2001: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: Culture and the arts: a survey from A to ... (01/06/02)

2001: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Culture and the arts: a survey from A to ...

The cultural scene, as it was covered in The Weekly, has been rich and varied. Among the highlights of the year were the following, listed by category.

Archaeology

Khersonesos, one of the most important archaeological sites on the Black Sea, was included on the 2002 World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. The list was announced on October 11 by the World Monuments Fund at a press conference at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. The site appeared on the WMF annual list previously in 1996 and 1998.

Architecture

Radoslav Zuk, professor of architecture at McGill University, Montreal, and an honorary professor of the Kyiv Technical University of Building and Architecture, appeared as guest lecturer at Cambridge University in May where he delivered lectures on the topics "Cultural Identity in Contemporary Architecture: A Challenge in the Age of Globalization" and "Architecture and Non-Harmonic Structures in Music." An exhibition of his work titled "Radoslav Zuk - Reinterpreting Tradition: An Exhibition of Ukrainian Churches in North America and Museum Projects in Ukraine" was held concurrently at Clare Hall on April 26-May 11. At McGill University's convocation on June 7, Prof. Zuk was presented with the Ida and Samuel Fromson Award for Outstanding Teaching by the faculty of engineering. Prof. Zuk's latest church design, the Nativity of the Theotokos Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lviv's Sykhiw district, was the site of Pope John Paul II's meeting with youth on June 26 as part of the pontiff's historic five-day visit to Ukraine.

