The Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic opened the season in Kyiv – the orchestra members received a standing ovation

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Despite the full-scale attack of the aggressor country Russia on Ukraine, the capture and terrible destruction of the city of Mariupol – the City of Mary continues to make cultural resistance. Thus, the opening of the 5th anniversary season by the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic was a manifestation of artistic struggle – and quite powerful. Of course, the season was not opened at home – but the musicians are sure that it is temporary. On February 20, a concert by the Mariupol Symphony Orchestra “Renaissance” was held in the premises of the Kyiv Philharmonic under the leadership of conductor Vasyl Kryachko, who created the Mariupol Philharmonic and led it before the full-scale invasion of Russia. Vasyl Kryachok became a legend not only by continuing to work in the occupied city and saving the musicians and the premises of the Philharmonic, but also by reassembling the ensemble. With this concert, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine launched the “Philharmonic of the Invincibles” project, aimed at supporting musicians from occupied and de-occupied Ukrainian territories, in particular, cities that are under constant fire from the aggressor. The correspondent of UP.Zhyttia attended the concert of the “Renaissance” ensemble conducted by Vasyl Kryachko and felt not only the power and professionalism of the artists’ art, but also the powerful symbolism of the event – after all, last time she saw the performance of the musicians in the now-destroyed Mariupol – on the native stage of the City of Mary Philharmonic. However, the music of Mariupol is playing – so the city is alive, it continues to be powerful and resist the aggressor. The auditorium of the Kyiv Philharmonic is not completely filled – during a full-scale war, tickets are sold as many people as the bomb shelter on the -1st floor can accommodate. Information about this is in the program, which I receive from the employee who checks the ticket near the massive wooden door of the column hall. The “Renaissance” ensemble from Mariupol played at the Kyiv Philharmonic. Photo: press service of the Philharmonic. On the logo of the program there is a hand with a schematic image of a note – clenched like a weapon, the signature: “Philharmonic of the Invincible”. For the first concert of the project, an emotional repertoire was chosen – baroque classics and fantasies on the theme of the songs of the band “Ocean Elsa”. I sit down next to a girl in a light dress who is holding purple tulips. She says that she brought the conductor Vasyl Kryachka. Acquaintances from Mariupol. Today, the concert has an almost homelike atmosphere – Mariupol residents who left for Kyiv came to listen to “their own”, to honor the Day of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and to chat with Vasyl Kryachko. A native of Cherkasy, but he linked his fate with Mariupol, where he founded the Renaissance Chamber Orchestra in the late 1980s, becoming its conductor and artistic director. He is well known in Mariupol, and since the beginning of the full-scale war, he has generally been a legendary and heroic figure. In 2018, the maestro headed the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic, the only philharmonic in Ukraine that was created already in the period of independence. “From the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24 until the second half of April, Vasyl Kryachok remained in Mariupol. The occupiers repeatedly tried to persuade him to cooperate, but the artist’s pro-Ukrainian position remained unchanged. To say that he could have paid for it with his own life is an understatement.” – my neighbor quotes information about the conductor. He carefully runs his hand over the bouquet wrapper. Spectators are asked to take their seats in the hall. The “Renaissance” ensemble from Mariupol played at the Kyiv Philharmonic. Photo: press service of the Philharmonic. I note that the room with columns, despite the terrible context of the war outside the windows, creates an atmosphere of celebration – the organ, traditional curtains and even golden numbers on white wooden seats create the spirit of a “temple of high art”. It would seem that nothing should distract from the beautiful. However, the event that I came to is beautiful in itself and cannot leave me uninvolved, aloof and “just a listener”. At least those who heard “Renaissance” concerts in Mariupol. Kritykina Olga Stelmashevska, who was the organizer of the tour to Mariupol in 2021, invited those who took part in the trip, remembers not just the performance of “Renaissance”, but the game in the walls of the Philharmonic, which was created in the premises of the former DK factory “Markokhim”. The philharmonic hall was opened in 2018. Its composition included all the basic orchestras of Mariupol, which before that performed separately. Read also: How Ukrainian culture emerges from the shadow of the Russian Empire: the creative director of the Ukrainian Institute explains Autumn 2021 Philharmonic became one of the venues for the Mariupol Classic classical music festival. Then Mariupol won the “Great Cultural Capital” grant. Hosted art festivals and organized art events. “Mariupol, which until 2018 was considered a rather marginal city with a not very normal situation in terms of crime – since the beginning of the war in Donbas began to develop very strongly, phenomenal changes took place there, very cool art projects took place. In fact, all this nurtured and kept the intelligentsia in the city, young people who came to work there. Without culture, the development of the city as a powerful infrastructure is impossible – culture always has to lead to economic matters. This was realized, thank God, by the authorities – significant money and human resources poured into Mariupol – prominent groups, artists went there , artists, journalists. Cool projects were constantly taking place there. The city came to life – not only externally it turned into one of the brightest, most comfortable, most modern, most European cities – it educated the public with all these events,” says Olga Stelmashevska. The “Renaissance” ensemble from Mariupol played at the Kyiv Philharmonic. Photo: press service of the Philharmonic While the musicians are tuning their instruments, we recall the “Renaissance” concert in Mariupol. The auditorium of the Mariupol Philharmonic was packed. “It was completely sold out and I enjoyed looking back at the audience sitting in the hall. It was more intelligent – a completely prepared professional audience. They caught every sound from the philharmonic stage with bated breath. All concerts of the festival were sold out,” says Olga Stelmashevska. I remember how in the breaks between performances, the audience shared their impressions, were proud that the city hosts such an event, excitedly talked about the creation of the Philharmonic, standing against the background of the “king of stained glass windows of the city” – the work of the artist Anatoly Manokhin. 