Polish and Ukrainian cultures have long been intertwined through a fascinating, albeit complex, shared history. In October, the NFM will host the Lyatoshynsky Trio – one of the most important ensembles on the music scene of our eastern neighbour – to demonstrate this connection. The artists will present works by composers of three different nationalities: Andrzej Panufnik, Zoltan Almashi, and Gabriel Prokofiev.

The Lyatoshynsky Trio was formed in 2019 at the initiative of two Ukrainians – violinist Mykhaylo Zakharov and pianist Artem Yasynskyy – and Poland’s Susanne Szambelan. In its very first year, the group released an album featuring chamber music by its namesake, Borys Lyatoshynsky. Active during the Soviet era, Lyatoshynsky – known in Poland primarily as a symphonist – was also the teacher of the now-renowned composer Valentyn Sylvestrov. The ensemble’s NFM concert will feature a work by another contemporary Ukrainian composer: Zoltan Almashi, a Lviv-born cellist and a key figure in his country’s musical life. Somewhere There Is Light, a piece dedicated to the Lyatoshynsky Trio, was composed during the ongoing war with Russia; it draws inspiration from the nation’s resistance against the aggressor and the hope for peace.

This piece will be preceded by a performance of Trio op. 1, an early work by Andrzej Panufnik. Composed before World War II while the artist was studying in Warsaw under Kazimierz Sikorski, the work’s history is also marked by conflict: the original score was destroyed by fire during the Warsaw Uprising, and the version known today was reconstructed by Panufnik from memory. The evening will conclude with Dark Lights by Gabriel Prokofiev – a composer, DJ, and music producer. This project blends the sound of a piano trio with modern electronic dance music. The composer sought to fuse material typical of different eras: techno appears alongside the gavotte, funk alongside the polka, and acoustic instruments alongside EDM. “I wanted to contrast the robotic energy of electronic samples with the freedom of live musicians – to create a sound that reflects the way we live today: constantly connected to technology, yet deeply human,” the artist explains. 

The concert will be preceded by a ceremony awarding Sume Superbiam statuettes – an honour of the Ossoliński National Institute, to be bestowed for the first time, as part of the Ossolineum Year. The award is dedicated to a person who has donated private assets for the purchase of art works, library items or objects of historic value for Polish public collections, or who has donated their own collection to the public domain. The award’s aim is also to honour people who in the long term support Polish institutions of culture, non-governmental organisations active in culture, and artistic projects of European and national significance. The award ceremony of the first edition of Sume Superbiam will take place right before the musical part of the evening.