In Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany, works by Ukrainian composers Viktor Kosenko, Vasyl Barvinsky, Fedir Yakymenko and Serhii Bortkiewicz will be performed as part of the third Sounds of Ukraine Ukrainian chamber music festival, according to the festival’s website.
According to artistic director Violina Petrychenko, this year’s Sounds of Ukraine aims to highlight the connection between Ukraine and Europe.
“Each concert will pair a Ukrainian composer with a European artist, revealing shared artistic connections and sources of inspiration,” Petrychenko said.
On 22 August, the Apostolic Church in Cologne will host a concert titled “Viktor Kosenko & Frédéric Chopin (Poland)”, featuring piano sonatas by both composers.
On 23 August, the programme will feature piano trios by Vasyl Barvinsky and Antonín Dvořák (Czech Republic).
The “Vasyl Barvinsky & Antonín Dvořák” concert was originally intended to be the final event of this season, but the festival was extended with an additional performance in Düsseldorf.
On 24 September at 19:00, Bechstein Centrum will host “Von Kharkiw bis Paris” (“From Kharkiv to Paris”), a concert dedicated to the music of Kharkiv-born composers Fedir Yakymenko and Sergei Bortkiewicz.
According to the programme description, the lives of both composers were shaped by migration and cultural diversity. They spent much of their lives outside Ukraine, working in cities including Paris, Berlin and Vienna. Their music combines Ukrainian musical traditions with European influences while exploring themes of home, memory and artistic identity.
The concert will also feature works by European composers Robert Schumann (Germany) and Claude Debussy (France).
The programme will include a “dialogue” between Schumann’s Fantasiestücke and Bortkiewicz’s Fantasiestücke.
“These two cycles not only share the same title, but also demonstrate a clear artistic connection,” the festival website says.
The organisers also note that Debussy’s impressionism will offer new perspectives on the music of Yakymenko and Bortkiewicz. Yakymenko’s Clair de lune (“Moonlight”), meanwhile, will reveal subtle connections with the French musical tradition.
The charity Sounds of Ukraine festival has been running since 5 March. In addition to Yakymenko and Bortkiewicz, the programme has also featured music by Ukrainian composer Valentyn Sylvestrov. Proceeds raised during the festival will be donated to support Ukraine.
Musicians performing this season include Violina Petrychenko (piano), Kateryna Kostiuk (violin), Nazariy Pylatyuk (violin), Rostyslav Fedyna (piano), Oleksandr Oliinyk (piano), and members of the Lemberger Trio — Maria Fedyna (piano), Kateryna Shalayska (violin) and Modest Mentsynskyi (cello).
About Sounds of Ukraine:
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A charity festival of Ukrainian classical music in Germany.
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It was first held in 2023 on the initiative of artistic director Violina Petrychenko, with concerts in Wesseling, Monheim am Rhein and Bonn.
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The second festival took place in 2024 in Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf.
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Over the years, the festival has featured works by Mykola Lysenko, Stanislav Liudkevych, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Hryhorii Alchevskyi, Borys Liatoshynskyi, Yulii Meitus, Kostiantyn Dankevych, Anatolii Kos-Anatolskyi, Myroslav Skoryk, Michel Zavadsky, Mykola Kolessa, Maksym Berezovskyi and other Ukrainian composers.