Tuesday 17 May 2022

Voices from the East: Kirill Karabits and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra turn their focus onto composers from Ukraine

Feodor Akimenko [Fedir Yakymenko]
Feodor Akimenko [Fedir Yakymenko]
With his Voices from the East series at Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), conductor Kirill Karabits has been exploring works by composers from former Soviet Union countries. For the orchestra's recently announced 2022/23 season, the focus turns to Ukraine. Karabits and BSO will be performing the cello concerto by Ukrainian composer Feodor Akimenko (1876-1945) [Fedir Yakymenko]. Akimenko was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov and was Stravinsky's first composition teacher, but Akimento's own music is still largely unknown. A second Ukrainian composer featured in the season is contemporary composer and sound-artist Anna Korsun, the orchestra will be premiering a new work and Korsun becomes the BSO's composer in residence in 2023.

Still focusing on Voices from the East, the season also includes several works by Reinhold Glière (1875-1956). Born in Kyiv, Ukraine of Polish and German parents, Glière [originally Glier] studied in Kyiv and in Moscow with Taneyev, Ippolitov Ivanov and Arensky. As a young man, Glière's private pupils included Myaskovsky and Prokofiev, and later his students included Vladimir Dukelsky (better known as the song-writer Vernon Duke). After 1917, Glière never visited Western Europe and also seemed to have been able to keep on the right side of the Soviet authorities. His style remained very tradition, and as the last genuine representative of the pre-revolutionary national Russian school, i.e. a 'living classic', Glière seemed immune to the standard reproach of "formalism" (mostly equivalent to "modernity" or "bourgeois decadence"). Thus the infamous events of 1936 and 1948 passed Glière by. 

Other highlights of the season include horn player Felix Klieser returning as artist in residence, whilst two inclusive ensembles BSO Resound and RNS Moves join forces with composer Kate Whitley for a new work. RS Moves brings together disabled and non-disabled musicians including members of Royal Northern Sinfonia, and BSO Resound is a professional disabled-led ensemble made up of musicians led by James Rose.

Kirill Karabits conducts 16 performances during the orchestra's season, whilst Mark Wigglesworth returns as principal guest conductor and the orchestra is currently looking for a new assistant conductor.

Full details from the BSO website.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts this month