kharkov Institute of Culture with the Kyiv branch. In 1968, the already independent Kyiv Institute of Culture opened the Nikolaev and Rivne educational faculties.

Active is the periodical edition of the collection of scientific works "Ukrainian Musicology" (since 1964). Since 1970, the publication of the journal “ Music“, the journal “Folk Art and Ethnography” is being printed, in a word, Ukrainian music receives an additional let of its development.

Ukrainian music in the 80s and 90s

The indicated period is perestroika in the 80s, the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine gained independence in the 90s. This period was marked by the emergence of new cultural trends. The changes that started in our country contributed to the resumption of the interrupted cultural-modernist tradition of the 20s and the democratization stream of the 60s. The main subject of development Ukrainian music and Ukrainian art of this time is a rethinking of the established and the search for new creative principles. Second half of the 80s. Indicated by the appeal of domestic sociologists, cultural studies, art critics to the concepts of Western culture, to the renewal of the spiritual foundations of being, the revival of national traditions, it acquires various forms of cultural dialogue between socialist realist and alternative types of thinking.

In the early 1990s, numerous non-state creative teams appeared in Ukraine, voluntary societies of various kinds, a significant part of which very successfully began to cooperate with foreign cultural and educational organizations and contributed to the introduction of Ukraine into the world space.

An important means of understanding the processes taking place in Ukrainian music, is becoming the holding of numerous scientific conferences devoted to the consideration of new cultural and philosophical problems of musicology, questions of the theory and history of musical art, modern views on the system of training music specialists, etc.

At the end of the 80s, music festivals began to be organized in Ukraine, the programs of which were works of various stylistic branches, at which works from the classics and, in fact, to the avant-garde were presented. At these festivals, the latest types of art have been displayed, such as video installations, instrumental and musical theater, and various performances. The series of concerts “New Music” (Kyiv, Kharkov) contributes to the dissemination of information about the achievements of Ukrainian and foreign artists in the field of contemporary music. picture of development Ukrainian music Complement author's, anniversary concerts of composers, solemn evenings, which are organized by the Center for Musical Information of the Union of Composers of Ukraine and its regional branches.

One of the leading places in musical Piano music takes the process of 80-90s. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of national and international piano competitions, as well as the spread of the practice of premiere concert performances of piano works by Ukrainian composers abroad (Austria, Germany, China, USA). big picture Ukrainian music enrich numerous competitions and festivals of other genres of art, in particular, organ and chamber music, sacred, choral, wind and jazz, opera, as well as popular modern songs and the like. These events expand the scope of communication between domestic and foreign composers, performers, teachers, promote the exchange of experience, expand the geography of participants, and influence communication with representatives of the mass media (press, radio, TV).

The multidirectional and multi-vector nature of artistic trends allows us to define them as postmodern, where, on the one hand, one can trace the preservation, rethinking and updating of the achievements of the past, and on the other hand, there is a rejection of traditionalism, intensive searches and experiments.

Ukrainian music end of the twentieth century

Popular music and Ukrainian rock music brightly represented at such festivals as Chervona Ruta, Chaika, Tauride Games, etc. Modern Ukrainian rock music. Among the well-known names are Okean Elzy, VV, TNMK, Skryabin, Dead Piven. Ukrainian rock festivals are regularly and successfully held.

About modern Ukrainian music, about all its novelties and premieres, you can easily find out regularly on our website "". Discover a modern and independent Ukrainian music!