Join us on Vermont Public Classical Sunday, September 3, 2023 at 7 p.m. for a concert in celebration of Ukraine's independence and perseverance. This concert was recorded live at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, Poland on August 20th, in advance of Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24. Listen on your local frequency, at vermontpublic.org, on your smart speaker, or on the Vermont Public app.
MORE ABOUT THE CONCERT AND ENSEMBLE
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, created in 2022 by Keri-Lynn Wilson, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, and now under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, is composed of leading Ukrainian musicians from inside the embattled country, as well as recent refugees and Ukrainian members of European orchestras. It was formed to defend Ukraine’s cultural legacy as the country fights for its freedom.
The program opens with the overture to Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, and culminates with a powerful performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The final movement of the Beethoven 9 is sung in Ukrainian, instead of the original German. This new edition takes a lead from Leonard Bernstein, who famously changed the word “Freude/Joy” to “Freiheit/Freedom” when he conducted the symphony in Berlin in 1989, after the Wall came down. Maestra Wilson has changed “Freude” to “Slava” – “Glory” – the rallying cry for Ukrainian freedom. The orchestra is joined by the chorus of the Polish Bialystok Opera and Ukrainian soloists Olga Kulchynska, Nicole Chirka, Dmytro Popov, and Vladyslav Buialskyi. The concert also includes a stirring encore of the Ukrainian National Anthem in a string arrangement by Ukrainian composer Yuri Shevchenko.
Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
The Chorus of the Polish Bialystok Opera
SOLOISTS
Olga Kulchynska, soprano
Nicole Chirka, mezzo-soprano
Dmytro Popov, tenor
Vladyslav Buialskyi, bass-baritone
