“God gave us music so that, first of all, we would be drawn upward by it...”, - Nietzsche F.

Music is a field of art that can overcome language barriers, and is understandable to the heart of every person. Almost every one of us loves to listen to music, a little less people know how to admire it, even fewer people on the planet are able to invent music, and Very few are given the gift of composing melodies that remain for centuries. We want to tell you about the geniuses of music born in Ukraine.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

The name of this living Kyiv composer is known all over the world. Our compatriots know him from the music written for Kira Muratova’s films “Three Stories” (2002), “Chekhov’s Motives”, “Two in One” and “The Tuner” (2004).

His work was closely followed German philosopher and composer Theodor Adorno And Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke, and the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt calls Silvestrov “the most interesting composer modernity." Among the musical abundance of symphonies, requiems, and poems for orchestra written by Silvestrov, there are “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam,” unique in their simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

Today the famous composer is 77 years old. Despite his difficult fate, he managed to maintain a sense of beauty and convey it to people through music.

Among his works music for the film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, musical cycle “In the Carpathians”, Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano.

Nikolai Kolessa (1903-2006)

Worldwide famous composer, a native of the Lviv city of Sambir, Nikolai Kolessa lived to be 102 years old! It was comprehensive developed person. Behind him Faculty of Medicine of the Jagiellonian University(Krakow), faculty Philosophy and Slavic Studies of the University of Prague, training from famous Italian pianist Marietta de Gelli.

For my long life Kolessa managed to work conductor at the Lviv Philharmonic and opera house, write methodological aids, create music for the film "Ivan Franko" and many more wonderful pieces of music.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

The composer owes his musical talents to his mother, an excellent pianist, who began teaching her son to play the piano as soon as he was 5 years old. Already at the age of 9, Sergei wrote two operas: “The Giant” and “On the Deserted Islands”.

Among his famous works are operas "War and Peace", "The Tale of a real person", "The Player", "The Love for Three Oranges", ballets “Cinderella”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Tale of the Stone Flower”.

Nikolai Leontovich (1877-1921)

A man who managed to glorify Ukrainian carols throughout the world. The music he wrote for the folk “Shchedryk” became known throughout the world under the name Karol The Bells. And thanks to many arrangements and use in films, the melody has become a Christmas anthem.

Leontovich was excellent at violin, piano and some wind instruments. In the village of Chukovi, where the composer taught music, he managed to organize an amateur symphony orchestra.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

Despite foreign name and the surname of the composer Glier - a resident of Kiev. It’s just that he was born back in the 70s of the 19th century and b was the son of a Saxon subject. Reingold had heard music since birth, since his father and grandfather made musical instruments.

Here is just a small list of countries in which Gliere's works were performed: Austria, Greece, Great Britain, Germany, France, Denmark. A music school in Kyiv was named in honor of the great fellow countryman.

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

The creative energy of this composer is simply amazing. Besides writing music Lysenko was a musical ethnographer, collected and studied folk songs and rituals. He managed to become a talented teacher - he taught at the Kiev Institute of Noble Maidens, and in 1904 opened his own Music and Drama School.

In addition, Lysenko was a conductor, pianist and active public figure. He wrote the music for the “Children’s Anthem”, now world-famous as “Prayer for Ukraine “Great God, One!”

Mikhail Verbitsky (1815-1870)

Composer, public figure and priest Verbitsky went down in Ukrainian history as the author of the music for the national anthem.

Music and service to the church were the main centers in Verbitsky's life. He led the seminary choir and wrote liturgical music. In addition, the composer composed romances and created music for performances and orchestral concerts.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Ukrainian composer, choral conductor and singer (tenor). In 1790 he organized and led a choir of “soldiers’ children and free people” in Kyiv.

In 1790-1798 he taught a class vocal music at the Kharkov Collegium and at the same time led choirs of church singers. Author of 29 church choral concerts, in a number of which he himself performed tenor solos. Wedel's compositions were influenced by Ukrainian folk songs.

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

Thanks to studying at the famous Glukhov school the child received a wonderful musical education. A wonderful voice allowed to a young musician go to study in Venice, Bologna, Rome and Naples.

Unfortunately, many of Bortnyansky’s secular works were lost. Court Archive singing choir St. Petersburg refused to publish them. And after the archive was disbanded, it turned out that most of the composer's works have disappeared.

For the first time, NV presents a special project of the Top 100 People of Culture - the highest echelon of the domestic artistic world, which has made a significant contribution to art and literature primarily over the last five years. Within its framework, the NV editors named the twenty best musicians countries - not as a rating, but as a selection in alphabetical order

Antony Baryshevsky

Pianist, 25 years old

Antony Baryshevsky is one of the youngest participants in the “cultural” hundred of NV, which does not prevent the capital’s virtuoso pianist from also being among the most titled.

People started talking about Baryshevsky back in 2000, when the 11-year-old (at that time) musician received the special prize in nomination Horowitz debut.

