#5111, New Music From Ukraine
There’s contemporary Ukrainian music by singer, composer and song collector Mariana Sadovska, composer and pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, and sound artist Igor Yalivec that celebrates the strength and resilience of Ukrainian culture. Feb. 24, 2026 marked four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Listen to music from the Ukrainian-born German-based singer, composer, and a researcher of oral and cultural traditional music, Mariana Sadovska. There’s her piece, Chernobyl.The Harvest, commissioned by Kronos Quartet, where Sadovska offers a cri de cæur that calls us to bear witness to voices that have been marginalized, ignored, or silenced – those of the inhabitants of the now uninhabitable cities and villages abandoned after the 1986 nuclear reactor disaster (Kronos Quartet, program notes.) Also, listen to Sadovska’s collaborative work, “Vesna” with German percussionist and electronica specialist Christian Thomé- a dialogue between Ukrainian folk songs and contemporary electro-acoustic sounds.
Then, hear music by Ukrainian pianist and composer Vadim Neselovskyi, a combination of piano improvisations and compositions for classical string trio called Perseverantia (released on Feb. 24, 2026). The music reflects on current events and timeless human challenges and the best aspects of human nature: compassion, resilience, and – perseverance, (Tzadik). Vadim Neselovskyi and a trio of string players – violinist Pauline Kim Harris, violist Celia Hatton, and cellist Andrew Janss play the album release show for Perseverantia at Roulette on March 5, 2026.
Listen also to shimmering ambient electronic music by Dnipro, Ukraine based sound artist and composer Igor Yalivec from an album called Etudes. Plus, hear music by Heinali, the moniker of Kyiv-based Oleh Shpudeiko, and his work of cultural pride, “Kyiv Eternal” for organ and electronics. That, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #5111, New Music From Ukraine (First aired 2/25/26)
ARTIST: Heinali
WORK: Improvisation [1:30]
RECORDING: Live in a bomb shelter, April 2, 2022
SOURCE: Instagram; @heinalimusic
INFO: heinali.info | heinali.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Kronos Qt and Mariana Sadovska
WORK: Chernobyl. The Harvest I. Doroha The Road [8:35]
RECORDING: Forgive Us For
SOURCE: Phenotypic Recordings
INFO: https://kronosquartet.bandcamp.com/track/chernobyl-the-harvest-iv-rai-paradise
ARTIST: Ysaÿe String Trio
WORK: Vadim Neselovskyi: Dancing As If Nothing Ever Happened [5:59]
RECORDING: Perseverantia
SOURCE: Tzadik Records
INFO: https://lnkfi.re/RefugeesPERSEVERANTIA
ARTIST: Evgueni Galperine
WORK: This Town Will Burn Before Dawn [5:11]
RECORDING: Theory of Becoming
SOURCE: ECM Records
INFO: https://ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Heinali
WORK: Kyiv Eternal [4:51]
RECORDING: Kyiv Eternal
SOURCE: Injazero Records
INFO: https://heinali.bandcamp.com/album/kyiv-eternal
ARTIST: Lucy Shelton, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Karen Bentley Pollick, Timothy Hoft, Virko Baley
WORK: Virko Baley: Uniforms of Snow for soprano and chamber orchestra X Interlude 2 - Tren [3:01]
RECORDING: Virko Baley: Music for Emily Dickinson
SOURCE: Toccata Classics
INFO:Available at AppleMusic, Amazon.com, Youtube Music, Spotify
ARTIST: Igor Yalivec
WORK: MELANCHOLIA [5:40]
RECORDING: Etudes
SOURCE: Whited Sepulchre Records
INFO: https://whitedsepulchrerecords.com/product/igor-yalivec
ARTIST: Mariana Sadovska & Christian Thome
WORK: Vesna (Spring) [5:21]
RECORDING: Vesna/Spring
SOURCE: Flowfish Records
INFO: https://marianasadovska.bandcamp.com/album/vesna