100 “squares” made of hundreds of colored glasses decorated several Ukrainian ethnic scenes. Among them are Hutsul motifs, quite exotic for the Azov region. There was a place for a violinist, blooming sunflowers, beautiful Ukrainian women, strong horses… The stained glass window was destroyed by the Russians in March 2022. But the philharmonic hall itself was preserved. The first composition performed by the “Invincible Philharmonic” brings us back to reality – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Baroque piece “Concertino for String Orchestra”. The solo is performed by virtuoso violinist Nazarii Pilatiuk. He is a laureate of Ukrainian and international awards, has a presidential award, worked in the Philharmonic in Poland. He often performed in Mariupol, had several programs with the “Renaissance” ensemble. In September 2021, he performed with “Renaissance” in an unusual Mariupol location in the center – a choir synagogue without a roof. For the festival, the premises were decorated with large posters with portraits of composers and reproductions of famous paintings. Then those who could not buy tickets also came to listen to Pilatyuk and “Renaissance”. The residents of Mariupol came even with their chairs – they sat down under the synagogue. The “Renaissance” ensemble from Mariupol played at the Kyiv Philharmonic. Photo: press service of the Philharmonic Hall. I remember that then the half-destroyed premises looked “exotic”, created a certain additional vibe. I shudder to think that most of the city looks like this now. From the memories and performance of “Chaconne for violin and string orchestra in G minor” by the composer Vitaly, I start to cry. I see tears in other listeners as well. Conducted by Vasyl Kryachok. In each of his movements there is a special energy of life, a thirst for life. When there is applause – warm hugs with Nazarii Pilatiuk. The audience applauds standing. Read also: Believe me, we have a plan: Tkachenko on the evacuation of museums, the budget for a telethon and the exchange of a raccoon for Pushkin. From the tunes “It’s not your war” and “Spring is coming” – the viewer on the left cries again. I catch myself thinking that it’s incredible to play so that people who can’t cry at home get the opportunity to feel this direct emotion, to be able to cry not from pain, resentment, pity, but from the emotions that the music, the violin, causes directly. The spectator on the right films the violinist’s solo on a smartphone. The “Renaissance” ensemble from Mariupol played at the Kyiv Philharmonic. Photo: press service of the Philharmonic “Summer will win over winter, which has been going on in Ukraine for almost a year now,” says musicologist Svitlana Koretska from the stage. Presents “Seasons” by Vivaldi. A year and a half ago, this concert was also played in Mariupol. I’m trying to figure out the mood of the musicians – violinists, double bass players – everyone is focused, but in their playing you can feel a special nerve, emotionality, dedication. The performance ends with an emotional performance of the piece “Circle” for violin and chamber orchestra by the composer Yevhen Petrichenko. Leaving the hall, I hear two audience members talking about Vasyl Kryachko. “He didn’t stay with his daughter in Germany – he works, they are looking for a place, they want to develop, work in Kyiv. He will be here until the liberation of Mariupol – and I am sure that he, like a book from the Kherson Theater, will be the first to find himself in Mariupol when he is released”, – they go to chairs with a bright pattern. The conductor of the ensemble, Vasyl Kryachok, reassembled “Renaissance”. Photo: Press service of the Philharmonic Orchestra. When I leave, I see Vasyl Kryachko in front of the mirror. Answers the questions of TV presenters. “This is our first concert since the beginning of the war. On April 24, the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic would have turned 5 years old. The war scattered us all over the world. It is a great misfortune that 62 of the 103 employees of the Philharmonic remained to cooperate with the occupying Russian authorities. We are the ones who left – we are starting with a blank sheet that needs to be filled with history. We have gathered the minimum composition that can be in a chamber orchestra: 15 people. Of them – 4-5 will be from Mariupol, the rest – immigrant musicians from Luhansk and Kharkiv, artists from Kyiv have also been invited. 20 February is a symbolic day for us. It is also the day of commemoration of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. But the program of the concert turned out to be not so mournful as majestic. After all, we are opening a new page in the creative biography of the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic,” says the conductor. Soloist Nazarii Peletiuk enters the hall with an instrument. While the concert was going on, the violinist became a laureate of the Lysenko Prize 2023. He accepts congratulations. A young couple asks to take a picture against the background of Cupid in the hall of the Philharmonic Hall. They say that the concert for them was about victory and the power of feelings. I take my coat and go out into the snow, which was not there before the concert. Later, I saw a post on social networks by Olha Demidko, a Mariupol resident, with whom I befriended on social networks. In Mariupol, Olga worked in a museum, at the beginning of spring 2022 she went abroad with her son, but returned to Ukraine. Lives in Kyiv, teaches at the relocated Mariupol University. “Exquisite music has overcome all age boundaries of time, performed by virtuoso musicians led by a man-legend. Today I remembered how many Mariupol residents told me about the courage, courage and incredible humanity of Vasyl Mykhailovych Kryachko, who in March 2022 turned the Philharmonic into a refuge. He every day went to the philharmonic hall under fire and was not afraid of anything. He knew that there were people waiting there who needed help. Vasyl Mykhailovych refused to receive any humanitarian assistance from the occupiers. The director of the philharmonic hall saw how destroyed the city was, they tried to push him to cooperate, but he did not betray of his values ​​and is a true example of courage, courage and love for his Motherland – Ukraine. And today he was on stage… in Kyiv. When I listened to music, I often closed my eyes and imagined that I was back in my native Mariupol. Vasyl Kryachok’s personality is like this harmonious, bright and flawless, just like the music that sounded from the stage,” shared Olga Demidko. I continue to think about the music and the spirit of the musicians and the conductor I heard. For me, he is a speech about indomitability, from which everything grows, and love as well. I’m going

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