Since then, Baryshevsky has participated in many international competitions in different countries, as a result he became a laureate of almost two dozen international competitions.

In 2013-2014 alone, the pianist won five foreign awards at once: he won the international piano competitions in Paris and the Arthur Rubinstein competition in Tel Aviv, brought first prize from the Interlaken Classics competition in Bern, Switzerland, and the Grand Prix international competition music in Morocco, and also received second prize at the European Piano Evenings competition (Luxembourg).

Since 2012, Baryshevsky has been a soloist of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. He also tours abroad a lot - both solo and with orchestras. The talented Kiev resident has performed in concert halls in France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Morocco, Israel, and the USA.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk

The adjective cult has been firmly attached to the name of the main Ukrainian rock musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk for several years now. At a time when the success of musicians was determined by the number of records sold, the albums of Vakarchuk’s group Ocean Elzy sold hundreds of thousands of copies and received platinum status.

Now that the era of listening to music online has arrived, the impressive numbers of attendance at the band’s concerts speak eloquently of popular love. This summer, concerts as part of the tour dedicated to the band’s 20th anniversary, which took place in five cities of Ukraine, were attended by a quarter of a million listeners. And the Kiev show broke a record in the history of Ukrainian show business - listen Oceans at NSC Olympic 75 thousand people came.

In the context of the revolutionary and military events taking place in the country, Vakarchuk’s songs became popular among the majority of Ukrainians. special meaning. Millions of compatriots associate his work with the desire for changes that the country is waiting for, and civil position the musician is identified with his own.

In December 2013 Oceani performed on the stage of Euromaidan, and now they perform their songs in front of the Ukrainian military and residents of cities liberated from terrorists in eastern Ukraine.

Evgeniy Gudz

What Emir Kusturica and his No Smoking Orchestra are for the Balkan peoples, Evgeniy Gudz and his punk rock band Gogol Bordello are for the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian, who moved to the United States in the late 1980s, attracted the attention of audiences on both sides of the ocean with an explosive mixture of folk, rock, gypsy punk and carnival-like theatrical concerts.

The most famous fan of the rampant Gudz is the pop star Madonna, who invited him to star in the film Dirt and wisdom(2008), where the main soundtrack was the band’s music, and the director was the singer herself. She sang with a Ukrainian during her solo concert London Live Earth at London's Wembley, and music magazine Rolling Stone turned on the band's music at 50 best albums and 100 best songs of the year.

Since then, Gogol Bordello have recorded four full-length albums (seven in total), the last one is Pura Vida Conspiracy- came out in 2013.

And two years before it, the group’s first non-English-language record appeared My Gypsy, where Gudz included his version of the Dynamo Kyiv fan anthem and song Kiev my. Needless to say, the group’s infrequent tours in Ukraine always cause a stir, because in terms of the level of concert drive, few can compare with Gudzya’s company.

Jamala (Susana Jamaladinova)

Preserving identity, being original and at the same time recognized by a mass audience is not an easy task. On the Ukrainian stage, Jamala copes with it better than anyone else. Since the triumph at the music competition New wave in Jurmala, where in 2009 Jamala received the Grand Prix, she is true to herself in her style of performance, repertoire and closeness to her native Crimean Tatar roots.

The best evidence of Jamala’s creative self-sufficiency are both of her solo albums (For Every Heart, 2011 and All or Nothing, 2013), which are based on original compositions written by the singer herself. By the way, the singer sings in four languages ​​- Ukrainian, Russian, English and Crimean Tatar.

Jamala tirelessly experiments, performing at large concert venues and in front of sophisticated audiences at music festivals such as Jazz Koktebel. In addition, she participates in opera productions and filming (soundtrack and role in the film Guide Olesya Sanina).

Now a singer, who in 2011 was nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards in the category Best Ukrainian artist, is preparing to release a new album, where he experiments with electronic music.

Alla Zagaykevich

Among modern Ukrainian composers, Alla Zagaykevich is considered, if not a star, then a brilliant talent. And multifaceted. She is known for her works of both classical instrumental music (both symphonic and chamber) and electronic. Moreover, the composer is often called the “godmother” of Ukrainian experimental electronics.

However, Zagaykevich is not limited to just composing; she is the curator and inspirer of many electroacoustic projects and performances in Ukraine, such as the EM-VISIA (since 2005) and Electroacoustics (since 2003) festivals.

A few years ago, Zagaykevich, who heads the Ukrainian Association of Electro-Acoustic Music, founded her own Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, with which she recorded her debut CD Nord/Ouest in 2011.

At the same time, the Ukrainian artist’s creativity has long been noticed abroad. Zagaykevich is the winner of the international competition of contemporary classical and electroacoustic music Musica Nova (2011). Her works are performed in France, Canada, Austria, and she regularly participates in foreign festivals, including the Marathon of New Music in the Czech Republic, E-musika and Gaida in Lithuania, and Takefu International Music Festival in Japan.