Art

The exhibition "Three Generations of Cholodny Artists" opened at The Ukrainian Museum on April 28, featuring paintings and icons of Petro Cholodny the elder (1876-1930), those of his son, Petro Cholodny the younger (1902-1990), and of Andrew Charyna (born 1950), grandson of Petro Cholodny the younger. The body of the work presented in the exhibition was on loan from private collections.
Ukraine's participation at the 49th Venice Biennale, one of the largest international festivals of contemporary art, which opened on June 9, was embroiled in a controversy concerning claims to official representation and choice of participating artists, compounded by the interference of government institutions. The Biennnale controversy received extensive press coverage and air time in Ukraine, as well as on the Internet. The Ukrainian entry at the Biennale was presented by Valentyn Rayevsky and his group of artists. The presentation elicited a mixed reaction and, on the whole, a negative critical reception, with the exception of an official Ukrainian press release. Articles appeared in The Weekly on April 15 and July 22.
The exhibit "Ukrainian Pavilion," prepared by Mr. Onuch and the Masoch Fund artists, Ihor Diurych and Ihor Podolchak, which was originally slated to be the Ukrainian presentation at the Biennale, opened in Kyiv at the Center for Contemporary Art in December, with the participation of international art professionals and representatives of non-governmental institutions who spoke of the necessity of creating an association that would speak for the interests of independent artists and art institutions.
Fragments of a recently uncovered mural by the Jewish-Polish writer and artist Bruno Schulz (1892-1942), painted during the last weeks of his life in a private home in Drohobych, were removed and smuggled out of Ukraine in late May in a secret operation by representatives of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and transported to its museum in Jerusalem. Ukraine's Minister of Culture Yurii Bohutskyi promised to press for the mural's return to Ukraine. The story was given extensive coverage in the Polish press and was reported by The New York Times on June 20. An article titled "A Painting, an Artist and a Case for Restitution," by Nicholas Sawicki, appeared in The Ukrainian Weekly on July 22.
The landmark exhibit "The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde, 1910-1935," opened at The Winnipeg Art Gallery on October 10, bringing together over 70 works highlighting the significant contribution of Ukrainian artists to the international avant-garde scene. The exhibit was organized by Mary Jo Hughes, WAG curator of historical art, with Dr. Myroslav Shkandrij, professor of Slavic studies at the University of Manitoba, as guest curator. Exhibited works were on loan from Kyiv's National Art Museum, the State Museum of Ukrainian Theater, Music and Film Arts, and private collections. This was the first time that an exhibition devoted entirely to the Ukrainian avant-garde was being shown in North America. After being on view at the WAG until January 13, 2002, the exhibit will be shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Edmonton Art Gallery.
An exhibit of Ukrainian Folk Icons dating from the 18th-19th centuries, from the collection of Lydia Lykhach of Kyiv and the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv, opened at the gallery of Sophia Skrypnyk in Edmonton in October, with subsequent showings at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation in Toronto, (November 2-12); the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago (November 23-December 7); and The Ukrainian Museum in New York, (December 16 through February 10, 2002). The exhibit is included in the roster of Exhibits USA, a non-profit traveling exhibition service that promotes traveling exhibitions for museums throughout the United States.
Works by Saskatoon artist Taras Polataiko and Torontonian Natalka Husar, in exhibitions titled respectively, "Taras Polataiko" and "Natalka Husar: Blonde with Dark Roots," were on view at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Winnipeg Art Gallery this fall. Mr. Polataiko's work is widely reviewed by leading national and international media. Ms. Husar's work has been given extensive Canadian press coverage and has been the subject of art and gallery publications.
An exhibit of 15 works, mostly self-portraits, by Andriy Humeniuk opened at the Mayana Gallery in New York on October 12. Forming an integral part of the exhibit was a reading by Mr. Humeniuk from his work "Doroha," a reflection on his six-year stay in the United States. The exhibit marked Mr. Humeniuk's return to Ukraine, conceived as a return to one's self, and to the Les Kurbas Theater in Lviv with which he is affiliated.
Other artists who held exhibits this year were: Alexandra Isaievych, "Reconciling Anxiety and Authenticity," The Interchurch Center, New York City, February; Andrei Kushnir, "American Light 2001," Taylor & Sons Fine Art Gallery, Washington, September 29-November 3; Ina Levytsky, "birdroom," BUSgallery, Toronto, August; Patricia Pochenko Stillman, paintings and sculptures, The Ukrainian Institute of America, New York, October; Christina Saj, "Indomitable Spirit: Paintings of Faith, Hope and Remembrance," Interchurch Center, New York City, December.
The work of 12 artists who excel in crafts with innovative forms and designs comprised the exhibit "Crafting Identities," held at the Ukrainian Institute of America (UIA) in New York in November. Featured was the work of: Masha Archer, jewelry; Boris Dudchenko, glass; Nancy Weeks Dudchenko, ceramics; Natalia Kormeluk, ceramics; Lialia Kuchma, tapestry; Dan Kvitka, wood; Sophia Lada, hand-painted ornaments; Nina Lapchyk, hand-painted silk; Kateryna Nemyra, ceramics; Zorianna Sokhatska, hand-painted silk; Valentin Yotkov, works in silver; and Sofia Zielyk, pysanky. The exhibit, chaired by Ilona Sochynsky Shyprykevich and sponsored by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Branch 113, and the UIA, was a fund-raiser for The Ukrainian Museum in New York.

Cultural Institutions

The University of Alberta celebrated the establishment of the Canadian Center for Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography (CCUCE) on May 11 with a reception in the Timms Center for the Arts in Edmonton.
The Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, in preparation of its upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations, undertook the expansion of its facilities with funding from the state of Illinois. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony held in the spring. The architect for the project is Chicagoan Joseph Mycyk.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, with the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center as co-sponsor, presented a program of Ukrainian art, music, dance and film on August 8.
The Ukrainian Museum in New York celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala luncheon at the New York Palace Hotel on October 14. On the occasion, over $200,000 was donated or pledged to the museum's building fund for the new $7.6 million museum facility. Keynote speaker at the event was Adrian Karatnycky, president of Freedom House.
The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, founded by Dr. Achille and Vera Chreptowsky, celebrated its 30th anniversary in October. The institute, which showcases the work of Ukrainian artists, writers and musicians, is headed by long-time president Oleh Kowerko. As part of its jubilee celebration the institute honored two of its generous donors - Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union and 1st Security Ukrainian Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, which were presented with the "Friend of the Institute Award."

