“We want to show the world our culture”: Kyiv Symphony Orchestra begins European tour in Warsaw

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra last night launched a European tour with a concert in Warsaw, in what their conductor described as a “miracle”.

The audience at the Warsaw Philharmonic and those listening to a live broadcast on public radio were treated to a selection of Ukrainian and Polish compositions that symbolised the solidarity between the two nations, with Poland having been at the forefront of providing humanitarian, diplomatic and military support since’s Russia’s invasion.

Flanked by bouquets in the colours of the two countries’ flags, the orchestra showed the richness of Ukrainian culture as Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to deny its existence and wipe it from the map. “Warsaw, thank you for your support,” wrote the orchestra on Facebook after the concert.

Luigi Gaggero, the animated conductor who waved his baton as if he was directing a platoon of troops, praised the generosity of his hosts and called the event “a logistical triumph”.

“Three weeks ago this would have been unthinkable,” he told Notes from Poland. “The musicians were hiding from Russian bombs in shelters. When you call them, they say, ‘Sorry, can I call you later because of the bombs?’, and later you hope they’re still alive.”

Gaggero praised the “miracle reaction from Poland, Germany and others, [which] gave us the possibility to play in concert halls where usually booking them three years in advance wouldn’t be enough”.

The Ukrainian musicians, some of whom arrived in Poland with members of their families, were offered wide-ranging assistance, including accommodation, rehearsal venues and psychological counselling. Poland has been the destination for the majority of people fleeing Ukraine, with almost three million people crossing its border so far.

Red-haired Anastasia Sabadash, playing the Xylobells, which were flanked by double basses with Ukrainian flags on them, spent the first part of the war in her native Kyiv. She volunteered at the train station to help elderly people and children escaping from the Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine to safety.

Sabadash viewed her deployment with the orchestra as further helping the war effort, telling Notes from Poland: “We want to show the whole world, the whole of Europe, which culture we have, the music is for our children, for our grandchildren. We lost a lot of theatres and concert halls which the Russians bombed, so our culture needs support.”

Alongside Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski’s fantaisie brillante, which was played with Polish soloist Janusz Wawrowski, there was a very meaningful piece written by one of Gaggero’s predecessors as conductor of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, Borys Lyatoshynsky’s.

His symphony No. 3 in B minor, subtitled “about War and Peace”, was played in full after the intermission. The modern epic featured thundering brass alternated with a suspicious woodwind section, punctuated with pizzicato strings and tension reminiscent of a dramatic film score.

The tension provided by the dissonance of the melodies reminded the audience of the elephant in the room, the war in Ukraine, with bombs dropping close to the home of the orchestra echoed by the booms and clashes of the cymbals and timpani and a rolling military snare repeating the gunshots currently heard in the Donbas.

This piece was significant in more than just the actuality of the theme, which Gaggero described as “these very pure and beautiful melodies fighting with the brutal elements”.

The Soviets who controlled Ukraine when it was written in the early 1950s did not like the original version, which had a happy end symbolising the triumph of good over evil, preferring a more conventional style military parade. They forced Lyatoshynsky to rewrite it, and he was never able to hear the original version in his life again.

“We are so happy that we can play the first version, the true one, again,” Gaggero enthused. Before and after the symphony, the crowd stood for the Ukrainian national anthem, as well as countless standing ovations.

This concert comes as part of the orchestra’s 10-day stay in Warsaw, organised by Poland’s National Philharmonic and the National Institute of Music and Dance, using funds from the culture ministry.

Culture minister Piotr Gliński said that the Ukrainian musicians are facing “the highly important task of conveying to the European public the truth about Russian war crimes” in Ukraine.

From Warsaw, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra will go to the central Polish city of Łódź for a concert on 23 April, before embarking on a tour of Germany, with an itinerary including Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg and Dresden.

Main image credit: James Jackson

James Jackson

is a British freelance journalist based in Berlin. Alongside news and politics, he also writes about culture and can be followed on Twitter @derJamesJackson.