Cellist Denys Karachevtsev
sits in a chair amidst the deserted, rubble-strewn streets of Kharkiv. The strains
of Bach emanate from his instrument as the world around him reveals the
horrible ravages of war.
Mr. Karachevtsev is one of many Ukrainian musicians who have combated the assault upon their country by performing bravely on the ruined streets and in subways converted into bomb shelters, bolstering the morale of the people and making an indomitable statement of resistance to the Russian invasion through their music. Impromptu musical performances by both ordinary Ukrainian citizens and by skilled professionals have been a feature of daily life for Ukrainians since the war began.
As their cities came under siege by Russian forces, Ukrainians have resiliently united to brave the traumas of war by sharing music in Metro stations across Ukraine that have been repurposed into underground shelters. Videos shared across social media have illustrated how Ukrainian people, as they shelter underground, have been using music as a powerful tool for hope and togetherness.
A Potpourri of Musical Talent
From a 7-year-old girl belting out a Disney song, a trumpeter playing the Ukrainian national anthem, and ordinary citizens gathered around guitars to sing Ukrainian folk songs, to “The Concert Between Explosions” in late March, an improvised version of the annual international classical music festival, The Kharkiv Music Fest, music has been the ammunition of the ordinary citizen to fight off the horrors of war.
Many of the musicians performing are classically trained professionals. Mr. Karachevtsev has played in many prestigious music halls around the world. and is a graduate of the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music. Last week, he captured global attention in a social media video he posted that went viral, picturing him as he played a somber Bach melody, Suite No. 5, in the streets of Kharkiv. Behind him in the video is the bombed-out structure of the regional police station. Denys has posted many videos of himself performing in different locations around Kharkiv that have been ravaged by Russian attacks..
Working as a volunteer in the war effort by day, assisting with evacuations and distributing humanitarian aid, Karachevtsev, 30, has decided to stay in the city to support the people of his hometown and lift their spirits despite the heavy shelling around them.
Mr. Karachevtsev wrote an appeal on social media in English, Ukrainian and Russian. He hoped to draw attention to the plight of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, whose stately center of 19th-century architecture has been bombed mercilessly by the Russian military. During the almost 10 weeks of the war, more than 600 multistory buildings in Kharkiv, including schools, have been destroyed.
“I am a cellist and a citizen of Kharkiv,“I love my heroic city, which is now struggling to survive the war,” he wrote in his post. “I deeply believe that we can help. I believe we can restore and rebuild our city and our country when the war is over. I am launching my project in the streets of Kharkiv to raise funds for humanitarian aid and the restoration of the city’s architecture. Let’s unite to revive our city together!” In recent days he has performed the national anthem of Ukraine in the city center.
Another musician aiding the cause is Violinist Vera Lytovchenko, a member of the Kharkiv City Opera Orchestra. She recently gave a brave performance in a Ukrainian bomb shelter that was filmed and went viral, and despite deadly attacks in her hometown will not back down to the Russians.
21 civilians in the city had been killed earlier in the day when she spoke to international media.. She said she got the idea to play music in her local bomb shelter from one of her violin students who did the same thing in a train station. Vera says she thought, "This young girl, 18 years old, is so brave. I can do something like this."
She hoped it could make a difference and keep people's minds off of the horrors of the Russian invasion and after posting some clips she found her comment section flooded with powerful messages.
Vera says she's been told her music is helping fellow Ukrainians who feel alone in these uncertain times. The war literally hit too close to home for Vera recently when a bomb went off near her apartment. She's used social media to show the destruction. Even in the face of that danger, she explained why she'll never leave Kharkiv because her grandmother's grave is a few blocks away.
Vera is working with a friend to raise money for local musicians who've been affected by the war and says the money raised will help rebuild the music college, the conservatory and even go to struggling music students.
She's asking anyone who can help to visit her Instagram for details.
“The Concert Between Explosions”
Reports on the morning of 1 March revealed that Freedom Square had been hit by a Russian missile, resulting in the ruination of the Kharkiv opera house and neighboring Kharkiv Philharmonic concert hall, halting plans for the Kharkiv Music Fest. Organizers of the festival, carrying on courageously, hastened to improvise a new venue, descending into a subway station and a business’s basement. Amidst this devastation, five musicians performed as thunderous explosions rocked the city, their violins, cello, and bass taking on the rockets, bombs, and shells.
The program started with the Ukrainian national anthem, prompting audience members to put their hands over their hearts. The program included the music of Bach, Dvorak, and other composers, as well as arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs. Hundreds of all ages watched, sometimes holding one another.
Art director Vitali Alekseenok said, “Music can unite. It’s important now for those who stay in Kharkiv to be united.” The program was adapted to highlight the connections between Ukrainian and Western European culture, Alekseenok said.
Violinist Olha Pyshchyta said that performing in the subway sparked a range of emotions. She said she was angry — and tired — “but at the concert … we felt unity. I, like all Ukrainians, are waiting for victory,”
Fellow violinist Stanislav Kucherenko said that the concert was unlike any other he’d played. “There was no stage excitement that usually happens when performing for people,” he said, but “I knew that I was where I should be.” Kucherenko said music has a “strong influence on the psycho-emotional state of a person” and could, “in the conditions of war,” help people to cope with fear and stress and inspire “faith and optimism.”
Sergiy Politutchy, director of the Kharkiv Music
Fest, said the underground concert showed that “amid the darkness … there are
eternal values and a future in our country,” The concert proved that “our
country is melodious, beautiful, intellectual and will overcome all these
difficulties.”
John Landon
