The National Philharmonic of Ukraine ( uk, Національна Філармонія України), often referred to as Kyiv Philharmonic and ''National Philharmonic'', is a complex of two adjacent concert halls in the Khrestchaty Park in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Formerly the Merchant's House, the building's use for musical performances is associated with the Philharmonic Society, established by

Mykola Lysenko Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko ( uk, Мико́ла Віта́лійович Ли́сенко; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic mus ...

. The historic building was built at the end of the 19th century. Standing at the end of

Khreschatyk Khreshchatyk ( uk, Хрещатик, ) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of . It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market ...

street near the European Square, it has hosted numerous

Russian composers This is an alphabetical list of significant composers who were born or raised in Russia or the Russian Empire. A * Els Aarne (1917–1995), born in present-day Estonia * Evald Aav (1900–1939), born in present-day ...

such as

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

, and

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

and famous

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singers like

Leonid Sobinov Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov (russian: Леони́д Вита́льевич Со́бинов, 7 June S 26 May1872 – 14 October 1934) was an Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a Peop ...

and

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

History

The Merchant's House

At the end of the nineteenth century,

, at the time the leading commercial center in the south-west of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, flourished in its cultural development. In 1881, the Council of Elders of the Kyiv Merchants Assembly acquired permission to establish a recreational area in the Tsarskaya (''Tsar’s'') Square (now the '' European Square'') where a year later a brick building decorated with towers and metal eaves was erected by the famous Kyiv architect Vladimir NikolayevКиїв. Історична енциклопедія. З найдавніших часів до 1917 року. and named the ''Merchants' House'' (''Merchants' Assembly''). The building rapidly gained recognition among Kyiv residents and became the center for cultural gatherings where society held

masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

s, science and political conferences, charitable lotteries, and literary evenings. Because of the building's good

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

the Merchants' House became popular for musical performances. The history of the Merchants' House has been greatly affected by the Ukrainian composer, pianist and conductor

. As one of the founders of the Philharmonic Society, Ukrainian Club, and Ukrainian School of Music, Lysenko was elected to the directorate board of the Merchants' House and brought the music of many Russian and European composers to the citizens of Kyiv. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

the building underwent a big change in its purpose and accommodated the ''Proletarian House of Arts'', converted to the ''House of Political Education'', and later to the ''

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

Club and Republican Palace of Pioneers''. The Merchant's Assembly ceased to exist in 1919. In 1927, the Philharmonic Society moved to

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. But in 1934 it returned to Kyiv when the city regained its status. After the 1941 Nazi invasion, the Philharmonic Society stopped its work, and most of its priceless archives were destroyed. During the German occupation of Kyiv, the Society's building was converted to a ''German Officer's Club''. This was one of the important reasons why the building was not destroyed, remaining one of the very few surviving pre-war buildings on

Khreshchatyk Khreshchatyk ( uk, Хрещатик, ) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of . It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market is ...

street. Following the liberation of Kyiv, the Philharmonic Society building resumed its operation in 1944 as soon as hostilities moved away from Kyiv.

National Philharmonic

In 1962, the building was renamed to ''Mykola Lysenko Kyiv State Philharmonic'' in honor of the composer's 120th birthday anniversary and the 50th anniversary of his death. It was also awarded the status of architectural monument. In the 1980s, the building suffered a flood, during which many of its music libraries and archives perished. The conditions demanded restoration, which began in 1995. A year later, the restored building opened its doors to the public. In October 1994, the newly elected

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

, granted the building the status of National Philharmonic of Ukraine. In 2000, the National Philharmonic received a cultural

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

from the Government of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with which it was able to acquire a new concert

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and additional musical instruments for its

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Today, the Lysenko Colonnaded Hall of the Philharmonic remains one of the two most prestigious classical music stages in the city (along with the

Kyiv Opera The Kyiv Opera group was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odessa Opera and Lviv Opera. The Kyiv Opera Company perform at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in ...

.) Director of the Philharmonic since 1996 - Volodymyr Lukashev

Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine

The Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine was found in September, 1995, under the leadership of Leonid Tykhonov. A year later in 1996 the young Mykola Dyadura took over. Since the concert season 2012–2013 Roman Kofman is the orchestra's chief conductor. Today the orchestra is acknowledged as one of the best ensembles in Eastern Europe.

Notes and references

External links