Kirill Karabits

At the age of 37, Kiev resident Kirill Karabits has firmly established himself at the top of the international conducting Olympus. For more than five years he has led the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, one of the oldest and most respected in the UK. His resume includes collaborations with leading instrumental groups in America, Europe and Asia.

Great success came to Kirill Karabits, the son of the famous Ukrainian composer Ivan Karabits, with considerable difficulty. He studied in Kyiv and Vienna and won awards at prestigious international competitions several times. And then, having overcome serious competition of 60 people per seat, he received a position as assistant conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Today, Karabits has a contract with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra until 2016 and engagements with the best instrumental groups from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Last year he was named conductor of the year by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

However, in a busy tour schedule A musician always has a place for his homeland - several times a year he performs in Kyiv together with local musicians. While abroad, the conductor supports Ukraine in ways accessible to people of culture. For example, last spring he dedicated his concerts with the orchestras of the German Essen and the French Lille to the memory of the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred who died during the confrontations on the Kiev Maidan.

Like most Soviet children, Alexei Kogan attended music school from an early age, where he learned the violin without much desire. He did not turn out to be a violinist - Kogan jokes that his playing could only earn enough for an inexpensive lunch. But without exaggeration, he turned out to be the best jazz connoisseur in the country.

Once upon a time, a young Kiev resident began collecting all available recordings of freedom-loving Western music that was then banned in the country. During the years of perestroika, this unique collection made him a sought-after radio presenter - for several years he conducted daily broadcasts in which he played his favorite music from his personal music library.

Now he is involved in organizing the main jazz festivals Ukraine, including Koktebel Jazz Festival and Lviv Alfa Jazz Fest. The latter is only four years old, but world jazz legends like British guitarist John McLoughin or American Larry Carlton have already performed here. The festival's concerts are broadcast by the popular French music channel Mezzo, and the Western press includes it in the list of must-attend events.

Despite the fact that most of the conscious life Kogan, he still claims that he still doesn’t know enough about this music. The jazz guru is sure: “A person who delves deeply into a topic understands that this is just the beginning. You have to study all your life.”

Alexandra Koltsova (Kasha Saltsova)

The winner of two NePops awards for the best female rock vocal, Alexandra Koltsova has long become an iconic character in Ukrainian pop rock - first with her band Krikhitka Tsakhes, and then, after the death of the band’s guitarist Mikhail Gichan, with the project Krikhitka.

Another evidence of how much the public fell in love with the bewitching voice of the permanent frontwoman and the same soulful lyrics of Krikhitka, in 2010, there was an all-Ukrainian tour in support of the album Recipe (the debut record of the renewed group), which toured 15 of the largest cities in the country.

Although, by Koltsova’s own admission, she cannot be “just a musician.” “You can’t sit on the edge of your seat in your own country,” says the singer, whose career began in journalism. Leader Krichitki, by the way, who was born in Russia, quietly takes on dozens of good deeds in her native Ukraine, from the Eco-Torba environmental initiative, participation in events to combat AIDS and organizing charity concerts to help children with cancer, to supplying equipment to fighters to the ATO zone and the struggle for lustration of power.

“If I were a man and didn’t make music, then the SBU would have a file on me as an extremist,” Koltsova sneers.

Roman Kofman

The British newspaper The Telegraph named him one of the greatest conductors of our time, and the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung ranked him on a par with Evgeny Mravinsky, one of the twenty best conductors of all time according to BBC Music Magazine.

Roman Kofman is worthy of these flattering words. He is the first and only Ukrainian to direct the Western European Opera House: in 2003-2008, Kofman was artistic director Bonn Opera and Bonn symphony orchestra them. Beethoven. With him, the conductor received the prestigious international Echo Klassik award for his recording of an oratorio by Franz Liszt Christ. In total, during his career, Kofman managed to work with 80 foreign orchestras.

And he is known to domestic listeners as the permanent director of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra of the National Philharmonic, whose chief conductor he has worked since 1990.

During this time, Kofman, who tirelessly updated the orchestra's repertoire, discovered for Ukrainians the music of the best compatriots and contemporaries (including Valentin Silvestrov, Miroslav Skorik, Evgeniy Stankovych), and little-known works of Western classics. Thus, in 2009-2010, he became the first conductor in the world, under whose leadership the orchestra performed all of Mozart’s symphonies in one concert season.

Natalia Lebedeva

Jazz music is an exchange of living energy, Natalya Lebedeva, who is called the best jazz pianist in Ukraine, is convinced. “You see how a person improvises before your eyes, creates a plot, tells a story,” Lebedeva says about jazz. “The public should observe this process. Jazz music exists for its sake.”

