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The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine headquartered in the Medieval city of Lviv was officially established on September 27, 1902 as, on this day, the first concert of the newly formed orchestra took place in the Philharmonic Theater of Count Stanislav Skarbko (presently known as the Ukrainian National Academic Theater of Drama named after Maria Zankovetska). The Principal Conductor of the orchestra was Ludwik Vitezslav Czelianski (1870- 1931). Henryk Jarecki and Henryk Meltzer-Szczawinski worked alongside him as conductors of the orchestra.
During the first season, the orchestra performed nearly 115 concerts, the total number of audience members exceeding 115,000. The concert programs featured the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, symphonic works by Felix Mendelssohn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Antonin Dvorak, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Camille Saint-Saëns, Peter Tchaikovsky. Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Ruggiero Leoncavallo and Mieczyslaw Karlowicz performed as invited conductors with the Lviv orchestra during its first season. In 1933, the orchestra became incorporated as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. According to the announcements, the “Inaugural” symphony concert of the newly formed orchestra of National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine took place on November 20, 1933. Adam Soltys led the orchestra, in particular in the first season he combined the functions of director and artistic
director. He actively worked with the orchestra until 1938. During this period, the symphony orchestra was performed by prominent composers – Maurice Ravel, Bela Bartok, Karol Szymanowski, soloists – Anton Rubinstein, Ferruccio Busoni, Wanda Landowska, Leopold Godowski, Jacob Milstein, Eugene Isai, Pablo Corvadam – Szymanowska and many others.
With the advent of the Soviet regime, the orchestra was led by Isaac Pain. Lviv conductor and composer Mykola Kolessa was also invited to work in the orchestra. During the German occupation, in 1941-1944, the Philharmonic did not operate. In the postwar period, the orchestra had to be re-assembled, which was the joint effort of Isaac Pain, Dionysius Khabal, Nestor Hornytsky and Mykola Kolessa. The team resumed work in August 1944. The first concerts featured works by Stanislav Liudkevych, Vasyl Barvinsky, Mykola Lysenko, Stanislav Monyushko, Camille Saint-Saens, Peter Tchaikovsky, Carl Maria von Weber.
During 1953-1957 and later – in 1987-1989 –the conductor of the orchestra was Yuriy Lutsiv. From 1964 to 1987, the symphony orchestra was led by Demyan Pelekhatyi, who worked fruitfully with colleagues Roman Filipchuk and Ihor Simovich. From 1989 the principal conductor of the orchestra was Ivan Yuziuk, the conductors were Roman Fylypchuk and Yarema Kolessa. Later this position was held by Aidar Torybayev, Ilya Stupel, Taras Krysa.
Some of the world’s greatest musicians have been performing with the orchestra since the 1950s including: Sviatoslav Richter,
Heinrich and Stanislav Neuhaus, Emil Gilels, Maria Yudina, Moisey Greenberg, Dmytro
Bashkirov, David and Ihor Oistrakh, Mstyslav
Rostropovich, Yuriy Lysychenko, Mariya
Chaikovska, Viktoria Lukyanets, Gidon Kremer, Leonid Kohan, Natalia Gutman, Oleh Polyansky, Dmytro Tkachenko, Roman Hrynkiv, Myroslava Kotorovych, Oleksandr
Slobodyanyk, Bohodar Kotorovych, Oleh Krysa, Olga Batystyuk, Lidia Shutko, Jozhef Ermin, Oksana Rapita, Etela Chupryk.
Some of the most famous conductors in classical music, including Kirill Kondrashin, Fuat Mansurov, Nathan Rakhlin, Gennady
Rozhdestvensky, Reinhold Gliere, Yevgeni
Mravinsky, Nikolae Popescu, Kurt Masur, Saulius Sondeckis, Theodore Kuchar and Mariss Jansons as well as Ukrainian conductors
Stefan Turchak, Fedor Glushchenko, Igor Blazhkov, Roman Kofman, Volodymyr Kozhukhar, Volodymyr Sirenko Viktor Ploskina, Yuriy Yanko and Victoria Zhadko.
The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine is a regular participant in international festivals, including, the International Festival of Musical Art “Virtuosos,” the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts,” the Ukrainian-Polish Festival “Discovering Paderewski.”
The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine has toured extensively around the world including including Poland, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and The People’s Republic of China. During the past several seasons they have completed highly acclaimed recordings for major international labels including Naxos and Brilliant Classics.
