November 27, 2015

Soprano Vira Slywotzky, pianist George Shevtsov perform at Lyceum

More

Accompanied by George Shevtsov, soprano Vira Slywotzky enchants the audience with her rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s “What More do I Need?” at The Washington Group Cultural Fund’s recent concert of “Solopsivy, Chansons and Songs.”

WASHINGTON – It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on November 1 in this capital area. A little bit of autumnal chilliness was beginning to arrive, but the audience arriving at The Washington Group Cultural Fund’s Music Series concert in Old Town Alexandria, Va., knew the temperature would quickly rise inside the historic Lyceum hall.

And it did, when soprano Vira Slywotzky and pianist George Shevtsov began performing their program, titled “Solospivy, Chansons and Songs.”

Accompanied by Mr. Shevtsov, Ms. Slywotzky, who hails from Massachusetts and regularly performs at operatic and other musical venues on the East and West coasts of the United States, as well as in Paris, began the “solospivy” segment with Mykola Lysenko’s “The Sailboat” (Choven) and continued with five more Ukrainian songs composed by Kyrylo Stetsenko – “You Still Love Him,” “O, Poplar Tree,” “I Gaze at the Bright Stars,” “Don’t Ask if I Love You” and “The Skies Embraced the Seas.”

The audience was delighted by her rendition, as they were with Mr. Shevtsov’s performance of Viktor Kosenko’s “Etude” that followed, and later by his two other pieces – Claude Debussy’s “Etude” and George Antheil’s “Jazz Sonata” – that interspersed the soprano’s other groupings of Ukrainian, French and American songs in the program.

A member of the faculty at Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Shevtsov has had a multi-faceted career as a solo performer and as a member of many eminent ensembles, among them the American String Quartet, Mivos Quartet and the International Contemporary Ensemble. The New York Times noted the “Mozartean elegance” and “perfect lucidity” in his performances, and the Miami Herald praised his “superb musicianship.”

In the chansons part of the concert, Ms. Slywotzky sang three songs each by Camille Saint-Saens and Debussy. And the American songs section included four by Samuel Barber, Richard Rogers’ “Isn’t it Romantic?”, Steven Schwartz’s “Chanson” and Steven Sondheim’s “What More Do I Need?”

The audience concluded that Ms. Slywotzky and Mr. Shevtsov deserved a standing ovation, a hearty thank you from the Cultural Fund’s director, Svitlana Shiells, floral bouquets and a festive post-concert reception.

And it was during the reception that it became evident – much to the surprise of many attendees – that Ms. Slywotzky’s performance here was, in a hereditary way, a homecoming.

While she was born and raised in Cambridge, Mass., her family roots reach back to the Washington area, where her mother – then Christine Balko – had once lived. And her uncle, Bohdan Balko, one of the many contributing sponsors of the Cultural Fund Music Series, was among those in her joyous audience.

Comments are closed.