Dance

Choreographer John Taras, a longtime associate of George Balanchine, co-staged, with Victoria Simon, Balanchine's "Symphony in C" for the American Ballet Theater and Stravinsky's "Firebird," which is often performed by the Dance Theater of Harlem. The fall stagings were acclaimed by New York Times dance critics Jennifer Dunning and Anna Kisselgoff.
American Ballet Theater's spring season at the Metropolitan Opera and two-week autumn run at City Center featured principal dancers Maxim Belotserkovsky, his wife, Irina Dvorovenko, and Vladimir Malakhov, plus corps de ballet member Vladislav Kalinin. Mr. Belotserkovsky and Ms. Dvorovenko were pictured on the cover of February's Dance magazine and the cover of the May/June Pointe magazine.

Film

The Ukrainian international film festival, "Our Blossom - Across the World," initiated by the Institute of Diaspora Studies at the Kyiv-based Ukraina Society, which is headed by Vice Prime Minister Mykola Zhulynskyi, announced prize-winners from among projects submitted by professionals and amateurs. The winner of the inaugural grand prize was Valentyn Sperkach for the documentary "The Kuban Kozaks: 200 Years...," which deals with the struggle of the Kuban Kozaks for ethnic survival. Other prize-winning entries were: Oleksii Naumenko's "Distant Native Land," the story of the Ukrainian émigré community in Australia; Viktor Cheryshuk's "Appia Antica," which gives an overview of the history of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine; Eduard Zaniuk's, "The Vision of Peter Jacyk," which features the prominent Ukrainian Canadian businessman and philanthropist; Oleksander Mukhin's animation, "Lira"; and "The Never-Changing Face of Plast," a film about the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, made in 1999 on the 50th anniversary of the organization's founding in the United States, as a collaborative effort by Zenia Brozyna, Adia Fedash and Zenia Piaseckyj, with Vlodko Artymyshyn, producer. The awards presentation was held in March in Kyiv.
"The Undefeated," a feature film in Ukrainian depicting the life of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) Gen. Taras Chuprynka - Roman Shukhevych, who led the fight against both the Nazis and the Soviets in Ukraine in the 1940s had its American debut on March 11 at the New York University Film Center. The film was subsequently screened in various venues throughout the United States, including the University of California at Los Angeles (May 5). The film was shown at the Montreal World Film Festival (August 23-September 3), where it was an entry in the "World Cinema: Reflections of Our Time" category. The film was produced and directed by Oles Yanchuk of Kyiv, with Hryhoriy (Gregory) Hlady, starring in the lead role of Gen. Shukhevych.
Canadian film-maker John Paskievich, whose work includes award-winning documentaries and several books of photographs, completed the film "My Mother's Village," which addresses the experiences of the children of post-World War II Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, exploring such themes as identity, personal history and memory. A test screening was held at the National Film Board.
The filming of Yuri Ilyenko's latest film "A Prayer for Hetman Mazepa," based on a script written by Mr. Ilyenko in the 1970s, with the role of the hetman played by three actors, Bohdan Stupka, Serhiy Ilyenko and Serhii Marchenko, was completed, and entered the editing stage.
Actress/producer Stephanie Thorpe, 25, received Best Actor honors at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in September for her work in "The Absent Phallus," a feature film she co-wrote and produced and the first feature film produced by her Toronto-based company Counter Productions Inc.

