Lyatoshinksy: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 —National Symphony of Ukraine/Theodore Kuchar (Marco Polo 223540)
As the unspeakable tragedy of the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfolds, WCLV would like to share music by Boris Lyatoshinsky (1895-1968), perhaps the leading Ukrainian symphonist of his generation. He was born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire). The town is well known for its cultural life. The people famous in the West born in Zhytomyr include pianist Svyatoslav Richter, philosopher Mykola Berdiaev and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Lyatoshinsky wrote five symphonies in all and this disc features his Second from 1936, and the extraordinary Symphony No. 3 of 1951, a work that deals with themes of heroic struggles placed against pessimistic dejection, interpreted by his contemporaries as epic philosophical considerations of war and peace. The conductor is Ukrainian-American CIM grad Theodore Kuchar—a longtime friend and listener of WCLV—who just recently excaped the carnage in Ukraine and has found refuge in Helsinki, Finland. We intend to feature all of Mr. Kuchar’s recordings of Lyatoshinsky’s symphonies in the days ahead.