The multiple award-winning conductor Theodore Kuchar is the most recorded conductor of his generation and appears on over 140 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine, Marco Polo, Toccata Classics and Centaur labels. He has served as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe’s leading orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
and the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Czech Radio Orchestra) while also serving as the Principal Conductor of the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra and Slovak Sinfonietta. In the 2011-12 season he commenced his tenure as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela and prior to that served as the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia. He presently serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. In addition to his conducting activities he has served as the Artistic Director of two of the world’s most important chamber music festivals, The Australian Festival of Chamber Music (1991-2007) and the Nevada Chamber Music Festival (2003-2018).
Mr. Kuchar’s longest titled affiliation and relationship is with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, of which he was appointed the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor in 1994. They have appeared together in over 300 performances, in Kyiv and on tour on four continents while their discography totals over 80 compact discs. Most recently, they completed a 44-concert tour of North America under the auspices of Columbia Artists Management in January-March 2017. In September 2018 he commenced a relationship with the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine – Lviv with a production of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (Vesna Svyashchena) and Pulcinella. In February, 2020 he directed the world premiere of the opera Lys Mykyta by the Ukrainian composer Ivan Nebessniy.
Conducting engagements during the 201920 season included the major orchestras and opera houses of Ankara, Antalya, Beijing, Buenos Aires (Teatro Colon), Helsingborg, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odessa and Prague, among others. The opening two months of the 2017-18 season included a three week residency at The Cleveland Institute of Music where he opened that distinguished institution’s orchestral season and conducted daily masterclasses and seminars for advanced tertiary conductors and instrumentalists and a
two-week engagement with the Staatskapelle Weimar in Bayreuth, Dresden and Weimar. Highlights of the past several seasons have included a four-week, 20 concert tour of the USA with the Czech Symphony Orchestra and guest conducting engagements including the BBC Symphony, BBC National Symphony Orchestra of Wales (filling in on one day’s notice to conduct Josef Suk’s epic Asrael Symphony), English Chamber Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. Equally committed to musical theatre he has held a special relationship, totaling over 200 performances, with the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. He has collaborated with major artists including James Galway, Jessye Norman, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, YoYo Ma, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich, Joshua Bell, Joseph Calleja and Frederica von Stade, among others.
Among Mr. Kuchar’s numerous accolades include BBC Record of the Year, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Record of the Year, Chamber Music America Record of the Year, Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice, the WQXR Record of the Year and a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Album of 2013. Recent releases of seven new compact discs, devoted to the complete symphonies of Ukrainian Boris Lyatoshynsky and Yevhen Stankovych (National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine), orchestral works by the Turkish composer Ulvi Camal Erkin (with the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra). In March, 2019 the Brilliant Classics label released a 13-CD compilation – Theodore Kuchar – The Complete Edition devoted to the conductor’s complete discography for that label.
With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Kuchar has recorded 15 compact discs devoted to the complete symphonies of Carl Nielsen, the complete overtures and tone poems of Dvorak, and the complete orchestral works of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana for the Brilliant Classics label. Also completed for Brilliant Classics was a world premiere recording of Rachmaninov’s Fifth Piano
Concerto, a reconstruction of that composer’s Second Symphony based on the composer’s earliest manuscripts, and the Piano Concertos of Ravel and Bartók. With the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Kuchar has conducted tours of Australia, Germany, Italy, Korea, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the USA.
During his tenure with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Kuchar conducted cycles of the complete symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler, Mozart, Prokofiev, Schubert and Shostakovich, and led eleven international tours to Asia, Australia, Central Europe and the United Kingdom. Under Mr. Kuchar’s direction, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine became the most frequently recorded orchestra of the former Soviet Union. Between 1994 and 2004 the orchestra recorded over 80 compact discs for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels, including the complete symphonies of Kalinnikov, Lyatoshynsky, Martinu and Prokofiev, as well as major works of Chadwick, Dvorak, Glazunov, Morton Gould, Mozart, Piston, Shchedrin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. They also recorded the symphonies and orchestral works of Ukraine’s leading contemporary symphonist, Yevhen Stankovych. The recording of Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 was awarded ABC’s “Best International Recording of the Year” in 1994. Their recording of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Walter Piston for the Naxos label was hailed by Gramophone (January, 2000) as a “Record of the Year” for 1999. The complete symphonies of Prokofiev, on the Naxos label, are regarded by many critics as the most accomplished cycle available on compact disc.
