Interview with Bohdana Pivnenko, head of “Kyivska Kamerata”.

The music of Ukrainian composers is increasingly heard on Ukrainian stages. The national ensemble of soloists “Kyivska camerata” has been systematically popularizing Ukrainian works for a long time – since its foundation in 1977. Writings Silvestrov, Stankovich, Almashi and other Ukrainian authors were presented to the public for the first time by “Kyiv Camerata”.

How the war changed the attitude of the Ukrainian public to Ukrainian music, what course the team is following now, what challenges it sees and how it is going to overcome them – the music columnist found out UP The life of Natalka Pysanka at the new head of “Kyiv Camerata” Bohdany Pivnenko.

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Bohdana Pivnenko has a busy schedule: a few hours before our interview, she returned from Berlin, where she performed with the Lviv Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. We are talking in Kyiv, in the buffet of the National Philharmonic before the next concert”Kyiv Chamber of Commerce“, which will feature the music of a modern Ukrainian composer Dmytro Arefiev. We begin the conversation with memories of the founder and long-time leader of the ensemble Valery Matyukhinawho died in May 2023.

“My acquaintance with him began when in 2001 I played Oleksandr Levkovych’s “Elegy of Sorrow”. Since then, I have played most of the premieres of “Kyiv Chamber of Commerce” written for violin and orchestra,” recalls Bohdana Pivnenko.

Bohdana Pivnenko and Valery Matyukhin.

Matyukhin commissioned a lot of works from Ukrainian composers, thanks to him music appeared in the repertoire of the “Kyiv Chamber of Commerce”, which eventually became a classic. For example, Oleg Kiva’s third chamber symphony, several chamber symphonies by Yevhen Stankovich.

Valery Matyukhin gave life to many works of modern Ukrainian composers. Some of them are still in handwritten form, that is, they need to be digitized, and work in this direction is ongoing.

There is another problem at the national level: the lack of understanding of copyright. Bohdana is currently solving legal issues, what to do with those works, which were written on the order of the “Kyiv Camerata”.

“Yes, not all works are equal, but if there were not this number of commissioned works, there would be no recognized masterpieces either. Moreover, Matyukhin could advise the composer to work on the “form”, to complete something, and his advice turned out to be appropriate. He felt , which “will be useful to the public”.

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Matyukhin’s merit was also in the ability to select personnel. He saw and appreciated talent, especially among young people. For example, he suggested writing a symphony to Zoltan Almasha, still a student. Even Schubert could not boast of such a privilege – to hear his symphonies! “ Bohdana laughs.

Meanwhile, the hero of our conversation, composer and cellist Zoltan Almashi finishes his tea and heads past us backstage, where he is preparing for a performance. He is, without a doubt, one of the symbols of the “Kyiv Camerata”.

His “Seasons”, dedicated to Bohdana Pivnenko, is a real hit in the collective’s repertoire, along with Vivaldi’s “Seasons”. A special pleasure is to read the creative announcements of future concerts written by Zoltan on his Facebook page with a sprinkling of Lviv slang:

“Did you hear? Tomorrow I’ll be playing Rossiniano to a high!… Don’t come to the concert, because it’s already sold out!”

Zoltan Almashi sometimes acts as an entertainer at the “Camerata” concerts. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko

Kamerata, like every team, had its ups and downs. 1998, trip to America with the Ukrainian-American conductor Virko Baley, recording discs. (The entire discography is on the ensemble’s new website. The covers were designed by the artist Ivan Marchuk at the behest of his daughter Bohdana Pivnenko).

Then 14 publications wrote about the concert tour of “Cameras” in America! And alongside the works of Mahler and Beethoven, Ukrainian music was played and recorded. Then there were trips with Ukrainian music to Germany, Austria…

“But later there was a certain break, I hope we will make up for it! I want to bring “Kyivska Kamerata” with Ukrainian music to the first stages of the world.” – says Bohdana.

She is confident in the new generation of composers and musicians, she is sure that he has no prejudices about the inferiority of Ukrainian music. However, at the state level, there is still no understanding of the strategic importance of Ukrainian musical culture.

“I remember that in the 2000s, Kamerata and I recorded the disc “Melody of Moments” by Sylvestrov and presented it at various festivals. Imagine: there is an economic crisis outside, and in Poland a festival of Sylvestrov’s music is being held! I was very surprised at the time, what the Poles answered me that they always have money for culture, which Ukraine cannot boast of. I hope that thanks to the system of grants and cooperation with the European Union, we will be able to reach a new level.”

From left to right: Valentin Sylvestrov, Valery Matyukhin, Bohdana Pivnenko, Ivan Marchuk. Tours in Lithuania, 2013. Photo: Oleg Pavlyuchenkov

Bohdana shares her observations on the reaction of foreign audiences to Ukrainian music:

“I have been playing Ukrainian music since 2001, when I was “pulled” into it by Matyukhin. I was often misunderstood in Ukraine, but abroad after concerts people came up to me and said: what great composers you have! Why don’t we know about them, why don’t we hear their music on the radio?

Usually abroad, they don’t risk putting unfamiliar names in the programs, but this year in Basel, the 1,200-seat hall was filled with a concert where only Ukrainian music was played, then the pianist and I were called for an encore several times!”

Before the full-scale invasion, “Camera” presented the disc “Ukrainian quintet“. Among the recorded works is Valentyn Sylvestrov’s Quintet, created in the 1960s, banned in Soviet times, actually put in a drawer for 60 years.

Bohdana sets another task for himself and the team: to explore Ukrainian music, to discover new things.

Valery Matyukhin also had a dream: to record an anthology of Ukrainian music from 50 CDs. It was partially implemented, but modern realities pose new challenges:

“Ukrainian record labels need to enter the world arena, and for this, once again, they need to solve copyright issues. So far, no one here knows what Ukraine is and what to do about it.”

While the process of systematization of “Cameras” video and audio recordings to upload them to the new site is ongoing. Some of the materials were on the channel of Bohdana’s husband, Oleg Pavlyuchenkov, and he researched who is most interested in Ukrainian music. Unexpected conclusion: the most views… from Russia! Moreover, all these records are shamelessly stolen.

“But someone bothered to have Ukrainian music on RuTracker!” – says Pivnenko.

Matyukhin’s favorite photo: Valery Matyukhin and Valentin Sylvestrov.

A separate layer for research is the music of Kharkiv composers of the 1920s, which Bohdana Pivnenko is particularly interested in. Modern Kharkiv composers also sound in the performance of “Cameras”.

In November of this year, the Kharkiv Music Fest project took place on the stage of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine with the invited foreign conductor Rok Fargas, who enthusiastically performed unfamiliar music by Kharkiv composers Dmytro Maly and Valentyn Bibyk.

Rock Fargas with “Camera”. Photo: Dmytro Golovchenko.

Another Polish-Ukrainian project with the participation of “Kyiv Chamber of Commerce” was memorable this musical season – the production of an opera by a Polish composer Jerzy Kornovych “Family album“. The opera was presented in Kyiv and Lviv on the stages of the Philharmonic.

Nowadays, Bohdana Pivnenko is burning with the idea of ​​creating “Camerata Friends Club“, which will bring together people who care about Ukrainian music. The presentation of this society is planned for January 30, 2024. Bohdana hopes that such a club will help not only with the promotion of Ukrainian music, but also with the collection of funds for the Ukrainian army.