TO ALL ALIVE CD presentation review

Thank you, dear Suus Blanke for the amazing review of my concert (and our CD presentation) in Den Haag. And thank you Classical Now for organizing it! – A.B.

TO ALL RESURRECTED: Deze etude begint met ijzige koude helder aangeslagen gebroken akkoorden, die langzaam evalueren in de vloeibare hitte van magma in een vulkaan. Pianist Baryshevskyi beschrijft dit werk als de meest krachtige compositie die Shalygin ooit voor piano heeft geschreven. De componist zelf vertelde dat TO ALL RESSURECCTED nooit was ontstaan wanneer hij Baryshevskyi met zijn uitzonderlijke techniek, verfijnde muzikaliteit en gepassioneerde liefde voor hedendaagse muziek, niet had leren kennen. Er ontstond wederom een dramatisch bouwwerk waarin het herrijzen (van de Oekraïne) krachtig werd neergezet. Inmiddels verwachtte ik dat de pianist na zijn olympische- krachtvertoning en concentratie, van uitputting naast de vleugel zou vallen. Dat gebeurde niet, maar het scheelde niet veel.

Suus Blanke

Wie dit zeer speciale concert nog een keer wil meemaken krijgt de kans op zondag 2 maart 2025 om 17.00(!) uur in het Pianola Museum te Amsterdam. Dan wordt de cd officieel gepresenteerd. Op het hoesje is een foetus getekend waarbij het hart zich buiten het lichaam bevindt, van waaruit een bloem tot bloei komt. Ik weet niet of dit metafysisch bedoeld is, maar gezien de tekst van Jean Luc Godard die eronder staat gedrukt, denk ik dat het een uiting van verdriet is over de situatie in de Oekraïne: ‘We zijn nooit verdrietig genoeg om van de wereld een betere plek te maken’. TO ALL ALIVE! - Suus Blanke

Read here

SplenDoor to Ukraine. A guide to Ukrainian music

Season 2 of a series of chamber concerts and contemporary/electronic experimental music. The aim of organising this series is to introduce the Dutch public to the hidden gems of Ukrainian music from the second half of the 20th century and to enter into the artistic context of Ukraine at that time.

Antonii Baryshevsky, the Ukrainian pianist and curator of this series, will perform the music.

Ihor Sukhorukov, a Ukrainian culture enthusiast, will help explore the music's context.

Designs by Natella Shavadze

29th January, 20.15 – Liatoshynsky 130. Piano recital with lecture dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the great Ukrainian composer Boris Liatoshynsky. Splendor, Amsterdan, NL. More details here. #LiatoshynskySpace Antonii Baryshevskyi, piano

Ihor Sukhorukov, lecture

17th February 20.15 – ҐІЛЬДЕҐАРДА (Hildegard) a unique reimagining of Hildegard von Bingen's music. It combines the vocal sound production approaches of authentic Ukrainian folk singing with the modular synthesis techniques drawing from high mediaeval polyphony and monophony. This innovative approach, brought to life by Oleh Shpudeiko, known as Heinali, an electronic music composer reimagining Early music in modular synthesis, and Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, a singer practising authentic Ukrainian vocal tradition, brings to the fore the paradoxical viscerality inherent to Hildegard's visionary writing. Splendor Amsterdam, NL.  More details here

Heinali, modular synthesizer

Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, folk singer

8th March, 20:15 – LIMBO 

Splendor, Amsterdam, NL. Buy tickets.

LIMBO is heart-to-heart solo program by Viktoriia Vitrenko for voice and piano. With music from five song cycles by Ying Wang, Sven-Ingo Koch, Alla Zagaykevych, Maxim Shalygin and Agata Zubel.

Viktoriia Vitrenko, voice

23d March 20.15 – BABRYLON. Piano recital with music by A. Shmurak

Splendor, Amsterdan, NL. Buy tickets.

The project is fundamentally multi-genre: it includes field recordings, drone music, classical music, jazz, noise, and lo-fi folk. "Babylon" explores the magical and playful in urban space, where gigantic industrial landscapes alternate with intimate inner experiences.

Aleksei Shmurak, composer

Antonii Baryshevskyi, piano, synthesizer

Igor Sukhorukov, lecture

''TO ALL ALIVE''

"TO ALL ALIVE," a double-CD album featuring the complete piano works of composer Maxim Shalygin, performed by acclaimed Ukrainian pianist Antonii Baryshevskyi.

This album fulfills a long-cherished wish: a recording of the piano works that Shalygin composed between 2004 and 2024, many of which were written specifically for Baryshevskyi, who has been a profound source of inspiration for the composer. Spanning two decades, these works reflect a deep friendship, a shared creative journey, and mutual artistic development. They also stand as a testament to their tireless commitment to enriching the piano repertoire with groundbreaking new works.

One of Baryshevskyi’s remarkable qualities is his passion for contemporary music, alongside his extensive repertoire of classical works. For Baryshevskyi, the boundary between “classical” and “modern” is fluid, as every masterpiece of the past was once contemporary music. He believes that a performer’s role is to bring new compositions to life, translating them into sound and ensuring their place in the evolving musical canon. Baryshevskyi has performed Shalygin’s works since their student days at the Kyiv Conservatory. Despite Shalygin’s move to the Netherlands in 2010, the two maintained a close creative bond, and during this period, several solo pieces were written for Baryshevskyi.

CD presentation:

1st February 2025, Classical Now! Paleiskerk, The Hague, NL – More details here.

2nd March 2025,  Pianola Museum, Amsterdam, NL – More details here.

Digital release: Spring 2025, TBA.

Pre-order on Bandcamp.

Credits:

Recorded at: Haagspianohuis / May 11-13, 2024; Steppenwolf studio / November 25-27, 2024

Recorded by: Steppenwolf studio.

Recording producer and recording engineer: Slava Poprugin.

Executive producers: Antonii Baryshevskyi, Maxim Shalygin & Anya Reshetniak.

Liner notes: Anna Reshetniak.

Interviewer: Alexander Sushinsky.

Translation of interviews & editing: Paul van der Woerd

Photography: Christian Van Der Kooy

Design: Anastasiia Starko.

Booklet layout: Oleksiy Chekal

We are very grateful to the Société Gavigniès and Nederlands Letterenfonds for their generous financial support. Special thanks go to Anna Reshetniak, Alexander Sushynskyi and Slava Poprugin, Goethe-Institut and Classical NOW! HaagsPianoHuis for hosting us during recording.