Literature

Poet, prose writer and artist Emma Andiievska was honored with an author's evening and reception at the Ukrainian Free University in Munich on March 28 on the occasion of her 70th anniversary.
The third volume of Ukrainian American author Yuriy Tarnawsky's selected works in Ukrainian, titled "Ne Znaju" (I Don't Know) was released as a publication of the Kyiv-based Rodovid publishing house.
Ukrainian American author Irene Zabytko, author of "The Sky Unwashed," was a recipient of the Alden B. Dow Creativity Center Fellowships at Northwood University in Midland, Mich. As a Creativity Fellow, Ms. Zabytko worked on a project to write an adaptation of Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" set in post-Soviet Ukraine.
Canadian Ukrainian author of children's books Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, known for her compelling stories dealing with historically relevant issues, published a new book, titled "Enough" ("Dosyt"), avialable in English and Ukrainian editions, which deals with the politically engineered Great Famine of 1932-1933 by Stalin in Ukraine.
This year's recipients of the Omelan and Tatiana Antonovych Prize for contributions to Ukrainian culture and society, were Dr. Roman Szporluk, director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, and the Ukrainian poet and prose writer Yuriy Andrukhovych.
Yuriy Andrukhovych, who was also a recipient of the Herder Prize in literature this year, was a visiting Fulbright scholar at Penn State University, working on a project to translate the poetry of the Beat Generation and the the New York Group into Ukrainian. He also appeared in engagements featuring readings and performances of his works by actor Michael Bernosky at the University of Pittsburgh, Columbia University, the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.
Critically acclaimed writer Askold Melnyczuk, longtime editor of the literary journal AGNI, received the Nora Magid Award for Magazine Editing as part of the 2001 PEN American Center Literary Awards, in presentations held on May 21 at Lincoln Center in New York. Mr. Melnyczuk's second novel, "Ambassador of the Dead," dealing with the Ukrainian American experience, came out this year as a publication of Counterpoint.
Iranian writer, editor, human rights lawyer, and women's rights activist Mehrangiz Kar, was this year's Vasyl Stus Award recipient in a presentation held on May 20 at Radcliffe Institute in North Cambridge, Mass.
Prominent Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Dibrova, now living in the United States, author of such works as "Texts With and Without Words," "Beattles' Songbook," "Peltse," "Burdyk," and "Zbihovyska" (Get-Togethers), took part in the 22nd annual International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront in Toronto on October 17-27.
A bilingual anthology of 20th century Ukrainian poetry, "Sto Rokiv Yunosit," or "A Hundred Years of Youth," co-edited by Olha Luchuk, professor at the Ivan Franko Lviv State University, and Michael M. Naydan, professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Pennsylvania State University, was presented at the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Tompkins Square Branch Library in New York in October. The tome, featuring the work of 100 Ukrainian poets from the 20th century, came out as a publication of Litopys Press of Lviv.

Music: composers and conductors

Myroslav Skoryk's first opera, "Moisei" (Moses), with libretto by Bohdan Stelmach, based on Ivan Franko's poem, premiered at the Lviv Theater of Opera and Ballet in June. Performing were the orchestra and chorus of the Lviv Opera under the direction of Mykhailo Dutchak, with soloists bass Oleksander Hromysh in the title role, and baritones Andrii Beniuk, Ihor Kushpler and Stepan Stepan; tenors Oleksi Danylchuk and Vitalii Liskovetskyi; soprano Vira Koltun; and mezzo-soprano Natalia Svoboda. The opera was performed as part of the festivities of Pope John Paul II's visit to Ukraine and the celebration of the centenary of the Lviv Opera.
The oratorio "Slovo pro Pokhid Ihoriv, Syna Sviatoslava, Vnuka Oleha," by Yevhen Stankovych, based on the 12th century epic poem "Slovo o Polku Ihorevi" (The Tale of Ihor's Campaign), had its world premiere at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall on June 6, with the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Volodymyr Sirenko, the Dumka Ukrainian National Choir, under the direction of Yevhen Savchuk, and soloists of the Ukrainian National Opera in Kyiv - Iryna Semenenko, soprano; Mykhailo Tyschenko, tenor; Mykola Koval, baritone; and Serhiy Mahera, bass. The Ukrainian premiere of the work was held on June 28 as the closing concert of the Kyiv symphony's 137th season.
Canadian composer and opera director Roman Hurko conducted a choral presentation of two of his works - "Panakhyda" (Requiem) and "Liturgia" - with the Kyivan Frescoes choir, at Kyiv's recently rebuilt St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral (destroyed in 1937) on April 26 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