Kiev resident Lebedeva is not only a pianist, but a real one-man orchestra - a jazz composer, arranger, teacher and band leader all rolled into one. Jazz band Lebedeva Trio, where, besides her, in different time included Igor Zakus, Konstantin Ionenko (both bass guitar) and Alexey Fantaev (drums), since the mid-2000s they have published three full-length albums and have been performing successfully both in Ukraine and abroad. Thus, in 2008-2010, the trio gave concerts in Poland as part of the Slavic Jazz Festival with a program based on the music of Frederic Chopin, as well as in Slovakia.

Considering that Ukrainian jazz music is just going through the stage of its formation, Lebedeva is doing everything to support this process. She is a member of many joint projects with aspiring jazz musicians, as well as the organizer of children's jazz festivals O"Keshkin Jazz and Atlant-M

Oleg Mikhailyuta (Bassoon)

It's hard to believe, but in June 2014, the Ukrainian hip-hop group TNMK celebrated its 25th anniversary - the team dates back to 1989.

Growing up with the country, Tanks remain one of the brightest, sincere and uncompromising Ukrainian groups - for which they have been loved by the public all these years. Wherein TNMK They are constantly expanding both the geography and the scale of their activity.

So, in 2012, the group toured more than ten festivals in Ukraine, Poland, Russia and Germany, and in 2013 they realized a long-time dream - they played a series of concerts in Ukrainian cities Symphonic hip-hop together with the Youth Symphony orchestraSlobozhansky. The initiator of the tour was Mikhailiuta, who from time to time takes on the role of both sound producer and video director TNMK.

And although Oleg Mikhailyuta (Fagot), a graduate of the Kharkov Conservatory, joined the musicians only in 1994, along with the founder of TNMK Alexander Sidorenko (Fozzy), he became one of the key figures not only for the group, but for all Ukrainian music of the era of independence.

Like Fozzie, Fagot accomplishes a lot in addition to his musical activity. In recent years, he has repeatedly tried himself as a host and participant in various television shows, and with his popularity he helped the Ukrainian-language film dubbing industry to get on its feet. For example, the blockbuster hero spoke in the voice of Mikhailiuta Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow.

Lyudmila Monastyrskaya

In honor of her great predecessor, she is called the new Solomiya Krushelnitskaya and also the best Aida of our days. The owner of a unique dramatic soprano Lyudmila Monastyrskaya is, without a doubt, one of the world's strongest opera singers modernity.

Since 2010, she has conquered the best foreign stages: the Ukrainian was invited to perform leading roles by the New York Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala, Berlin German opera, London Covent Garden. Moreover, in each of these theaters, Monastyrskaya made a splash, collecting enthusiastic responses from the press, colleagues and spectators. Although the parts she performs are leading roles in operas Attila, Nabucco, Longing, Masquerade Ball, Aida, Macbeth, Rural Honor- among the most difficult and responsible for opera singers.

Among Monastyrskaya’s partners are world stars such as the Spaniard Placido Domingo and the Italian Leo Nucci. And the schedule of foreign performances of the Ukrainian, as befits an opera diva, is planned long in advance.

However, she does not miss the opportunity to perform in Ukraine - at the National Opera. In one of the interviews, when asked which country Western listeners consider her to represent, the singer replied: “[They are] perceived only as a Ukrainian [singer]. And this gives me incentive and inspiration. That’s how I was raised.”

Victoria Polevaya

Admirers of contemporary music are listening to the works of Ukrainian Victoria Poleva classical music V the best halls- from the USA and Chile in the west to Korea and Singapore in the east. It is appreciated by critics and included in their repertoires by leading instrumental and choirs peace. In 2013, the works of the gifted Kiev resident were performed for the first time by the cult American ensemble Kronos Quartet.

Polevaya, repeatedly awarded by Ukrainian and international awards, writes music in choral, chamber-instrumental and symphonic genres. In her early years, the aesthetics that were closest to her were the avant-garde aesthetics. Today, critics rank it among the popular Western style of sacred minimalism, when deep spiritual themes are revealed through the repetition of simple musical phrases.

Such a creative transformation was quite natural for Polevaya. After all, in her own words, what is most important for a composer is not novelty as such, but simplicity and truthfulness of expression.

Alexander Polozhinsky

Poet, citizen and frontman of the Tartak group Alexander Polozhinsky has always been more than just a musician.

In 2005, barely leaving the stage of the Orange Revolution, unofficial anthem which became the bitter composition of Tartak I don't want, the leader of the group, together with other fellow musicians, organized an all-Ukrainian tour Don't be a bad guy.

It is difficult to find a better symbol of Polozhinsky’s entire musical career than this action, which soon grew into the still existing social movement for European values ​​for Ukraine.

In each of Tartak's albums - and over the past ten years the band has released five records - the author of all the group's lyrics, Polozhinsky, finds words that are necessary and close to compatriots with an active civic position.

“If we want to give up something, we must formulate what we will build instead,” the leader of Tartak recently noted, analyzing the consequences of Euromaidan, of which he was an activist.

In his work, Polozhinsky never tires of “building.” This spring the musician presented a solo project Buv'є , during which he will perform his own compositions that are not included in Tartak’s repertoire.

