After his great success with Constanta State opera, Gaddiel went on to conduct in Ukraine, in the city of Lviv for a concert on December 16th. The invitation to conduct the INSO Lviv Symphony Orchestra was originally planned for March 2020, but due to the Corona pandemic, this concert was forced to be cancelled.
Since my own country, Israel, was also struck by war, it felt especially personal to come and support the people of Ukraine, who have been suffering the consequences of a war they never wanted for nearly 3 years now. Ukraine has always been extremely supportive since my 1st prize at the Turchak competition in Kyiv in 2017, so it was about time that I would show the same appreciation and support when they need it the most.
The program was design to lift up the spirit the audience. First to open with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture to celebrate Beethoven’s birthday on the date of the concert, December 16th. Next, we performed Brahms’ monumental 2nd Piano Concerto in B-flat Major with wonderful and prize winner Roman Lopatinsky. The concert concluded with Dvorak’s 7th Symphony in D minor, probably the most complex symphony by the composer for all performers on stage.
As well it was designed to build a connection between the works. Brahms has many similar traits to Beethoven. He of course also saw himself as continuing Beethoven’s legacy and many times was referred as the Beethoven of the Romantic Era. Dvorak’s 7th Symphony was composed after the composer heard Brahms’ 3rd symphony and was extremely inspired by it, its complexity and the ingenuity of counterpoint Brahms managed to compose. This is then no surprise Dvorak’s symphony can be extremely complex in terms of rhythmic changes and complexity of counterpoint.
During my stay in Kyiv I was interviewed about this project by Ukrainian magazine “The Claquers”.
Here you can read about my thoughts and experiences about this project:
https://theclaquers.com/en/posts/12418
The pianist, orchestra and conductor received a lengthy standing ovation from the audience after a very successful concert. Both orchestra and myself are definitely planning to meet and work again in 2024 with a new program and different opportunities.