''Kontrasty'' (), or Contrasts, is an international festival of contemporary music held in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, annually since 1995. The festival's concept is aimed at presenting "contemporary Ukrainian music in the context of World Music", and "revealing the diversity of modern forms, styles, genres, and interpretations." The festival usually takes place in September and October. Along with such festivals as "

Two Days and Two Nights of New Music Two Days and Two Nights of New Music () or 2D2N () is an annual 48-hour music festival held in Odesa, Ukraine. The festival features new music from both Ukrainian and international artists, mostly in the experimental music genre. Founded by Kar ...

," "

Kyiv Music Fest Kyiv Music Fest (), is an annual international music festival in Kyiv, Ukraine, that profiles modern Ukrainian classical music. The festival aims to promote Ukrainian musicians in the context of world art. It was founded by the Ministry of Cult ...

" and others, "Contrasts" is one of the leading festivals of modern classical music in Ukraine. At the beginning of the festival's existence, its concept focused on avant-garde and experimental music (the model for the organizers was "

Warsaw Autumn Warsaw Autumn () is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. It was established in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board of the Polish Composers' Union ...

,") but over time the concept became less radical. In recent years, the experimental vector of the festival has been returning. The founders of "Contrasts" are

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

conductor Roman Revakovich, composer Yuri Lanyuk, and musicologist Yarema Yakubyak. The art council also included

Myroslav Skoryk Myroslav Mykhailovych Skoryk (; 13 July 1938 – 1 June 2020) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer and teacher. His music is contemporary in style and contains stylistic traits from Ukrainian folk music traditions. Skoryk wa ...

(chairman) and Alexander Shchetynsky. The festival director is Vladimir Sivokhip. The program of "Contrasts" includes works by contemporary composers, in particular premieres, as well as classics of the 20th century and past eras. Some concerts are based on the comparison of "old" music with "new," for example, works of the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

era, and music by contemporary composers can be played within the same concert.

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

(1996 and 1999),

Gia Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and resided in Belgium in later life. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli ...

(2014),

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

(2001),

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...

(2012), Sigmund Krause (2008),

Saulius Sondeckis Saulius Sondeckis (11 October 1928 – 3 February 2016) was a Lithuanian violinist, conductor, orchestra leader and professor. He founded the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in 1960 and was its artistic director and principal conductor until 2004. B ...

(2006), Leonid Grabovsky (2010), Bohuslav Schaeffer (2005), Elzbieta Sikora (2011) and others are among the famous participants of the festival.Участь польських музикантів у XVII Міжнародному фестивалі сучасної музики “Контрасти”. Польский Інститут у Києві. Архів оригіналу за 2015-12-22. Процитовано 2015-09-07.

References

{{Reflist Annual events in Ukraine Classical music festivals in Ukraine 20th century in music

See also

References