https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/een_os_op_het_dak_711845/?fbclid=IwAR3mBpUSFwhysYa0VLtCmQpQ75DkE0QYiiWTzLbFm0uoREez_MMDLV9lwE8

An Ox on the Roof 49: The Ox in Time of War #13.

Episode forty-nine of Een os op het dak by Thea Derks , inspired by her book Een os op het dak: modern music after 1900 in a nutshell .

This is already the 13th episode of 'De Os in the times of war'. Unfortunately, the end of the battle is anything but in sight, so today again music from and about Ukraine.

Episode 47 featured work by Iryna Aleksiychuk, who fled her homeland not long after the war broke out and found a safe haven in Bilbao. She is very concerned about her homeland and also warns the rest of Europe against the aggression of Russia, which she believes will push further west if Ukraine is defeated.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the war, Aleksiychuk was commissioned by an American artist to compose a fanfare, which she appropriately named Glory to Ukraine . She incorporated Ukrainian themes, including from the national anthem. The musicians of the National Academic Wind Orchestra of Ukraine recorded the piece in a studio in Kiyv while being bombarded by Russian missiles.

Shocked by the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Dutch pianist and composer Heleen Verleur was looking for a way to support the population. She made nine variations for piano solo on the Ukrainian song Plyve Kacha (The Duckling Swims). The text consists of a conversation between a mother whose son is sent to the front. The composition can be downloaded for free from publisher Donemus.

The Ukrainian composer Evhen Stankovych (Svaliava, 1942) studied with Boris Lyatoshinsky and Miroslav Skoryk, among others, whose music has been heard in previous episodes. In 1975 he composed his Second Symphony, subtitled 'The heroic' – the music has a martial character.

Roman Turovsky (Kiyv, 1961) has been living and working in New York for 44 years, but still feels strongly connected to his homeland: 'I am always inspired by Ukrainian music, the most melancholy in the world. That is not without reason, because the war against Ukraine has been going on and on for about 400 years. The current atrocities directly affect my family and friends and I am currently raising funds for both military and humanitarian causes.”

In the program:

1. Iryna Aleksiychuk. Glory to Ukraine. National Academic Wind Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Oleksii Bazhenov.

2. Plyve Kacha (Ukrainian folk song). Mariana Sadovska, vocals & harmonium.

3. Helen Verleur. Plyve Kacha, theme and variations. Helen Verleur, piano.

4. Evhen Stankovych. Symphony No. 2 'Heroic'. Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Oksana Lyniv.

5.Roman Turovsky. A selection from De Temporum I. Christopher Wilke, lute.

Composition, presentation and technique Thea Derks.