Composers

Borys Lyatoshynsky is undoubtedly the greatest Ukrainian composer of the 20th century. He was born in Zhytomyr (Ukraine) on Dec. 22, 1894 (or Jan. 3, 1895 according to the Gregorian calendar) in a musical and well-educated family.

He started studying piano and violin at an early age, wrote his first pieces at 14. Between 1918 and 1922, under the dual influence of great Ukrainian, Russian and French classical composers and of Slavonic folk music, he composed his First Symphony and First Trio with piano, two of his early masterworks. His musical language then evolved and modernized rapidly. He wrote several pieces for piano (two Sonatas, Ballade and Reflections) and a Sonata for violin and piano.

Around that time, his musical language evolved again towards simplification and integrated aspects of Ukrainian popular and folk music. In Saratov, he composed some major chamber music works such as the Second Trio with piano and the Ukrainian Quintet as well as a few pieces for piano - among which 5 Preludes. The first sketches of Suite after Shevchenko also date from this period.

His prolific post-war output includes several large-scale orchestral works (Third Symphony and the Slavic Concerto for piano and orchestra) and consolidated his reputation as a great symphonic composer. His opera The Golden Ring was awarded the Shevchenko National Prize.

Among his students at the Conservatory in Kyiv were such future great composers as Yevhen Stankovytch, Valentin Silvestrov or Ihor Shamo, who were instrumental in creating the Kyiv Avant-garde movement. Lyatoshynsky died on April 15, 1968 and was buried at Baikove cemetery (Байкове кладовище) in Kyiv.

In 2014, a COMPETITION-FESTIVAL – modern piano repertoire was created in Paris in his memory