Maryana Sadovskaya

A native of Lvov and a resident of Cologne, Maryana Sadovskaya is often compared to the cult Icelandic singer Björk - the singers are related by the energy of their music and the desire to experiment with genres and styles. Both draw inspiration from folk art, making it attractive and understandable to listeners around the world.

I’m always interested in building bridges - between cultures, between what was and what is,” he formulates his creative task Sadovskaya, whose songs are listened to on all continents.

She began her career as an actress at the Lviv Theater. Lesya Kurbasa Sadovskaya is convinced that everyone can sing - you just need to open your heart to music. There is some truth in this, but only a few receive invitations to collaborate from the cult American ensemble Kronos Quartet. The Lviv resident wrote a piece especially for a joint performance with this group Chernobyl. Harvest, presented last year first in Kyiv and then in the famous Lincoln Center hall in New York.

Maryana Sadovskaya - Piemo, piemo (Ukrainian folk Lemk song)

Sadovskaya travels a lot - in Poland she collaborates with the theater Garzhenitsa, in New York - with the experimental troupe Yara Arts Group, and in Germany she has her own band, Borderland. She goes on ethnographic expeditions to Ireland, Egypt and Cuba. Her interpretations of Ukrainian folklore brought the singer the prestigious German RUTH award last year.

Valentin Silvestrov

At the end of the 1950s, an unprecedented incident occurred at the Kyiv Conservatory. A third-year student at the Kyiv Institute of Civil Engineering, Valentin Silvestrov, was transferred to the main music university in Ukraine without exams. Since then, he has given no reason to doubt that his true calling is to be an architect of music, not of stone.

Today Silvestrov is the most famous modern artist abroad Ukrainian composer. Moreover, world fame came to him much earlier than recognition in his native land. While the USSR looked with suspicion at Silvestrov’s avant-garde experiments, from which his unique personal style was later formed, he already became a laureate in the late 60s prestigious award Sergei Koussevitzky (USA) and the international competition of young composers Gaudeamus (Netherlands).

And to this day the name of the Ukrainian, whose heritage includes symphonies, orchestral works, choral and chamber cantatas, as well as instrumental music, sounds on world stages and music festivals. In addition, Silvestrov’s music, known in the West no less than in Ukraine, becomes part of the soundtracks for films of film celebrities - Kira Muratova and Francois Ozon.

Valentin Silvestrov - Symphony No. 5

Meanwhile, the composer lives in Kyiv and admits that writing music in home country he is quite comfortable. Among what Silvestrov has written recently is music dedicated to the events on the Maidan: a new version anthem of Ukraine and music to a poem by Taras Shevchenko Caucasus which I read on the Maidan deceased member protests Sergey Nigoyan.

Oleg Skrypka

If Ukraine, like America, had its own Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Oleg Skrypka, without a doubt, would be among the first to be included in it. His main musical creation is the legendary Vopli Vidoplyasova- has been one of the most popular bands in the country for almost 30 years.

Folk melody and powerful energy of live performances made BB in demand both at home and abroad.

However, within the framework of one project, even a successful one, Violin is cramped. Only for Last year, in addition to touring with family BB throughout Ukraine and Europe, he managed to play a number of concerts with his jazz cabaret Fun and travel around North America, performing with violinist Vasily Popadiuk.

Touring does not prevent the artist from holding the festival for 11 years in a row The land is dark. This year, the main ethno-action of the capital changed its location for the first time, moving to a Kiev park Feofaniya, and, according to most guests, it has reached a qualitatively new level.

If we add to this the successful jazz-folk festival last summer Montmarte on Andreevsky Spusk and rich in alternative music Rock Sich, DJ sets at parties in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine, as well as a recently opened restaurant serving haute Ukrainian cuisine Canapa, then it becomes obvious - towards its main goal - to turn Ukraine into a country of dreams - Violin is moving by leaps and bounds.

Evgeniy Filatov

Evgeniy Filatov is one of the most consistent and innovative Ukrainian musicians, V equally popular at home and abroad. His music at the intersection of funk, soul, pop-rock and hip-hop is listened to in Europe and Asia; he gathers halls in Ukraine, Russia and the USA. The main stars of domestic show business are eager to collaborate with him.

This native of Donetsk began as a DJ, performing under the pseudonym Dj Major. After some time, he was noticed by producers, and as a result, collaboration with TNMK, Smash, Ani Lorak, Tina Karol and others. His debut album with his own project The Maneken was released on the French label Somekind Records and was sold in many countries around the world, including Japan, which is difficult for Ukrainian musicians to reach.

Today the musician has five records with songs in English and Russian. At his Major Music Box studio, he works together with the best soul singer of Ukraine Jamala, as well as another performer, Nata Zhizhchenko. Together with the latter, Filatov came up with a new project, Onuka, where modern musical technologies are organically combined with folk instruments.

