Violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv performs the music of Ukrainian masters

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin — Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk; with pianist Steven Beck (Naxos)

Ukrainian-born American violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv came to the United States in 1997 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music. She now lives in Connecticut and teaches at the University of Connecticut.

“I've always been passionate about performing Ukrainian music and have done it since I was a child,” she says. ”But now the timing is right to introduce even more pieces by Ukrainian composers.”

Ivakhiv has a new recording celebrating composers from her homeland. It features sonatas for violin and piano by three Ukrainian masters, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Myroslav Skoryk and Viktor Kosenko. Her collaborator is pianist Steven Beck.

One of the newest works on this recording is the Second Violin Sonata, by Myroslav Skoryk. What sets this work apart from another Ukrainian compositions?

“Skoryk and his brother were friends with my grandparents, so I knew him personally, and he was a very witty and fun person to hang out with. He also loved jazz and improvisation. So in this sonata, the last movement is a burlesque. It's full of jokes. He was also obsessed with Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. And there are so many references to Beethoven and that sonata in Skoryk’s sonata.

“He grew up in Siberia in labor camps because he came from a very established, very patriotic Ukrainian family. And when the Soviets came and occupied western Ukraine, they sent his family to Siberia. And only after Stalin's death was he allowed to come back to their hometown.

“And another fact is that his aunt was the famous Ukrainian soprano Solomiya Krushelnytska, who I was named after.”

The final piece on this recording is by Sergei Bortkiewicz. How did this piece surface for you?

“When Russia invaded Ukraine, they came very close to Kiev. They came to the city of Chernihiv, which is only 30 miles away from Kiev. And they destroyed the Chernihiv Philharmonic and many musicians were wounded. The music director of that philharmonic is a friend of mine because I soloed with the Chernihiv Philharmonic a number of times, and he always wanted me to learn and to play a violin concerto by Bortkiewicz. 

“So when I started planning this CD, I thought of looking into Bortkiewicz to see if he wrote a violin sonata. And he did. So I discovered a lot of Ukrainian music since the invasion.”

Resources

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin – Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk; with pianist Steven Beck (Naxos)

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin – Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk; with pianist Steven Beck (Amazon)

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin (official site)