Lubomyr Melnyk (born December 22, 1948) is a composer and pianist of Ukrainian origin. Melnyk is noted for his ''continuous music'', a

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 keybo ...

technique based on extremely rapid notes and complex note-series, usually with the sustain pedal held down to generate harmonic

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

s and

sympathetic resonance Sympathetic resonance or sympathetic vibration is a harmonic phenomenon wherein a passive string or vibratory body responds to external vibrations to which it has a harmonic likeness. The classic example is demonstrated with two similarly-tuned ...

"This is a completely-completely different piano universe from everything that has existed before", Melnyk explains.

Music

Melnyk links his piano technique to his national identity.

"This music would not exist at all if I were not Ukrainian. Our distinguishing feature is that we tend to sacrifice ourselves. Ukrainians are self-sacrificing for things that are important to them".

Melnyk plays rapid sequences thanks to his ability to play up to 19 notes per second with each hand. These

overtones An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

blend or clash according to harmonic changes. Most of his music is for piano, but he has also composed chamber music and orchestral works. Of his technique, he has said:

There's an act of creation. For this act of creation to happen every day the body of the pianist, and not just the fingers, but the entire body has to be transformed. Because in order to make these very small changes and very small decisions that I make when I'm creating music, or when I playing the music, it has to happen at a faster speed of time than any other music. The mind has to control many things. So the decisions happen in another dimension than what the fingers are doing. Part of my mind controls the fingers, part of my mind controls my hand, part of my mind is controlling my entire body, part of my mind is thinking about something else, and part of my mind is combining everything. For the body to be able to reach this enormous universe, which is huge, it has to be changed. This is what continuous music is about.

Biography

Melnyk lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from 1973 to 1975, supporting himself by playing for modern dance classes, most notably in conjunction with Carolyn Carlson at the Paris Opera. Many of his works were presented in conjunction with

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

. Through his work with Carlson, he began to create ''continuous music'' for piano. Melnyk has composed over 120 works, mostly for piano solo and double piano, and some for piano with ensemble. To explain the proper physical and mental techniques for his music, Melnyk wrote a

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

, ''OPEN TIME: The Art of Continuous Music'' (1981) and ''22 Etudes'', to teach the fundamental levels of his continuous technique. In 1985, Melnyk set two world records, documented on film and with full audio, at the Sigtuna Stiftelsen in Sweden. He sustained speeds of over 19.5 notes per second in each hand, and played between 13 and 14 notes per second for one full hour.

Discography

*'' KMH: Piano Music in the Continuous Mode'' (1979) *''The Lund - St. Petri Symphony'' (1983) *''Concert-Requiem'' (1983) *''Poslaniye'' (1983) *''The Stone Knight'' (1983) *''The Song of Galadriel'' (1985) *''Remnants of Man / The Fountain'' (1985) *''Wave-Lox'' (1985) *''The Voice Of Trees'' (1985) *''NICHE / NOURISH / NICHE-XONs'' (1988) *''A Portrait Of Petlura On The Day He Was Killed '' (1989) *''It Was Revealed Unto Us That Man Is The Centre Of The Universe'' (1993) *''Swallows'' (1994) *''Vocalizes and Antiphons'' (1991-1994) *''Beyond Romance'' (2010) *''The Self-Luminous Way'' (2011) *''Windmills'' (2013) *''Corollaries'' (2013) (Erased Tapes Records) *''Three Solo Pieces'' (2013) *''Evertina'' (2014) (Erased Tapes Records) *''Rivers and Streams'' (2015) (Erased Tapes Records) *''illirion'' (2016) (

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

/ Sounds of Subterrania ) *''The Dreamers Ever Leave You - The Lauren Harris Ballet Music'' (2018) ( Audio Sushi) *'' Fallen Trees'' (2018) (Erased Tapes Records)

References

Sources

*''Encyclopedia of Music in Canada''
"Melnyk, Lubomyr"
*Schulman, Michael, 'Despite all his problems, Lubomyr Melnyk labours on,' ''Canadian Composer,'' 117, January 1977 *Prokosh, Kevin, 'Piano attacked in samurai style,' ''Winnipeg Free Press,'' 10 January 1997 *Eddins, Stephen, 'A major feat of virtuosity', ''AllMusic'', 2007 *Powell, Mike, 'Minimalism at its most lush, ornate, and taxing', ''Pitchfork,'' 23 August 2007 *Fifteen Questions with Lubomyr Melnyk

*''Erased Tapes Records''

External links

*
Interview: Lubomyr Melnyk on Achieving Transcendence Through the Piano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melnyk, Lubomyr Living people 1948 births Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian male pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Erased Tapes Records artists