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Kyiv Symphony Orchestra to perform in Warsaw

21.04.2022 11:00
The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra is set to perform at Warsaw’s National Philharmonic Hall on Thursday, with a concert featuring works by Ukrainian composers Maxim Berezovsky, Myroslav Skoryk and Boris Lyatoshynsky.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński meets with members of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Hall in Warsaw on Monday, April 11, 2022.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński meets with members of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Hall in Warsaw on Monday, April 11, 2022.Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

The concert will also include music by 19th-century Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski performed by Polish violinist Janusz Wawrowski.

The event will be the ensemble’s first public appearance since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It comes as part of the orchestra’s 10-day stay in Warsaw, organized by Poland's National Philharmonic and the National Institute of Music and Dance, using funds from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

The Ukrainian musicians, some of whom arrived in Poland with members of their families, were offered wide-ranging assistance, including accommodation, rehearsal venues and psychological counselling.

From Warsaw, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra will go to the central Polish city of Łódź for a concert on April 23, before embarking on a tour of Germany, with an itinerary including Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg and Dresden.

The executive director of the orchestra, Anna Stavytchenko, told the Polish media that the aim of the tour is “to give hope for a peaceful future for all and a sense of conviction that a rebuilt Ukraine will be stronger and more beautiful than ever before.”

Poland’s Culture Minister Piotr Gliński has said that the Ukrainian musicians are facing "the highly important task of conveying to the European public the truth about Russian war crimes" in Ukraine.

Their mission also includes "convincing the Western public and politicians about the need for full sanctions against Russia, and communicating the good news that culture is bound to win,” according to Gliński.

(mk/gs)