Levko Revutsky

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Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky was born on February 20, 1889 and died March 30, 1977. He was a renowned 20th-century Ukrainian composer who pioneered the piano sonata, a teacher, and a public figure. One of his students at the Lysenko Music Institute was composer Arkady Filippenko.

[edit] Biography

Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky was born on February, 20, 1889 in Yrzhavets, Pryluksky district of the Poltava province (presently — the Chernigiv region) in family of trustee of rural school. The parents of future composer not only were well-educated, intellectual people, but loved music very much, that, undoubtedly influenced on the boys gift awakening and his early development. His music talent showed up very early. His mother began to teach a son playing piano, when he hardly was five years old. However, his real attraction to music appeared considerably later. When the Levko was ten years old, he has revealed the skill to improvise . He had an absolute pitch, that’s why his nickname was Tuning fork. The years of high school studies in gymnasium began in Pryluky. In 1903 his parents decided to transfer Leo in Val'ker Kiev private high school. Soon he enters the Tumanovsky music school to the piano class of Lysenko. «Lysenko was the first, who became for me the sample of attitude toward the artistic deal», — remembered Revutsky later. Having finished in 1907 the gymnasium, he enters to physical-mathematical faculty of the Kiev university. In 1908, Revutsky moves to law school and then renews the piano classes in Russian Music Society music collage. Concerned with music six, seven, even eight hours a day, I had learned a lot. However I had understood later that in my occupation was a defect: I often red to playworks of music, which I haven't had to red and in this works I did not reach the desired perfection. But there were some successes", - wrote about these times the composer. The Indelible impressions remained beside his trip to Moscow and Petersburg and visiting there theatre shows and concerts. All this has caused in Levko Revutskyi much stronger desire to concern with the music. For three years of studies on the premiere course of the school Levko reached considerable successes. In 1911 he passes to the higher course in the G.Hodorovsky class. Revutsky’s studies in the class of this master lasted a few years: from 1911 to 1913 year in musical school, and afterwards — in a newly opened conservatory. In the conservatory Revutsky simultaneously with piano playing begins to visit Glier composition studio class. Thus a composer did not abandon his university studies , and fruitfully worked creatively. The first part of piano sonata (с-moll), first symphony, in sketches, prelude of opus of fourth first appeared at this time. The first world war brought correctives in the smooth and measured course of events. Revutsky speed-up graduates from both an university and conservatory in 1916, and afterwards – leaves on front. Demobilized at the beginning of 1918 year, Revutsky moves to Priluki. In 1924 Revutsky had been invited to Kiev as a teacher to Lysenko musical-dramatic institute . From this time he selflessly gives oneself up to pedagogical work, first as teacher, but then as professor music-theoretical discipline and educator of performers and composer's . In 30-th Revutsky had considerable achievements as a composer. In addition, this was a time to form of music-pedagogical principles, period of searches and finds. For considerable merits in the field of culture Revutsky gets the rank of national artist of Ukraine in 1942, and in 1944 — national artist of USSR. In a post-war period a composer with enormous energy embarks on renewal of artistic-cultural life of the republic. During 1944-1948 years Levko Mykolaevich headed the composers Union of Ukraine. Revutsky was elected by the deputy of Supreme Soviet of Ukraine of row of convocations. On 1950th there is enormous work on editing and preparation Lysenko works publishing. In February, 1969 in connection with 80 –th birthday and for prominent creative merits Levko Mykolaevich Revitsky was awarded the rank of Hero of Socialistic Labor. A composer died on March, 30, 1977 , buried on the Baykovo cemetery in Kiev.

Creative activity of Levko Revutsky was the one of monumental achievements in Ukrainian culture. He entered in its history as prominent composer, teacher, public man . On each of these fields of life an artist takes the special, unique and meaningful place. The creative inheritance jf Revutsky became deserving continuation of large deal of his glorious predecessors - Lysenko, Stetsenko, Leontovycha, Stepovogo. High professionalism, brightly expressed national character of creation activity, honesty and devotion to favorite affair made him as original, unique phenomenon in the Ukrainian culture. Deferential attitude toward labor, respect to the people, permanent willingness to help, to divide stranger pain and gladness were stopped up in moral foundation of personality yet from little up and developed during all his life. «Upbringing, which brought from my parents, the democratic glances grafted to me from young age, underlay my world view. They always were a handhold in my life and helped me to tide over one or another difficulties or contradictions, into which it was necessary to run».