Kuchar remains as strong an advocate of composers of the present day as he does of the great composers of the past. In addition to his recordings of contemporary works with the NSO of Ukraine, he has also conducted premieres of works by Lukas Foss (the Capriccio for Cello and Orchestra, with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist), Giya Kancheli, Joseph Schwantner, Alfred Schnittke, Osvaldo Golijov and Rodion Shchedrin, among others. He has led numerous operatic productions in centers including Buenos Aires, Caracas,
Helsinki, Kyiv, Prague and San Francisco with soloists including Jessye Norman, Frederica von Stade, Joseph Calleja, Jorma Hynninen, Isabel Bayrakdarian and Kelley O’Connor, among others.
For Vladyslava Luchenko performance is far more than providing a form of entertainment, however elevated. “I see the musician’s true purpose in being a guide to a person’s most sacred, hidden unconscious, their own sacred heart. Through raw and authentic emotion, a frequency itself we’re able to transmit wisdom and healing directly. Understanding music as a profound healing tool, a bridge to the higher dimensions and universal source of life have become crucial in my work.”
Born in 1988 and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, Vladyslava began her musical studies at the age of three and shortly after knew that she would become a violinist. Her earliest years were extremely prodigal, supported by several international foundations, and her primary teacher, Yaroslava Ryvniak. She made her solo debut in the Kiev National Philharmonia at the age of eleven and soon after with concerts in the Kremlin, tours throughout Europe and triumphs at major national and international competitions, her first major victory at the age of ten.
With the desire and passion to seek out a greater musical understanding, she left her native Ukraine to enter the elite violin class of the famous Zakhar Bron in Zurich in 2006. Thus began her emerging European career, when she won several prestigious prizes, among others the top-prizewinner in the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, the Rahn Music Prize, and the David Oistrakh Violin Competition while receiving special recognition at the Queen Elizabeth of Brussels Competition. Soon after followed opportunities to perform as a soloist with the Luzerne Symphony Orchestra in the Zurich Tonhalle, the Verbier Festival, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of UkraineLviv and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine as well as numerous additional solo and chamber music engagements.
She continued her education in Berlin, at the Hans Eisler Academy with Stephan Picard for two more years until entering Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, under the supervision of the one of great violinists of our times, Augustin Dumay. These were fruitful years, with intensive work, hundreds of performances, including tours to China, India and Puerto Rico. Since having arrived in Belgium, Vladyslava Luchenko has had the possibility of collaborating with numerous orchestras, including the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, with which she made her debut and subsequent solo recordings with orchestra for the Outhere label. These have included: Edouard Lalo – The Concertante Works for Solo Violin, Violoncello and Piano (2015), A Tribute to Ysaye and Mozart Double Concerti. Supported by the Borgerhoff Foundation she could dedicate herself to practice and crystallize her musical skills to completely new degree, where she rose in her understanding of the sound, expression and the role of an artist in general. Since 2018, she is a recording artist for Claves Records in Switzerland. Vladyslava performs a Francesco Gobetti violin of 1710, on loan from a private collection.
Oksana Rapita
Piano Soloist
One of the most prominent Ukrainian pianists of the present day, Professor Oksana Rapita is a laureate of the Mykola Lysenko International Piano Competition (1984), and a top prizewinner at the Paloma O’Shea International Piano Competition (1990, Spain).
Oksana Rapita is one of the best-known and respected pedagogues in Ukraine, serving as Professor at the National Music Academy in Lviv. Over the past two decades she has trained more than 50 laureates of major international competitions.
The piano repertoire of Oksana Rapita includes works from the baroque to the present day. She has performed more than 20 world premieres of works by Ukrainian and foreign composers, taken part in numerous recording projects of music by Ukrainian composers including Stanislav Lyudkevych,
Miroslav Skoryk, Yuriy Lanyuk and Oleksandr Kozarenko, among many others. Oksana Rapita tours extensively in Ukraine and abroad, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia and Switzerland and collaborates with symphony Orchestras in Ukraine, Poland and Switzerland recently.