Andrey Khlyvnyuk

X hip-hop and funk rock group Boombox, whose founder, soloist and lyricist is Andrey Khlyvnyuk, is one of the most success stories in modern Ukrainian music. Over the ten years of its existence, the band has released six full-length albums, half of them in the last four years. And one of the first Boombox records Family Business became gold in Ukraine: more than 100 thousand copies were sold.

Quantity did not affect quality: over the course of a decade, the group became one of the most popular not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia, where they equally successfully collected full concert venues, and in 2009 received the famous Russian prize Muz-TV in the nomination Best hip-hop project.

Khlyvnyuk publicly supported Euromaidan, and in the spring all the group’s performances in the Russian Federation were suddenly canceled. But this fall the group will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a tour of Europe - in November Boombox will be heard in Riga, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow, Antwerp and Paris.

Khlyvnyuk and his team are no strangers to long-distance tours: in February 2011, the team toured the USA and Canada, and last year, together with Dmitry Shurov (Pianoboy), gave concerts in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Dmitry Shurov

Dmitry Shurov is called the most brilliant and successful pianist in the domestic show business. By the age of 32, he participated in the recording of albums by leading bands in Ukraine and Russia and played several thousand live performances

It all started with a collaboration with a cult rock band Ocean Elzy- in the first half of the 2000s, Shurov co-authored albums Model And Supersymmetry, which became perhaps the most successful in the history of the group. Large-scale tours in support of the records were not complete without the virtuoso musician. Shurov was one of those members of the golden cast Oceans, who took the stage at the NSC Olimpiyskiy this summer during a performance dedicated to the team’s 20th anniversary, which attracted a record audience for Ukraine.

The next steps in the pianist’s career were the popular indie band Esthetic Education and a collaboration with the most famous Russian rock singer Zemfira. The singer, known for her high demands on musicians, invited Shurov to record an album Thank you, which stands out among others due to the special splendor of its arrangements. And then she played live concerts with him for three years.

Today, a native of Vinnitsa Shurov is busy working on solo project Pianoboy. However, according to the apt remark of the musician himself, the roles may be different, but the essence does not change. He still plays the keyboard masterfully and writes songs. It’s just that now his music is accompanied by his own voice.

The materials used photos of Alexander Medvedev, Natalia Kravchuk and Elena Bozhko

Special project NV People of Culture:

Theater and Cinema

Patrons and art managers

Read the TOP 100 People of New Time culture in the special issue of NV No. 20 dated September 26, 2014

Most of us love music, many admire and understand it, and some of us have a musical education and have mastered the ability to play musical instruments. However, the smallest percentage the most talented representatives human race know how to compose melodies that fit through the centuries. 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 throughout the world.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

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

• "Two in one";
• "Tuner";
• "Chekhov's motives";
• "Three Stories"

Estonian colleague Theodor Adorno considers him the most interesting of all composers modern world. His work includes requiems, poems for orchestra, symphonies, and his “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam” are known and appreciated all over the world. Experts consider the piece of music unique in its simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

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

He wrote melodies for the legendary film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” and created a musical cycle called “In the Carpathians”. His Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano made him famous throughout the world as one of the best Ukrainian composers of the 20th century.

Miroslav's parents were intellectuals and received their education in Vienna. Skorik is great-nephew Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, of which she is immensely proud.

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 amazes with his versatility. In his youth he graduated from the Medical University in Krakow. His education did not end there; he entered the Faculty of Philosophy and Slavic Studies at a higher education educational institution in Prague. Kolessa also studied with 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 Opera Theatre. Under his authorship many methodological manuals. Nikolai Kolessa also wrote the melody for the film “Ivan Franko”.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

He was a truly outstanding Ukrainian composer. The classics, which his mother, a talented pianist, brought up, influenced the filigree of his works. Mom began teaching Sergei 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 famous throughout the world for his operas:

• “The Tale of a Real Man”;
• "Love for Three Oranges";
• "War and Peace".

He also wrote music for the ballets "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 master: piano, violin, wind instruments... We can confidently call him a “one-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 has appeared in many foreign films. This is the famous “Shchedrik”, who is known all over the world as Carol The Bells. The melody has many arrangements, and is rightfully considered the hymn of Christmas.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

He comes from a family of Saxon subjects and is a resident of Kiev by passport. Glier grew up in musical environment. The men in his family were engaged in making musical instruments. Gliere's works are heard all over the world. Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece applaud him. One of music schools in Kyiv is named after this composer.

Nikolai Lysenko (1842-1912)

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

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

What made Lysenko famous most of all was his “Children’s Anthem.” It is now known throughout 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 man. Religion occupied leading place in his life. He was the director of the choir at the seminary and composed musical works for worship. In his creative heritage There are also romances. Verbitsky played the guitar very well and loved this instrument. He created many works for strings.

Verbitsky became famous after he wrote the music for the Ukrainian anthem. The verses for the anthem were composed by Pavel Chubinsky. The exact date of writing the song “Ukraine Has Not Die Yet” is unknown. There is information that this was the period 1862-1864.

