DATELINE NEW YORK: Museum concert spotlights Ukrainian artists (04/14/96)

DATELINE NEW YORK: Museum concert spotlights Ukrainian artists

by Helen Smindak

Take two contemporary Ukrainian composers - each a luminary in his own right - and 11 top-notch Ukrainian artists in music, song and drama. Set them in a handsome concert hall with excellent acoustics and a superb Steinway.

Mix lighthearted and somber pieces for two hours (intermission included). Follow that with a light repast in a softly elegant setting overlooking Central Park.

Voila, there you have the March 31 benefit concert for The Ukrainian Museum. It took place at Merkin Concert Hall, and a reception was held after the performance at the Mayflower Hotel's Conservatory Restaurant, where concertgoers mingled and chatted with performers.

A rich and savory creation, the concert featured prize-winning artists who are well known in the U.S. and abroad, as well as newcomers to New York's cultural scene.

Although a half-dozen Ukrainian composers were represented in concert selections, the two who took the spotlight were nonagenarian Mykola Kolessa of Lviv and Ihor Sonevytsky of New York, originally from western Ukraine's Chortkiv area.

Among the veteran performers were the Ukrainian American basso Stefan Szkafarowsky, a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions who has been appearing as a soloist with opera companies in Chicago, Dallas and Montreal; pianists Mykola Suk and Volodymyr Vynnytsky, gifted artists known from their frequent appearances before U.S. audiences; cellist Natalia Khoma, who has appeared extensively as a recitalist and soloist with major orchestras in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and baritone Oleh Chmyr, who has been concertizing in the U.S. since 1994 and performed a cycle of Sonevytsky works last summer at Hunter, N.Y.

Pianist Oksana Protenic, a skilled accompanist for Mr. Szkafarowsky, is a native New Yorker who is an adjunct professor at Wagner College and coaches professional singers privately. Proud of her Ukrainian heritage, she was the only performer to appear in Ukrainian dress. While the other artists were in dark formal attire and the soprano soloist was gowned in red velvet, Ms. Protenic wore a Ukrainian blouse strikingly embroidered in red and a floor-length black skirt.

The newcomers were soprano Ludmyla Djoi of Odessa, a candidate for a master's degree in voice at Brooklyn College; actress Svitlana Vatamaniuk, a drama teacher at the Karpenko-Karyj Institute in Kyiv who proudly claims Hutsul ancestry; and the members of the New American Trio - violinist Peter Krysa (the son of eminent violinist Oleh Krysa), his wife, cellist Rachel Lewis Krysa, and pianist Vyacheslav Bakis, a graduate of Kyiv State Conservatory.

Mr. Kolessa, stopping over in New York on his way to Florida for a two-city recital of his works, listened intently as Mr. Suk gave a sensitive interpretation of the Prelude "Kontrasty" from his "Hutsul Suite," which is based on folk melodies.

As Mr. Suk took his bows, he pointed to Mr. Kolessa in the audience and began to applaud him, then moved forward to shake hands with the white-haired composer across the footlights. It was a touching moment; the audience responded with generous applause for the orchestral/choral conductor and composer, who has created a whole school of successful conductors and provided a wealth of vocal and instrumental music.

In similar fashion, Mr. Chmyr saluted Mr. Sonevytsky during his 70th birthday year by including a Sonevytsky composition in his repertoire, "Vzhe Den Zdayetsia Syvym i Bezsylym" (The day appears grey and listless). Set to the words of a Vasyl Symonenko poem, the music was melancholy and deep-toned, well suited to Mr. Chmyr's strong baritone voice.

Completing the piece, the baritone waved to Mr. Sonevytsky in the concert hall, beckoning him to stand up and take a bow. The audience joined in acknowledging the creativity and devoted work of a composer, teacher and community activist who has provided a popular venue for many Ukrainian artists at the Ukrainian Cultural Center he directs in Hunter, N.Y. Mr. Sonevytsky's compositions have received much attention in Ukraine in recent years; a concert of his works, including the one-act opera "Zoria," was given in Lviv last December.

Clarity and definition

Opening the concert with an admirable reading of Haydn's Trio in F sharp minor, Hob.XV.26, the New American Trio employed a fine blending of violin, cello and piano to produce clarity and definition in the three movements (Allegro, Adagio and Tempo di Menuetto).

Mr. Chmyr followed up his tribute to Mr. Sonevytsky with a rollicking portrayal of Figaro in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville."

An emotional recitation "I v Mene Buv Sviy Ridnyi Kray" (I too had my own native land) was offered by Ms. Vatamaniuk. The blonde-tressed actress combined words, tears and song in her dramatic narrative. The recitation, woven by Ms. Vatamaniuk from poems by Bohdan Lepky, Oksana Liaturynska and Oksana Zabushko, was composed especially for the occasion.

Mr. Vynnytsky, a born performer of the Romantic school, displayed delicacy, grace and precision in his performance of Chopin's "Fantasia in F minor, Op. 49. A pianist who is extremely free with his hands and gestures, he produced beautiful chords and spectacular glissandos with professional ease and poise.

In the second half of the concert, Ms. Djoi's brilliant coloratura with its clear, high trills was heard in Kos-Anatolsky's sprightly "Lukasheva Sopilka" (Lukash's flute) and Rosina's lighthearted aria from "The Barber of Seville."

Mr. Suk, moving to another work after the Kolessa suite, played Liszt's "Etude in F minor," a work that demands extreme precision and accuracy. A highly intellectual performer who has been compared to the renowned pianist Sviatoslav Richter, Mr. Suk drew on an arsenal of piano wizardry to accomplish the task effortlessly.

Ms. Khoma won listeners' hearts and bravos with intense performances of Mykola Lysenko's mellow-toned "Sorrow" and Gasparo Cassado's lively, Spanish-flavored "Requiebros." Eyes closed, her ash-blonde hair caught in a chignon style to keep it from intruding on the strings of her cello, she gave herself completely to her music.

Piano accompaniment for Ms. Khoma and Mr. Chmyr was provided by Mr. Vynnytsky, while Ms. Djoi was partnered by Mr. Bakis.

The concert finale fell to Mr. Szkafarowsky; he faced the challenge and came out victorious. With a mature stage presence and a resonant bass that has deepened over the years, he offered a moving rendition of Shevchenko's poem "Banduryste, Orle Syzyi" (O bandurist, azure eagle), with music by Jurij Orlov.

Mr. Szkafarowsky's expertise in opera was revealed from the first insinuating notes to the tremendous climax in the great aria "La Calunnia" from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville." He completed his program with Hryhoriy Kytasty's nostalgic "Yak Davno" (How long ago).

The concert was organized and managed by the museum's public relations director, Lydia Hajduczok, with the assistance of Mr. Suk as consultant and program planner. Tania Tershakovec was in charge of reception arrangements.

Ukrainian Museum presentations are always noteworthy, be they concerts, exhibits or seminars. Anyone who delights in fine music and choice surroundings might be wise to circle October 20 on the calendar, the date of the next museum function: a luncheon and musical program in the Old World atmosphere of Manhattan's Westbury Hotel, celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Ukrainian Museum of New York.

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