The creative legacy of Levko Mykolaevich is the original world of national music, advantageously selected from the general background of artistic culture by the unique harmonic beauty. Unsurpassed melodic standards (in particular, in «Song», cantata-poem «Shawl», row of songs for choir, concert № 2 for piano with the orchestra) became such due to original combination of individual vivid attitude with intonation-harmonical and rhythmic facilities of folk lyric songs, thoughts, weepings. Unexcelled aspiration to show out his own art to the level of the best European and world classics standards , distinguish the creative handwriting of greater master in all his undertakings. His creation is a deep re-comprehension, successive claim of artistic ideals. The prosecution of folk song in an eventual result opened the extraordinarily wide and complete picture of folk life in general, with the traditions, faith, aspirations. Revutsky in new historical terms repeated what , that our classic Nikolay Vital’evich Lysenko ones did, — organically put together folk and professional. Levko Mykolaevichk Revutsky creatively developed the methods of Lysenko and Leontovych, which consisted in indissoluble confluence of musical folk-lirics with achievements of harmony of end of XIX age. He enriched Ukrainian music by individual stylistic finds. Composer's style of l. Revutsky was formed on the basis of deep and comprehensive cognition of national folk melody and conversions of traditions of modern professional music. Life-asserting attitude, lyricism, restraint, breadth and riches of emotions, is inherent to works of artist. The measured, expressive melodic unites with the saturated, difficult harmony. L.Revutsky exposed reality and in lyrical-dramatic, and in lyrical-epic keys. His works entered in the gold fund of Ukrainian classics (The second symphony and piano concert are the first considerable works of these genres in Ukrainian music). L. Revutsky did the considerable deposit in development of genre of treatment of folk songs. There are about 120 original treatments in his creative inheritance. Life and the L. Revutsky creative activity legally can exemplify service to the Fatherland and the people for many generations.

[edit] Quotes

• • I attach serious significance to the ethics-moral face of an artist… I do not separate aesthetics from ethics. /**L. Revutsky.**/

• • Levko Mykolaevich Revutsky is for sure one of the most prominent figures at the musical front of Soviet Ukraine… The creative prosecution of the richest song material of Ukraine exposed Revutsky as a large master, whose taste provided him into treatments of high artistic level and mass fully deserved popularity, which goes out far outside Ukraine… /**B.Liatoshinsky.**/

“Sonechko” regional child creative activity holiday is sainted at Revutsky homestead in Yrzhavets of Ichnia district..

[edit] Works

• Piano Sonata Allegro B minor opus 1 (1912)

• Symphony No. 1 A major opus 3 (1916-1921) (revision in 1957) LP Melodiya D 027543-4: Ukrainian State Orchestra, V. Kozhukhar

• Seven Preludes for piano opus 4 (1914)

• "The Whole Year" for soloists, chorus and piano after O. Oles opus 5 (1923)

• Seven Preludes for piano opus 7

• Khustyna, cantata after Shevtshenko for soloists, chorus and piano (1923)

LP Melodiya D 3692-3: Ukrainian State Orchestra & Chorus, Klimov (cond), D. Petrinenko (soprano), N. Fokin (tenor)

• Seven Preludes for piano opus 11 (1924)

• Little Sun, folksong-arrangements for singer and piano (1925)

• Cosack-Songs, folksong-arrangements for singer and piano (1926)

• Symphony No. 2 E major opus 12 (1926-1927) (revision in 1940 and 1970)

LP Melodiya D 02193-4: Ukrainian State Orchestra, Rakhlin

LP Melodiya CM 04155: Ukrainian SSR State Merited SO, V. Kozukhar

• Galician Songs, folksong-arrangements for singer and piano opus 14 (1926-1927)

• Little Cosack- Kasachok for orchestra (1929)

• Piano Concerto in F major (1929)

LP Melodiya D 24559-60: Ukrainian State Orchestra, V. Kozhukhar (cond), E. Rhzanov (piano)

LP Melodiya C10 28549: Ukrainian SSR State Orchestra, Y. Nikonenko (cond), E. Rhzanov (piano)

• Two Pieces for piano opus 17 (1929)

• Monologue of Taras Bulba for bass and orchestra after M. Rylski (1936)

LP Melodiya D 5646-7: B. Gmirya (bass)

• Festive Song for chorus and orchestra after M. Rylski (1949)

• Song-Ode, vocal-symphonic poem (1957)

• Lyssenko, orchestration of the Opera "Taras Bulba" (with Liatoshinsky)

And furthermore:

• folksong-arrangements for chorus and soloists

• works for piano

• chamber music

• incidental music

• film music

• piano Concerto no. 2

• Intermezzo