Beresovsky, Lysenko, Havrilets, Kolodub — The Kalamazoo Philharmonia will conclude its season at 7:30 pm on Saturday, May 13 with a program of rare works representing 250 years of Ukrainian composers' music. Some of the seven short selections are probably American premieres, says music director Andrew Koehler, who joined Cara Lieurance to talk about the concert.
Russia’s brutal 2022 invasion is part of a centuries-long campaign to eradicate and appropriate Ukrainian culture dating back to Catherine the Great, says Koehler. His Ukrainian parents made him aware of how of their language and art distinguishes their people. Those attributes also serve as a target for destruction in Russia’s strategy to overwhelm Ukraine on many fronts. This concert serves as a form of remembrance and activism as Ukrainians continue to sacrifice their lives to preserve their right to exist as a nation.
English composer Benjamin Britten, a lifelong pacifist, wrote his Sinfonia da Requiem during wartime only to find it rejected. It will conclude the concert. Koehler and Lieurance listen to excerpts to illustrate the range of works.
The concert will be held at 7:30 pm on Saturday, May 13 in the Dalton Theatre of the Light Fine Arts Building and Kalamazoo College. More information is available at the Kalamazoo Philharmonia website.
