Author: Пазиченко Світлана

Since February 2022, Ukraine has been living under bombardment. Czech soprano Hana Blažíková (a familiar presence on Europe’s major stages and in the repertoires of Bach and Handel) was invited to the Kyiv Baroque Fest 2025, held from November 10 to 21 at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. She chose to travel there alone, by train, for two days in the heart of Kyiv. Amid air-raid alerts, power outages, and overwhelming hospitality, she recounts, with emotion still vivid, how this concert altered the very meaning of the words she was singing, before an audience for whom death and consolation are no longer images, but a daily reality.

The German-Uzbek pianist Nuron Mukumi has returned from Kyiv, where he performed a concert and held masterclasses. He shared his deeply moving impressions with Pizzicato.

Mukumi says: “The eight days there were very difficult—but also very moving. When I speak of ‘difficult,’ I am primarily referring to the nearly impossible living conditions of my friends and colleagues from the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, as well as the students I taught through the Vere Music Fund.”

His trips to Kyiv are particularly important to him “to be close to the people on the ground through masterclasses and solidarity concerts: to support them, to listen to them, to understand them, and to report on the conditions and the people who maintain cultural life under extreme circumstances. For the people there, it is important that they do not feel left alone and that we actively support them. Because music gives strength and warmth. Culture experienced together strengthens identity and resilience.”

Mukumi’s schedule was similar to his last trip: two days of masterclasses and a concert with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine under the baton of Volodymyr Sirenko at the National Philharmonic. Additionally, he performed a short live online concert afterwards with Mykola Liubenko, the orchestra’s principal cellist.

Why did you found this festival?

Anna Gadetska: In Ukraine, the situation regarding early music is quite unique, as there is no separate institute or department at universities that covers all early instruments, but only individual courses, such as harpsichord, and sometimes basso continuo. Nevertheless, we do have early music ensembles that have been working together for years. And, of course we needed a festival-an event where different musicians from all over the world could meet, because after 2022, following the Russian attack on our country, it became clear to us that we needed to connect more with the world.

Then a group from Open Opera Ukraine and the National House of Music attended a REMA conference, where we were able to introduce ourselves and give a concert. After that, we decided to combine the expertise and resources of three organizations: the National Philharmonic, directed by Mykhailo Shved; the National House of Music, led by Olga Kononenko; and the NGO Open Opera Ukraine, where I serve as program director. That’s how we launched the festival, because Baroque music is a vital and important part of Ukrainian heritage. Yet very little is known about the Ukrainian Baroque, even among professional musicians.

French musician Salomé Gasselin’s first journey to Kyiv offered a clear view of Europe’s cultural imprint in Ukraine. As the centuries-old sound of the viola da gamba filled the National Philharmonic, the concert was described as a “small miracle,” affirming Ukraine’s deep cultural ties to Europe in the language of music.

Life in wartime is anything but ordinary, though in its midst many platitudes arise. “Life goes on,” or, for example, that music “can heal the soul.” As nightly bombings and nationwide blackouts permeate everything, a classical concert can understandably be met with an eye roll.

In the case of the French musician Salomé Gasselin’s representation at Ukraine’s National Philharmonic, featured as part of the Kyiv Baroque Festival, founded in 2024 and organized with the support of the Embassy of France and the French Institute in Ukraine, the room was met with a “small miracle,” as the director of the French Institute put it.