The future anthem was first heard on March 10, 1865 in the city of Przemysl. This was the first concert in the lands of Western Ukrainians, dedicated to creativity Taras Grigorovich Shevchenko. Verbitsky himself was in the choir at the concert, conducted by Anatoly Vakhnyanin. Young people liked the song, and for a long time many considered it folk.

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Artemy, in addition to his gift as a composer, had a wonderful high voice and sang in the choir. In the capital of Ukraine in 1790, he became the head of a choir of “soldiers’ children and free people.”

For eight years he taught vocals at the Kharkov Collegium, and also led church choirs.

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

Dmitry Bortnyansky (1751-1825)

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

In 1758 he was sent with the singers to the chapel in St. Petersburg. The mother crossed her son, gave him a modest bundle of provisions 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, and 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 choir, 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.

Most of us love music, many admire and understand it, and some of us 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 can compose melodies that fit across the centuries. 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 throughout the world.

Valentin Silvestrov (1937)

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

• "Two in one";
• "Tuner";
• "Chekhov's motives";
• "Three Stories"

His Estonian colleague Theodor Adorno considers him the most interesting of all composers of the modern world. His work includes requiems, poems for orchestra, symphonies, and his “Four Songs to Poems by Mandelstam” are known and appreciated all over the world. Experts consider the piece of music unique in its simplicity.

Miroslav Skorik (1938)

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

He wrote melodies for the legendary film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” and created a musical cycle called “In the Carpathians”. His Carpathian Rhapsody for violin and piano made him famous throughout the world as one of the best Ukrainian composers of the 20th century.

Miroslav's parents were intellectuals and received their education in Vienna. Skorik is the great-nephew of Solomiya Krushelnitskaya, of which he is immensely proud.

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 amazes with his versatility. In his youth he graduated from the Medical University in Krakow. His education did not end there; he entered the Faculty of Philosophy and Slavic Studies at a higher educational institution in Prague. Kolessa also studied with 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 Opera Theatre. Many teaching aids have been published under his authorship. Nikolai Kolessa also wrote the melody for the film “Ivan Franko”.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

He was truly a composer. The classics, which his mother, a talented pianist, brought up, influenced the filigree of his works. Mom began teaching Sergei 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 famous throughout the world for his operas:

• “The Tale of a Real Man”;
• "Love for Three Oranges";
• "War and Peace".

He also wrote music for the ballets "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 master: piano, violin, wind instruments... We can confidently call him a “one-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 has appeared in many foreign films. This is the famous “Shchedrik”, who is known all over the world as Carol The Bells. The melody has many arrangements, and is rightfully considered the hymn of Christmas.

Reinhold Glier (1874-1956)

He comes from a family of Saxon subjects and is a resident of Kiev by passport. Glier grew up in a musical environment. The men in his family were engaged in making 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. Nikolai’s collection includes a lot of folk songs, rituals, and carols. In addition to music, he was interested in pedagogy, believing that there is no one more important than children.

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

What made Lysenko famous most of all was his “Children’s Anthem.” It is now known throughout 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 man. Religion occupied a leading place in his life. He was the director of the choir at the seminary and composed musical works for worship. His creative heritage also includes romances. Verbitsky played the guitar very well and loved this instrument. He created many works for strings.

Verbitsky became famous after he wrote the music for the Ukrainian anthem. The verses for the anthem were composed by Pavel Chubinsky. The exact date of writing the song “Ukraine Has Not Die Yet” is unknown. There is information that this was the period 1862-1864.

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

Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)

Artemy, in addition to his gift as a composer, had a wonderful high voice and sang in the choir. In the capital of Ukraine in 1790, he became the head of a choir of “soldiers’ children and free people.”

For eight years he taught vocals at the Kharkov Collegium, and also led church choirs.

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

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 wonderful treble. His voice was surprisingly clear and flowed like a stream. The teachers loved and appreciated Bortyansky.

In 1758 he was sent with the singers to the chapel in St. Petersburg. The mother crossed her son, gave him a modest bundle of provisions 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, and 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 choir, 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.

The East Slavic tribes from which the Ukrainians descend certainly had a talent for music. On the lands modern Ukraine Original musical instruments have been found, whose age ranges from three to twenty thousand years. High level musical culture was noted - a powerful feudal state of the 9th-12th centuries. On the frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv we still see images of musicians playing the flute, trumpets, lute, and pneumatic organ. The chronicles and legends mention the guslar singers Boyan, Or, Mitus.

The Tatar-Mongol invasion interrupted the cultural process for a long time. However, already in the 14th - 16th centuries, during 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 historical duma, Cossack songs, peasant round dance songs, dance tunes and the like. This was a significant contribution of Ukrainians to the universal treasury.

