UKRAINIAN SALON: AGAINST ALL HOPE’ WE HOPE

Ukrainian culture is as rich and precious as the black Ukrainian soil that earned the country its nickname as “the breadbasket of Europe.” As Russia redraws borders, indiscriminately bombing civilians, schools and hospitals and doing everything in its power to make Ukrainian resilience impossible, we turn to that precious culture. “Sing my songs where evil holds its sway,” wrote Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka and that is exactly what we plan to do, weaving a program that will unite the music of Western and Eastern Ukraine, including Canadian premieres of works by Valentin Bibik, Leonid Desyatnikov, Vladimir Nalyvaiko as well as Ukrainian art and folk songs.

Featuring:
Colin Ainsworth, tenor; Igor Gefter, cello; Elina Kelebeev, piano; Bénédicte Lauzière, cello; Andrea Ludwig, mezzo soprano (OCMS Artist-in-Residence); Rémi Pelletier, viola; Inna Perkis, piano; Mark Skazinetsky, violin; Boris Zarankin, piano; Ilana Zarankin, soprano

Highlights:
Bibik: String Quartet no. 5, and Akvareli, for soprano and piano
Desyatnikov: Five Jewish Songs, for soprano and String Quartet, and selections from Songs of Bukovina, for piano
Nalyvaiko: Toccata and 4 o’clock in the morning, for piano