Music: vocal

The Metropolitan Opera's spring season brought out the "timeless bass" Paul Plishka, who appeared in "Il Trovatore," "Manon" and "Turandot" and was heard in the Texaco Radio broadcast of "Un Ballo in Maschera." In the fall, Mr. Plishka was heard in "La Bohème," "Eugene Onegin" and "Liusa Miller." Tenor Vladimir Grishko of Kyiv took on a modest role in "The Gambler" and Sergei Koptchak sang the role of Sparafucile in "Rigoletto" during the Met Opera's WTC Benefit.
The New York City Opera's spring presentations included soprano Oksana Krovytska in the role of Donna Elvira in "Don Giovanni." NYCO's fall season brought Ms. Krovytska back as Liu in "Turandot," an opera which also introduced soprano Anna Shafajinskaia, who took on the title role for the ailing Nina Warren. Ms. Krovytska's summer engagements included performances in Boito's "Mefistofele" at the gala opening of the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, as Elvira in Verdi's "Ernani" in Santiago, Chile, and as Liu in "Turandot" at the OpernAir Festival in Gars, Austria. She also appeared in concert with the New Jersey Symphony in September in a recorded performance of Dvorak's dramatic cantata "The Spectre's Bride" and with the Baltimore Symphony in Shostakovich's "From Jewish Folk Poetry," a concert that was repeated in Vienna in December.
Misha Didyk, the leading tenor of the National Opera of Ukraine who joined the NYCO during the 2000-2001 season as the Duke in "Rigoletto," sang the role of Rodolfo in the company's acclaimed production of "La Bohème."
Two Ukrainian bass opera singers, Stefan Szkafarowsky, a native of New York, and Taras Kulish of Montreal, shared the stage in Verdi's opera "Aida" in the roles of Ramfis and King of Egypt, respectively, at the Salle Wilfred-Pelletier Place des Arts in Montreal during performances in May and June.
Ukrainian baritone Stephan Pyatnychka made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as Amonasro in "Aida" in a nine-performance run that opened June 7 and ran through July 1.
Ukrainian bass Vitalij Kowaljow, who made his New York debut in March as Baldassarre in Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York production of Donizetti's "La Favorita," returned to Carnegie Hall on November 13 to sing Barbarossa in the OONY concert performance of Verdi's "La Battaglia di Legnano."
Ukrainian-born soprano Stefania Dovhan, gold medalist at the Rosa Ponselle Young Classical Singers competition (2000) and scholarship student at the University of Maryland School of Music at College Park, appeared in a series of recitals in Washington and Maryland in May in memory of the legendary American soprano Rosa Ponselle, as well as at the Greene County Music and Art summer concert series held at the Grazhda in Hunter, N.Y., and at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago.
Baritone Oleh Chmyr appeared in the opening concert of the season, titled "Ukrainian Premieres" of the "Music at the Institute" series held at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York on January 20, as well as in a solo recital in a program titled "European Vocal Miniatures" at a concert sponsored by the Ukrainian Artists' Association in Warren, Mich., on October 28.
Soprano Alexandra Hrabova, who sang a leading role in the DiCapo Opera's October staging of "La Bohème," made her Washington debut in a concert performance at The Lyceum in Alexandria, Va. on November 4 as part of the music series sponsored by The Washington Group Cultural Fund and the Embassy of Ukraine.
Maryanna Sadovska, singer of ancient Ukrainian folk songs and award-winning actress with the Gardzienice Theater in Poland, as well as frequent collaborator with the Yara Arts Group in New York, opened the Cultural Fund concert series for The Washington Group and gave farewell concerts at various venues in New York, before returning to the Gardzienice in December.
Toronto's Vesnivka Choir, under the direction of Kvitka Kondracki, made a guest appearance with the renowned Amadeus Choir at the North York Performing Arts Center on April 9 in a program titled "Echoes of the East," featuring Slavic choral liturgical repertoire.

