Postcards from Ukraine, Vol. 1: Violin Miniatures
Ukrainian classical music is not even two centuries old, and for most of that time has had to contend with active attempts at suppression by a bullying neighbour. But Ukrainian composers have stood their ground, not least by taking inspiration from the folk-music that has long thrived in Ukraine’s mountains and fields. In this first of a series of Postcards from Ukraine the Ukrainian-Australian violinist Markiyan Melnychenko presents a programme of largely unknown miniatures for violin and piano, all based on, or inspired by, that folk-culture. Alternately sparkling and soulful, these violin showpieces make the case for a more thorough examination of the riches still to be discovered in Ukraine’s musical heritage.
Markiyan Melnychenko, violin
Benjamin Martin, piano
Peter de Lager, piano
Mykola Lysenko
- Ukrainian Rhapsody, Op. 34 (c. 1900)* (8:50)
Borys Lyatoshynsky
Two Pieces (date unknown)* (4:44)
- No. 1, Andante sostenuto (2:37)
- No. 2, Allegro scherzando (2:07)
Vasyl Barvinsky
- Chanson Triste (1910)* (3:29)
- Humoresque on Ukrainian Folk Themes (1934-35)* (2:41)
Borys Lyatoshynsky
Three Pieces on Tajik Folk Themes (1932)* (13:07)
- No. 1, Pramir Melody (3:33)
- No. 2, Tranquil Song (5:26)
- No. 3, Dance (4:08)
Anatoliy Kos-Anatolskyi
Two pieces from the ballet The Shawl of Dovbush (1950)
- Romance (1964)* (4:04)
- Dzvinka’s Dance (1955)* (3:09)
Borys Lyatoshynsky
- Melody (date unknown) (3:12)
Ivan Karabyts
- Musician (1974) (6:52)
Stanislav Lyudkevych
- Lamentations (1946)* (5:05)
- Chabarashka (1912) (4:01)
Mykola Kolessa arr. Kazakov
Three Kolomyiky (1958)* (6:18)
- No. 1, Allegro commodo (2:14)
- No. 2, Andante cantabile (1:31)
- No. 3, Allegro grazioso (2:33)
*First Recordings
MusicWeb International :
‘This is indeed a lyrical and terpsichorean disc, presented with authentic-sounding vitality, as well as nuance, by the Ukrainian-Australian Melnychenko and his two pianist colleagues. They’ve been well recorded in the same venue, two or so years apart.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International