Guest artist at such international festivals: “Contrasts,” “Virtuosos,” “Kyiv Music Fest,” “Kyiv premieres,” “2 days and 2 nights,” “Colours of the 20th century music” named after I. Stravinsky (Ukraine), “Music days of Kraków composers,” “Warsaw music meetings,” the Festival of modern music named after W. Lutosławski in Lubin (Poland), «Menhir» (Switzerland), The F. Schubert Festival (Switzerland-Germany), “New Itineracy” (Russia- Kyrgyzstan).
Oksana Rapita was born in Ternopil and studied in her native city at the Solomiya Krushelnytska Music Academy with L. Korniy, Lviv National Musical Academy named after Mykola Lysenko with L. Krykh and in Moscow at the Gnessin State Musical College with A. Aleksandrov.
Stanislav Khristenko
Piano Soloist
Described as a “poet of piano” by Le Soir (Belgium), Ukrainian-born American pianist and conductor Stanislav Khristenko has performed as a pianist in some of the world’s major concert halls and recently launched his second career as a conductor. He has been praised for “emotional intensity,” “charismatic expression,” “pallette of touches,” “solid” and “precise technique” by The New York Times, The Washington Post and Miami Herald (USA); Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine (UK) and El Pais (Spain).
In recent years Mr. Khristenko has appeared as a piano soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Phoenix, Puerto Rico and Richmond Symphonies, National Orchestra of Belgium, Bilbao, Madrid and Tenerife Symphony Orchestras, Liege Royal Philharmonic, and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. His performance highlights include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus,
Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, as well as performances with orchestras in The Berlin Philharmonie, Seoul Arts Center, Prague Rudolfinum, Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, among others. His recordings were released on Steinway & Sons label (“Fantasies” and “Romeo and Juliet”), Naxos (“Soler Sonatas”), Oehms and Toccata Classics (“Ernst Krenek Piano Works”).
Prizewinner of over 30 international piano competitions, Stanislav Khristenko recently started an educational project for young pianists: “Rethink Piano.” The project includes discussions about all aspects of competitions and a competition simulator that gives young pianists an opportunity to analyze competition selection processes in order to improve their own performance, overcome stress and develop a strategy for successful professional growth.
In his hometown in Ukraine, Mr. Khristenko initiated a music festival KharkivMusicFest that in just four years of existence presented performances of world’s top musicians as well as unique projects including outreach concerts, painted pianos on streets, Festival Orchestra, classical music forum, Children’s Orchestra, among others. As a Music Director, he also founded Nova Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra that performed works of over 40 composers in its first three seasons.
Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Stanislav Khristenko studied with Vera Gornostaeva in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and with Sergei Babayan in the Cleveland Institute of Music. He also studied orchestral conducting at the Warsaw Chopin University with Tomasz Bugaj.
Stanislav Khristenko is a Steinway Artist. For details visit khristenko.com
Scan QR code with your smartphone camera to read the full history of the Orchestra in MPAC's Digital Program Book.
Sanjhana Bharanidharan
Grade 7, Brooklawn Middle School; Parsippany; Nominated by Adam Austerlitz
Sanjhana is not only an excellent musician but a dedicated and passionate learner and a natural leader. She has been taking private lessons for several years and is currently working on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Sanjhana spends much of her free time practicing or creating music with others. Outside of school, Sanjhana participates with the Lakeland Youth Symphony orchestra. Sanjhana has also proven a highly effective leader during ensemble rehearsals. She takes her role as concert mistress seriously and does everything she can to get the best sound out of the orchestra.
Phillip Byrne
Grade 12, Morristown High School; Morristown; Nominated by Norma Davis
Phillip Byrne has been an outstanding member of the Morristown High School Orchestra and select Chamber Orchestra for the past four years. He is incredibly dedicated and is an extraordinary musician. Phil serves as section leader for the double basses and can always be relied upon to give one hundred percent in every rehearsal and performance. He loves learning, is fully engaged, and is an outstanding collaborator. A natural role model, Phil enthusiastically encourages his peers to reach for and achieve the highest level of musicianship possible. He thrives on challenges and performs with passion. He expertly leads bass sectionals and lessons and is committed to the success of the Orchestra. Phil gladly takes advantage of every music opportunity, performing on the bass with the jazz band, wind ensemble, small ensembles, choir, and pit orchestra for the musicals. He excelled in AP Music Theory, enjoyed delving into music analysis at a deep level, and used his ear-training skills to write and transcribe bass parts that he performed with the concert choir. Phil always goes above and beyond with a great attitude and works hard to accomplish his musical goals. He has high standards, an eye for detail, and performs with a powerful, rich sound. Although tremendously talented and accomplished in his chosen art, Phil is humble and always ready to pitch in as needed with a positive attitude and a smile. It is no wonder that whenever any music faculty member at MHS needs a bass player, they ask Phil. His convivial personality, impeccable integrity, determination, and self-motivation make him a gem among his peers. Phil has a bright future ahead and will surely make a difference to those he meets in life, his future studies and career.