Music: instrumental

The Leontovych String Quartet, founded in Kyiv in 1971 and in residence in the United States since 1991, marked its 30th anniversary with renowned pianist Bella Davidovich at the season's first concert of the "Music at the Institute" series held at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York on October 27, where it is the quartet-in-residence. During its 30th anniversary season, the quartet - currently comprising - Oleh Krysa and Peter Krysa, violin; Borys Deviatov, viola, and Volodymyr Panteleyev, cello - gave concerts in Canada, and is slated to perform in the United Kingdom, the Far East and Ukraine.
The program of the Luba and Ireneus Zuk Piano Duo concert at the Pollack Concert Hall of McGill University in Montreal on February 2, featured premieres of two works written by Ukrainian composers for Luba and Ireneus Zuk: "Suite No. 1" (1992) by Zhanna Kolodub and "Dramatic Triptych" (1993, rev. 2000) by Lesia Dychko. Prof. Luba Zuk was in Ukraine on May 15-27, heading the State Examination Commission for final examinations and defense of graduate diplomas at the Donetsk S.S. Prokofiev State Conservatory in piano performance, chamber music, choral conducting and voice; and in Ragusa-Ibla, Italy, on June 24-July 8, as jury member of the 2001 IBLA Grand Prize International Piano Competition. Dr. Ireneus Zuk, director of the School of Music at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, was senior piano adjudicator for the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival in February, and the Algoma Music Festival in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in April. He was also invited to serve as a jury member of the Eckhardt-Gramatte National Competition for the Performance of Contemporary Music in Brandon, Manitoba, in May and as jury co-chair of the IBLA competition. In recognition of her significant contribution and commitment to the research and publication, as well as the promotion and performance of Ukrainian and Ukrainian Canadian classical music in Canada and abroad, Prof. Luba Zuk was awarded the Shevchenko Medal (in the arts and culture category) by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Winnipeg on October 6.
Pianist Juliana Osinchuk appeared in recital at the National Gallery of Art on February 4 as part of the museum's 59th annual concert season in a program of works by Clementi, Fauré, Poulenc, Morton Gould, Philip Munger and Viktor Kosenko.
Violinist Solomia Soroka, who is affiliated with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. and pianist Arthur Greene, chair of the piano department of the University of Michigan School of Music in Ann Arbor, appeared in a series of concerts in southwest Florida on March 16-18.
Pianist Mykola Suk appeared in recital at the National Gallery in Washington on March 18, in a program of works by Haydn, Kolessa, Thalberg and Liszt.
Pianist Lydia Artymiw, who joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1989, received the 2001 McKnight Distinguished Professorship in June, making her the first performing artist at the university to receive the prestigious award. This summer Ms. Artymiw participated once again in the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont as senior artist. In addition, her 2001 season included performances with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., and with the newly formed Steinhardt-Artymiw-Eskin Trio.
Pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky appeared in concerts with the Zapolsky Royal Danish String Quartet at Music Mountain on July 4 in a program that included Shostakovich's Piano Quintet and with renowned jazz pianist Adam Makowicz in a program titled "The Chopin Connection" at the Windham Chamber Music Festival, in Windham, N.Y., on July 28, as well as with violinist Yuri Mazurkevich at the Lake San Marcos Chamber Music Society in California in November.
"Music at the Institute," sponsored by The Ukrainian Institute of America in New York, with Mykola Suk, artistic director, featured the following concert programs and performers: "Ukrainian Premieres," with the Chamber Music Society of the Institute, and Oksana Krovytska, soprano, Oleh Chmyr, baritone, Catherine French, violin, Peter Krysa, violin, Borys Deviatov, viola, Daniel Gaisford, cello, and Vyacheslav Bakis, piano (January 20); "Natalia Khoma and the Children and Music Fund in Memory of Wolodymyr Czyzyk," (February 17); Amati String Quartet, (March 17); "Reconstructing Beethoven," with Jeffrey Solow, cello, Mr. Suk, piano, and the Temple University Viola Quintet, (April 28); the Leontovych String Quartet, with Bella Davidovich, piano (October 27); "Ukrainian and American Works," with the Chamber Music Society of the Institute, and Anna Bachynska, soprano; Renée Jolles, violin, Yuri Kharenko, violin, Nicolas Cords, viola, Mr. Solow, cello, and Marianna Humetska, piano, (December 8).
The 19th "Music at Grazhda" summer concert series, presented by the Music and Art Center of Greene County, with Dr. Ihor Sonevytsky, music director, and Volodymyr Vynnytsky, artist-in-residence, featured the following performers: pianist Mykola Suk, violinist Yuri Mazurkevich, bass-baritone Stefan Szkafarowsky, Mr. Vynnytsky, and soprano Stefania Dovhan. As part of the Jewett Jubilee concert held in August, Mr. Vynnytsky performed his own compositions commissioned for the occasion, with guest artists cellist Natalia Khoma, violinist Yuri Kharenko, and sopranos Olena Heimur and Marianna Vynnytska.
Jazz pianist John Stetch appeared in a solo concert this summer at the Caramoor International Festival, in a program of works by Thelonious Monk, Gershwin, Charlie Parker and Ukrainian-inspired selections of his own composition.
Volodymyr Koshuba, chief organist of the National House of Organ and Chamber Music in Kyiv, played a recital at the Washington National Cathedral on November 18 in a program of his own arrangements of Bortniansky and Mussorgsky, along with works by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Buxtehude, Guilmant, Vierne and Borodin, as part of a monthlong, eight-concert tour of the northeastern United States.
Alexander Fedoriouk, an acclaimed cimbalom player, released his first solo album, titled "Cimbalom Traditions" this year. Mr. Fedoriouk's high-profile performances range from appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra, performances at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington and at Carnegie Hall, to collaboration with folk ensembles at prominent cultural festivals and with such figures as jazz flutist Herbie Mann at New York clubs.
Andriy Milavsky's New York-based Cheres folk ensemble gave 10 performances at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and Mr. Milavsky was featured as first clarinetist with the One World Symphony in Mozart's "Requiem," performing in Manhattan and Brooklyn in October.

