Role

:

Composer

Birth

:

1888

Death

:

1963

 

Vasyl Barvinskyi was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and music educator who lived from 1888 to 1963. He was born in the village of Kryvorivnya in the Carpathian Mountains, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Barvinskyi's father was a village priest who also played the violin, and his mother was a singer. From a young age, Barvinskyi showed a talent for music, and he began taking piano lessons at the age of six. Barvinskyi's family moved to the city of Lviv when he was ten years old, and he continued his musical education there. He studied piano with the renowned pianist and composer Karol Szymanowski, who was a major influence on his musical style. Barvinskyi also studied composition with the composer and musicologist Adam Sołtys, who introduced him to the music of the Ukrainian national school. In 1910, Barvinskyi graduated from the Lviv Conservatory with a degree in piano performance. He then went to Vienna to study with the pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni, who was another major influence on his musical style. Barvinskyi also studied composition with the composer Franz Schreker, who was a leading figure in the Viennese school of composition. After completing his studies in Vienna, Barvinskyi returned to Lviv, where he became a prominent figure in the city's musical life. He performed as a pianist and conducted the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra. He also taught piano and composition at the Lviv Conservatory, where his students included the composer Myroslav Skoryk. Barvinskyi's music is characterized by its fusion of Ukrainian folk music with Western classical music. He was a pioneer of the Ukrainian national school of composition, which sought to create a distinctively Ukrainian style of classical music. His compositions include piano works, chamber music, orchestral works, and choral works. One of Barvinskyi's most famous works is his Piano Concerto No. 1, which he composed in 1926. The concerto is notable for its use of Ukrainian folk melodies and rhythms, as well as its virtuosic piano writing. The concerto was premiered by the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, with Barvinskyi as the soloist. Another notable work by Barvinskyi is his String Quartet No. 1, which he composed in 1930. The quartet is characterized by its use of Ukrainian folk melodies and its complex harmonies. The quartet was premiered by the Lviv String Quartet, which was one of the leading chamber ensembles in Ukraine at the time. Barvinskyi also composed a number of choral works, including his setting of the Ukrainian folk song "Shchedryk," which is better known in the English-speaking world as "Carol of the Bells." Barvinskyi's arrangement of the song is notable for its use of complex harmonies and rhythms, as well as its incorporation of elements of Western classical music. In addition to his work as a composer, Barvinskyi was also a prominent music educator. He taught at the Lviv Conservatory for over thirty years, and his students included some of the leading Ukrainian composers of the twentieth century. He was also a prolific writer on music, and he published a number of articles and essays on music theory and aesthetics. Barvinskyi's career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he was forced to flee Lviv and take refuge in the Carpathian Mountains. After the war, he returned to Lviv and resumed his work as a composer and music educator.

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