Formed for the occasion, an orchestra of professional Ukrainian musicians goes on tour in Europe and North America in the name of freedom.
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February, when Sviatoslav Yantchuk plays in his city of Odessa, the sirens punctuate his concerts with impromptu high points, during which musicians and spectators must take shelter. But throughout the month of August, this percussionist from the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in countries at peace, with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO) which brings together the cream of Ukrainian musicians.
Members of musical ensembles from the four corners of Europe and Ukraine, from the Opéra national de Bretagne to the Kherson Opera, they have come together for a tour and will play twelve dates, on behalf of the freedom of Ukraine. Docked in Warsaw where its opening concert was played, the UFO will travel through England, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands, before concluding across the Atlantic, in New York and Washington.
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The project was spearheaded by Keri-Lynn Wilson, a Canadian conductor who has conducted the Bayerische Staat Opera, the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and the Bolshoi in Moscow, among many others. Keri-Lynn Wilson grew up in Winnipeg, capital of Manitoba and Ukrainian immigration to Canada, where her grandparents came from.
While in Warsaw at the start of the war, Ms. Wilson saw Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland, and felt called to action: “It gave birth to a dream in me: to unite Ukrainian artists into an artistic force, fighting for their freedom as a nation”, she says. The project won over the Warsaw Opera, which decided to co-carry the project with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
In a Russian sprinkled with Ukrainian words, Keri-Lynn Wilson congratulates her musicians: between the walls of the Grand Theater in Warsaw, they chiselled a program in just ten days, without ever having played together in the past. This includes the Piano Concerto No. 2 of Chopin, the Symphony No. 4 by Brahms, and an excerpt from the opera Fidelio by Beethoven. In opening, and in memory of the victims of the war, the musicians interpret the seventh symphony of Valentyn Sylvestrov, figurehead of the Ukrainian composition.
Russia has genius composers, but what comes from Russian culture should be put on hold for now
“And there is no Russian music”underline several artists, whose life and careers were upset by the war. “Russia has genius composers, but what comes from Russian culture should be put on hold for now”explains Mark Kreshchenskiy, young bassoonist of the UFO.
Mark Kreshchenskiy and his brother Dmytro, a violist, had played for the very prestigious Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra for eight years. “We left Russia in the first days of the invasion. It was hard, but there was no other decision to make., says Mark Kreshchenskiy to AFP. The two brothers flew overnight, bassoon and viola in the hold, to neighboring Estonia.
Other members of the UFO came from Ukraine, having obtained temporary authorization to leave the territory. “I was able to see my 10-year-old daughter again, after five months of separation, since she is a student at the Gdansk Opera”, in northern Poland, says Dmytro Ilin, timbalist for the UFO, and musician of the kyiv Philharmonic Orchestra. But at the end of the tour, Dmytro Ilin will return to kyiv, like his fellow percussionist Yehven Oulianov: “My son is waiting for me there (…) he entered his fifth month at the same time as the war”, explains the young father.
“Cultural Front”
Like many of their colleagues, Dmytro Ilin and Yehven Oulianov intend to continue to practice their profession in their native country after the tour, despite the conflict. “We have a war to wage on the cultural front,” told AFP Nazar Steps, first double bass player of the UFO. Living in kyiv, Nazar Steps focuses on playing the Ukrainian repertoire: “If we don’t bring the works of Ukrainian composers to life, no one will. (…) I’m thinking of artists like Evgueni Stankovitch, Valentyn Sylvestrov whom we interpret here, and other young contemporary composers”he explains.
On the promotional videos of the UFO that she posts on social networks, Keri-Lynn Wilson proudly presents her “Soldiers of Music”. Is music really a weapon? The question makes percussionist Dmytro Ilin smile. “Music, since our childhood, we don’t know how to do anything else. We have to act one way or another.”he confides. “I think Keri-Lynn Wilson timing the tour perfectly because I feel the attention on the war is waning overseas”adds Mark Kreshchenskyi.
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