Kyiv Symphony Orchestra takes the stage at prestigious Grafenegg Festival

On Saturday, August 12, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and the world-famous pianist Rudolf Buchbinder performed at one of the most prestigious and largest orchestral festivals – Grafenegg in Austria.

Austria Presse Agentur [APA] reports this.

"Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of the chief conductor Luigi Gajero became a guest of the Grafenegg festival for the first time on Saturday. In the "Cloudy Tower," Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Rudolph Buchbinder for piano and Symphony No. 2 by the Ukrainian composer Levko Revutskyi (1889-1977), who is almost unknown in our country, were performed. An evening with symbolic power," the leading Austrian news agency reported.

The invitation to KSO, "who is touring as a cultural ambassador for his country and has been in exile in Gehr, Germany since July 2022," was apparently also a "clear sign of solidarity," it said.

Taras Bulba 🇺🇦

Vielen Dank, @Grafenegg! Unforgettable concert❤️ https://t.co/hlNBUzMkg7

— Kyiv Symphony Orchestra (@KyivSymphony) August 13, 2023

"In April of this year, the Berlin Philharmonic took over the sponsorship of the orchestra. In addition, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra is a group that, as was proven in Grafenegg, can compete with dignity at the international level," the message reads.

The agency praised the masterful performance of the Ukrainian orchestra, which also performed the overture "Taras Bulba" by Mykola Lysenko as an encore.

"The most touching moment came at the very end, when the orchestra played the National Anthem of Ukraine, and the whole hall stood up and applauded for several minutes. And this was a clearly expressed attitude," ARA reported.

The speech was broadcast by the Austrian public broadcaster ORF.

Before participating in the festival, the director of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, Oleksandr Zaitsev, pointed out that the mission of the orchestra is "to open Ukrainian culture and music to the world thanks, in particular, to performances at well-known European festivals with works by Ukrainian composers."

"For the performance in Grafenegg, we specially chose the large-scale Symphony No. 2 by Levko Revutsky, which is considered not only the crown of the composer's work but also the central work of Ukrainian music of the first half of the 20th century. It widely uses the melodies of various folk songs, which at the behest of the author, give birth to an impressive and colorful symphonic canvas. We are sure that this music will leave a great impression in the hearts of listeners," he said.

For reference:

The Grafenegg Festival is one of Europe's most important orchestral festivals, where nature and architecture merge into a single work of art. The concert will take place in the acoustic hall of the Wolkentrum ("Cloud Tower") – one of the world's best open-air stages, surrounded by a natural landscape and an ancient castle.

Since the summer of 2007, the Grafenegg Music Festival has been held annually under the artistic direction of pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

The Symphony Orchestra of Lower Austria, under the direction of the Principal Conductor from Colombia, Andres Orozco-Estrada, is a Festival Orchestra with invited international conductors and soloists.

It should be noted that for the first time in Ukraine, the largest children's hospital, Okhmatdyt, organized a psychological rehabilitation session for children who suffered from Russian aggression using the method of music therapy.

Rubryka also reported that the "Ocarina" children's choir from Kosovo prepared a concert for all young Ukrainians.