Musicology

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Lviv Opera, a book titled "The Lviv Opera House," which offers a comprehensive history of the theater and its many performers was published in a bilingual Ukrainian-English edition by Svitlo i Tin, with text by Oksana Palamarchuk and photography by Vasyl Pylypiuk.
A recording of arias and songs by acclaimed Ukrainian tenor Clemens Andrijenko (1885-1967), which were originally recorded in 1927, 1936 and in 1956, was reissued in audiocassette format.
A symposium focusing on the life and contributions of prominent musicologist of the Ukrainian diaspora Dr. Wasyl Wytwycky (1905-1999) was held at the Shevchenko Scientific Society in New York in March.

Photography

The exhibit "3 Views 3 Continents," featuring the work of Tania D'Avignon, Yarko Kobylecky and Myrosha Dziuk, was featured at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago on September 9 through October 13.

Theater

Les Kurbas Theater of Lviv, with Volodymyr Kuchynsky, artistic director, and actors Natalia Polovynka, Oleh Stephan and Andrii Vodychev, was on tour in the United States presenting a program titled "Legends of the East in America." The ensemble staged "Marko Prokliatyi, or the Legend of the East," a work based on the poetry of Vasyl Stus, and a concert version of Lina Kostenko's "Snow in Florence," in addition to presenting concerts of ancient Ukrainian church music, as well as holding master classes and lectures.
A two-person play, "Povorot" (The Return), featuring actors Svitlana Vatamaniuk and Yaroslav Hranko, opened at the Molodiznhyi Theater in Kyiv in the spring. The work is a romantic tragedy about the brief life and execution of Mykhailo and Olena Teliha at Babyn Yar, a couple who gave their lives for the cause of Ukrainian independence.
Legendary mime Marcel Marceau performed in Kyiv for the "Kyiv Travnevyi" (Kyiv in May) performance festival in two sold-out shows at the Lesia Ukrainka Theater on May 24-25. The last time Mr. Marceau was in Kyiv was in 1973.
The Ukrainian Stage Ensemble, under the direction of Lydia Krushelnytsky, presented the premiere of Bohdan Boychuk's work "Five Scenes of the Year 2000" at Pace Downtown Theater in Manhattan in March, with Ivan Bernatsky and Stefa Nazarkewicz among the 20 actors, with Volodymyr Kurylo and Nadia Dyba-Podoliak as narrators and Katja Kolcio, choreographer.