FROM DUMA TO OPERA

Indeed, in those early years, Ukrainian singers and bandura players often performed at court entertainments Polish kings and Russian tsars, under whose rule were then respectively Western and eastern regions Ukraine. Zaporozhye Cossacks, and later Ukrainian soldiers as part of the Russian army, carried their tunes to many European countries. Thus, the Ukrainian dance “Cossack” entered the French ballets of the mid-18th century. Echo of Ukrainian lyrical song heard in one of Bach's preludes.

Beethoven used the melody of the song “A Cossack Rode Over the Danube” for the piano variations. Liszt wrote two paraphrases on Ukrainian themes - the ballad “Oh, don’t go, Gritsyu” and “Complaint” to the melody of “the winds are blowing.”

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

Favorite songs and dances formed the basis of folk operas, operettas, and dramas, with which numerous amateur theater groups traveled everywhere. Among the classic examples is the opera “Cossack 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 in late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, these operas were successfully performed in Europe, and the last one was performed overseas. Nikolai Lysenko, the founder of the national school of composition, collected, processed and promoted folk songs, introduced them into various musical genres. This work was developed by his followers - Stanislav Lyudkevich, Kirill Stetsenko, Yakov Stepnoy, Nikolai Leontovich and others. Leontovich's outstanding chorus "Shchedrik", with its contrapuntal addition, gained enormous popularity. In particular, it is part of the program of the now famous Swing Sea Gers octet, which exists in a variety of transcriptions.

Folk song melodies, combined with the traditions of classical music, determine the originality of the Ukrainian national opera. The range of opera genres - from the heroic-historical "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Lysenko and, in modern times, "Bogdan Khmelnitsky" by Konstantin Dankevich to lyrical-dramatic works on modern themes - "The Young Guard" by Yuli Meitus (this piece was staged at one time in many theaters in Eastern Europe, in Vietnam, etc.) and “Milani” by Georgy Mayboroda.

The rich possibilities of folk song in the field of dramatic symphony were revealed by Lev Revutsky, Boris Lyatoshinsky, Andrey Shtogarenko. Their works are increasingly entering the expanses of world music.

VARIETY OF SONG AND DANCE

Folklore influences directly or indirectly affected the original songwriting contemporary composers, including the most popular of them - both in Ukraine and abroad - Platon Mayboroda, Igor Shamo, Vladimir Ivasyuk, Alexander Bilash. It is known, for example, that the lyrical romance “My dear” by P. Maiboroda 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. The tour in France (1929) of the State Ukrainian Traveling Chapel (“Thought”) under the direction of Nestor Gorodovenko was accompanied by triumphant success. The choir of Alexander Koshits gained worldwide fame, giving many tour concerts in Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia.

The state Ukrainian folk choir, organized during the Second World War by Grigory Verevka (his name was given to this group), has risen to a new level, and under the leadership 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 protect its culture, it must follow the work of the Verevka choir, doing it with the same love.”

The State Ensemble is no less popular in the world folk dance Ukrainian SSR under the control (and now named after) Pavel Virsky. According to the newspaper “Vradini”, this ensemble “is superior to other groups in the acrobaticness of its dances, the coherence that takes your breath away...” In the dances of the ensemble, scenes from ancient and modern life Ukraine. Created under the direct influence of the ensemble dance ensemble"Zaporozhye Cossacks" in France (leader - Gregoire Lagoydyuk). Many amateur groups and participants in 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 considered one of the five outstanding singers of that time. With her talent she saved Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly” and was one of the best performers of operas by Wagner and R. Strauss. "How many modern singers one should learn the skill of recitation from the Ukrainian woman,” her voice “has no equal,” noted the venerable Italian singer and teacher G. Lauri-Volpi. The names of such outstanding singers, the best soloists, will forever remain in the history of world opera. European theaters, like Alexander Mishuga, Modest Mentsinsky and Orest Rusnak. 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 echoes if not for foreign Ukrainians living on all continents of the planet. At different times, and for different reasons, when leaving Ukraine, they took with them Shevchenko’s “Kobzar” and a Cossack bandura. In both Americas, in Australia and in Europe, where they settled, new generations appeared, whose representatives had often never been to native land their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. However, most of them sincerely love Ukrainian music, which has become one of the main factors national identity. Today it is difficult to find a Ukrainian community in the world that does not have its own choir, musical ensemble or dance group.

As a rule, such circles involve not only people of Ukrainian origin, but also representatives of other ethnic groups, which contributes to the popularity of Ukrainian music in one area or another. Ukrainian foreign amateur groups always participate in festivals of various ranks. You can refer, for example, to the Mosaic festival, which is held in the city of Regina in accordance with the multicultural policy adopted in Canada. Work in amateur groups also gives rise to their 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 without reason that they say: “What you give, you keep.”

P.S. Ancient chronicles tell: In the history of Ukrainian music, among other things, the national psychology of the Ukrainian people has also been lost. Probably psychologist Eduard Surzhik could conduct a study of addiction national psychology from the musical culture of a particular people.