National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine 

Volodymyr Sirenko, conductor

Soloists: Natalia Khoma (Cello)

Program:

Dmitry Bortniansky (1751-1825)

Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat Major (1790)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIb:1 (1761-65)

I. Moderato

II. Adagio

III. Allegro molto

Natalia Khoma, cello

---INTERMISSION---

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52 (1907)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto

III. Moderato, Allegro ma non tanto

National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine (NSOU)

Formed by Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November of 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe. Its first conductor was Oleksander Horilyj, followed by Natan Rachlin, who  was their Artistic Director betweem 1937 until 1962. Stefan Turchak, Volodymyr Kozhuchar, Fedir Hlushchenko, Igor Blazhkov and Theodore Kuchar have all since held the position of the  Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. Other conductors who have worked with the NSOU include Leopold Stokowski, Igor Markevitch, Kurt Sanderling, Evgeny Mravinsky, Kiril Kondrashin, Evgeny Svetlanov, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Volodymr Sirenko has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor since April 1999. In June 2006, Alexander Hornostai  joined the orchestra as Managing Director and Producer.

The orchestra has also had the privilege of working with many high-profile soloists including 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 and Andrea Bocelli.

 The NSOU has premiered a number of works by notable composers including Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Aram Khatchaturian, Boris Lyatoshynsky, Valentyn Silvestrov, Myroslav Skoryk, and Evgen Stankovych.

Since 1993, the NSOU has released more than 100 recordings including both Ukrainian and international repertoire many of which have received the international acclaim. In 1994, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) rated NSOU’s recording of Boris Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 3 as “The Best Recording of the Year”. The recording of Silvestrov’s “Requiem for Larissa” was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 and the recording of Bloch and Lees’ Violin Concertos was nominated for a Grammy Award four years later.

Touring internationally, the NSOU has performed in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

BRAVOS HAIL ORCHESTRA’S VIRTUES
 “... A program rich with energy and unusually adventurous placed the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in a highly favourable light when it gave its only Sydney concert during its Australian tour on Friday. This is an orchestra with many virtues. Its strings can conjure up a vibrant songfulness; the woodwinds have a fruity, penetrating ripeness; the brass could endanger the walls of Jericho; the percussion might wake the dead...” (The Sydney Morning Herald)