Grade 12, Chatham High School; Chatham; Nominated by Liam Keller
Brandon is a senior violinist who has been a part of the orchestra program in Chatham for his entire time in the district. I worked with Brandon for four years as the Director of Orchestras, Chamber Ensemble Advisor, and Music Theory teacher. Brandon is a highly organized and motivated musician, constantly striving to achieve his personal high standard for performance in everything he does. Brandon is a strong student leader and his peers and faculty respected his academic work and character. As a member of the orchestra program, chamber orchestra ensemble, and musical pit, Brandon was confident during rehearsals and consistently
The 2022-2023 Music Student of the Month program is supported by The Walter F. and Alice Gorham Foundation, Inc.
demonstrated excellence during many professional performances. My assessment of Brandon is extremely positive. Brandon has been a constant positive force of energy motivating his peers to excellence. Always interested in the concerns of others, he was available to help students requesting assistance by becoming a tutor for his peers. Brandon is a team player and understands the process of moving from the model of good to great. It is with great pleasure that I recommend Brandon be granted consideration for this award. I assure you Brandon’s record of strong intellectual and academic achievement, performance ability, integrity, character, leadership, respect for others, and his unfailing energy to use his talents to their fullest, merit your consideration.
Laurily Merzatta
Grade 7, Brooklawn Middle School; Parsippany; Nominated by Adam Austerlitz
Laurily is an exceptional violist and overall musician. She recently placed 6th chair in the North Jersey Intermediate Region Orchestra. Along with her viola studies, Laurily is a very talented arranger. Recently, she arranged a unique and inspiring rendition of “Happy Birthday” for strings for my birthday. Outside of school, Laurily also performs with both the New Jersey Youth Symphony and Lakeland Youth Symphony, where she recently won the concerto competition with the Telemann Viola Concerto. Laurily's musical abilities are not only restricted to viola. She is also a highly capable trumpet player, performing with the Brooklawn Middle School band, and vocalist, performing with the Brooklawn choir and having recently been cast as the Stepmother in our school's production of Cinderella.
Elizabeth Morgievich
Grade 11, Randolph High School; Randolph; Nominated by Eric Schaberg
Elizabeth Morgievich is one, if not the most talented student, I have had the privilege of teaching over my 30+ year career. She was accepted last spring into All-State Orchestra and performed with that ensemble this past November of 2022. Elizabeth has just been given the rare honor of being a member of All-Eastern Orchestra which has a process to select only a very few students from the Eastern United States. The All-Eastern Orchestra will perform later this spring at the famous Eastman School of Music. Elizabeth has just recently successfully auditioned for Region 1 Sr. Orchestra and has been a member every year in her high school and middle school years. This is an orchestra in which string players audition/compete from the Northern part of NJ to become a member of the Region 1 Orchestra. Elizabeth was given the fourth chair in the 1st violins and 6th chair overall out of the 48 violins who made it into the orchestra. To top off an incredible year for Elizabeth, she will be playing “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint Saens with the Randolph High School Orchestra, as the violin soloist. She is also part of the upcoming Randolph Musical, Fiddler on the Roof in the spring. With all of these wonderful accolades, Elizabeth is very kind, humble, and a true pleasure to work with as her director and for her colleagues in the high school as well. She is the student that every director wishes they had the opportunity to teach in their career and I am lucky to have had the privilege!
Ahana Mukherjee
Grade 8, Mount Olive Middle School; Budd Lake; Nominated by Aimee Jimenez
Ahana is a wonderful student. She is always asking for more - music recommendations, additional help, videos to watch, and giving me suggestions for orchestra repertoire for the class. Not only that, she is eager to help others learn and will often jump in to help a fellow student before I can. She is confident in her abilities, but not arrogantly so, and responds well to critiques and makes the same adjustments across repertoire often without prompting. I truly believe she will go far with music.
