National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine

Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November of 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is widely regarded as one of Eastern Europe’s leading orchestras. Its first conductor was Oleksandr Horilyj, and Natan Rachlin was the artistic director of the orchestra from 1937 until 1962. Stefan Turchak, Volodymyr Kozhuchar, Fedir Hlushchenko, Igor Blazhkov, and Theodore Kuchar consequently conducted the orchestra as its principal conductors. Other conductors who have worked with the orchestra include Kostiantyn Simeonov, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Markevitch, Kurt Sanderling, Kiril Kondrashin, Kurt Masur, Hermann Abendroth, Willy Ferrero, and others. 

Soloists who have performed with the orchestra include Artur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Gidon Kremer, Oleh Krysa, Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, and Juan Diego Flores. The ensemble has been entrusted with the premiere performances of works from composers Borys Liatoshynskyi, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Myroslav Skoryk, and Yevhen Stankovych.

The orchestra gained international recognition over a remarkably short period of time. Since 1993 it has released more than 100 recordings, including both Ukrainian and international repertoire. In 1994 the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) rated the orchestra’s recording of Borys Liatoshynskyi’s Symphonies no. 2 and no. 3 as “The Best Recording of the Year.” The CD of Sylvestrov’s Requiem for Larissa was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005, followed by a Grammy nomination for the recording of Bloch and Lees’ Violin Concertos four years later. 

The ensemble has performed throughout the world, including tours of Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. 

Volodymyr Sirenko was born in 1960 in the Poltava region of Ukraine. His conducting debut took place at the Kyiv Philharmonic Hall in 1983 with works by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Boulez. In 1989 Sirenko graduated from the Kyiv Conservatoire, where he studied conducting under professor Allin Vlasenko. 

In 1990 he was a finalist at the International Conducting Competition in Prague, and a year later he was appointed as chief conductor and artistic director of the Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position which he held until 1999. During this period he made over 200 recordings that are kept in the funds of the Ukrainian Radio and include Mozart’s Symphonies nos. 38 and 41, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9, Brahms’ A German Requiem, Dvorak’s Symphonies nos. 7 and 9, R. Strauss’ Macbeth, and Janacek’s Taras Bulba.

He has served as the artistic director and chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine since 1999. Highlights among the hundreds of programs that he has performed with the orchestra include cycles of Gustav Mahler’s Complete Symphonies, all four of Bach’s Passions and Mass in B minor, Liatoshynsky’s Complete Symphonies, Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, and Debussy’s Le Martyre de St. Sebastien.

He recorded over 50 CDs, including Silvestrov’s Requiem for Larissa, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005. He premiered many works by Ukrainian composers, including Sylvestrov’s Symphonies nos. 7, 8, and 9; Stankovych’s Symphony no. 6; and oratorios A Tale of Igor’s Campaign and Taras Passion.

Dmytro Udovychenko was born in 1999 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and has been studying music since he was five years old. Udovychenko trained at the Kharkiv Specialized Music Boarding School under Ludmila Varenina and at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen under Boris Garlitsky. He perfected his skills in master classes with Ana Chumachenco, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Stephan Picard, and Leonidas Kavakos, and in 2022 he was accepted into Christian Tetzlaff’s class at the Kronberg Academy. 

Udovychenko has won the Heifetz Competition in Vilnius, the Odessa Competition, and the Grand Prize of the Andrea Postacchini Competition in Fermo. In 2018 he won the Second Prize, Audience Prize, and Internet Community Prize at the Josef Joachim Competition in Hanover. More recently, he was awarded First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Third Prize at the Sibelius Competition, and First Prize at the Singapore and Montréal Competitions. 

He is supported by the Vere Music Fund, Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz, and Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.