Requiem concert in Kyiv recalls victims of terrorist attacks in U.S. (10/28/01)

Requiem concert in Kyiv recalls victims of terrorist attacks in U.S.

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Citizens of Ukraine remembered the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States during a requiem concert held at the National Opera House of Ukraine in Kyiv on October 22.

The commemoration, titled "Sorrow - Remembrance - Hope" and featuring the Odesa State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by American Hobart Earle, was held 40 days after the death of more than 5,000 people during attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, as well as in a plane crash in Pennsylvania. Ukrainians traditionally remember a deceased family member or friend on the 40th day after the death.

U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual, as well as ambassadors from France, Spain and Georgia, attended the requiem concert. Also present at the opera house, which was filled nearly to capacity, were leading members of the Verkhovna Rada.

Before the renowned Odesa orchestra took the stage, Ambassador Pascual thanked the Ukrainian people for their many expressions of sympathy and support after the tragedy of September 11.

Conductor Earle then guided his musicians through three extended pieces during the nearly two-hour concert: Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E-minor, "From the New World"; Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question"; and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3.

The Odesa State Philharmonic Orchestra has toured the U.S. three times over the past several years, appearing at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

The requiem concert was organized under the patronage of President Leonid Kuchma and sponsored by the Odesa cognac factory Shustov, which has supported the Odesa State Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly 10 years. It was produced by Borys Klymenko, director of the Press Club of Ukraine.

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