February 9: Violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv hosts album release event at Ukrainian Institute of America in New York

Concert and panel discussion celebrates new recording "Ukrainian Masters" on Naxos

The Ukrainian-American violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv's new album "Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk" (on Naxos) is celebrated with a performance, panel discussion, and reception on February 9 at 7 pm at the Ukrainian Institute of America (2 E 79th St, New York, NY).

Ms. Ivakhiv has made it her mission to share the music of her home country. Her new album includes violin sonatas spanning 1922 to 1991 by three seminal Ukrainian composers: Sergei Bortkiewicz, Myroslav Skoryk, and Viktor Kosenko (the latter is a world premiere). Each of the three composers on the new album are major figures in Ukrainian classical music and in Ivakhiv's personal musical life. 

The evening will feature Ivakhiv and pianist Steven Beck performing selections from the new album, alongside a discussion about the contribution of Ukrainian composers to the musical canon with music professors Maria Sonevytsky, Bard College and Peter Schmelz, Johns Hopkins University. The audience is invited to a post-concert reception. Admission includes a copy of the new CD. Tickets are $45 ($30 for Institute members), available here.

February 9, 2024 at 7 pm

"Ukrainian Masters” album release concert & panel discussion

Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin
Steven Beck, piano

Ukrainian Institute of America (2 E 79th St, New York, NY)

Performance of selections from the new album "Ukrainian Masters: Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Bortkiewicz, Kosenko and Skoryk"
and
Discussion about Ukrainian music with Maria Sonevytsky, Professor of Music at Bard College and Peter Schmelz, Professor of Music at Johns Hopkins University

A reception will follow the program.

Tickets: $45 ($30 for Institute members), available here.

The program is presented with the generous support of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America.

About the Artists

Ukrainian born violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv is a highly celebrated soloist, chamber musician and educator. She has made solo appearances with the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Lviv National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Charleston Symphony in the United States and Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China, and has performed at chamber music festivals worldwide, including Tanglewood, Newport, Nevada Chamber Music Festival and KyivFest. Her recordings have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and have placed in the top charts on iTunes and Spotify.

Since 2010, Dr Ivakhiv has served as artistic director of the Music at the Institute (MATI) Concert Series in New York City, where her primary focus is to introduce audiences to Ukrainian classical music. She is also artistic director of the Caspian Monday Music Festival in Greensboro, Vermont. She holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Stony Brook University, and is associate professor of violin and viola and head of strings at the University of Connecticut. In 2021, she was named Honoured (Merited) Artist of Ukraine, her native country’s highest cultural honour.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, pianist Steven Beck made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra. His annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Bargemusic has become a New York institution. As an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of The Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His discography includes George Walker’s piano sonatas for Bridge Records, and Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist, and is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.