Miscellaneous

"Black Sea, Golden Steppes," an exhibition of 45 antiquarian maps (16th to 18th century originals) of the Black Sea coast and the Ukrainian steppes, curated by Prof. Bohdan Kordan, opened at the Kenderdine Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, on October 26 where it was on view through December 7.
The Kalyna Country Ecomuseum, established in 1992 on the initiative of the Alberta Historic Sites and Archives Service and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, published an illustrated guidebook to the historic churches of Lamont County. The guide includes more than 100 Eastern Rite churches, among them numerous Ukrainian churches that date from the turn-of-the century immigration to the region from Halychyna and Bukovyna.

Pop culture/entertainment

Actress Vera Farmiga is currently starring in NBC's new action-adventure series "UC:Undercover" on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. Ms. Farmiga also appeared in the Robert De Niro-Edward Burns murder mystery "15 Minutes," giving a stunning performance as a Czech immigrant who witnesses a horrible crime.
Canadian-born Tamara Gorski played the role of Manya Brueur, an escapee from five concentration camps, in the fact-based, four-hour mini-series "Haven" broadcast by CBS in February.
Oksana Babiy appears in the HBO hit "The Sopranos" as Tony Soprano's Russian mistress Irina. Born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ms. Babiy came to New York at age 20, got into modeling and from there into TV acting.
John Spencer, 54, plays the president's chief of staff in NBCs award-winning drama "The West Wing." Mr. Spencer, who is of Irish-Ukrainian ancestry, has appeared in several films and was cast in a leading role in the Broadway play "Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine," which opened in the spring.
Ukraine-born Mila Kunis, a successful actress amd model in her teen years, is in her fourth season as the snobby Jackie Burkhardt in the hit Fox series "That 70s Show."
Singer/guitarist Eugene Hutz and his popular Gogol Bordello band delivered a program of punk cabaret style music and slapstick comedy before thousands of young people in Central Park in July.
The Cirque du Soleil's new production "Dralion," presented across the Hudson River from Manhattan in New Jersey in the spring, included the skills of juggler Viktor Kee from Ukraine, who gave a breathtaking performance.

Post scriptum

Finally, among the cultural events which were reported by The Weekly in 2001 but actually took place at the end of 2000 were the following:

Gennady Parfeniouk, an emigré sculptor from Ukraine, who is affiliated with the Institute of the Philosophy and Psychology of Art based in Claverack, N.Y., presented his sculptural installation, dealing with conceptual space and the study of the sphere, as part of a group exhibit titled "Spheres: An Examination of the Sphere in Art and Life," held September 4-December 15, 2000, at the Museum of the Imagination in Hudson, N.Y.
Roman Rakowsky, former commander of the U.S. Army Combat Art Team VIII, which executed its duties in Vietnam and Hawaii in 1969, participated in a major exhibition titled "The Art of Combat. Artists and the Vietnam War: Then and Now," held at the Indianapolis Art Center October 27, 2000, through January 7. The works form part of the permanent war art collection of the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington.
The contributions of women writers to Ukrainian literature and their role in the Ukrainian Women's Movement in Ukraine and Canada was the topic of a workshop titled "Spirit of the Times," held at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon last spring. The workshop was inspired by the publication of the first four volumes of the series "Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature," profiling seven prominent Ukrainian women authors, whose works were written between 1883 and 1927. Among the writers are Olena Pchilka, Natalia Kobrynska, Dniprova Chayka, Lyubov Yanovska, Olha Kobylianska, Yevheniya Yaroshynska and Lesia Ukrainka.
Adrian Bryttan conducted an opera concert in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic and the internationally renowned Korean soprano Jung Ae Lee, in November 2000.
The Kolo Project, featuring choreography by Katja Kolcio, with musical direction by Julian Kytasty, premiered its new dance work, "DUMA: Memory Songs," at Ohio State University and at Antioch College in Ohio on December 7-8, 2000.
Yara Arts Group, under the direction of Virlana Tkacz, premiered "Song Tree," a work based on Ukrainian New Year's folk art and music, at New York's La MaMa E.T.C. on December 21-23, 2000.

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