Ukrainian Global Symphony Celebrates Ukrainian Heritage at Orchestra Hall, September 12

Pre-concert events take place 6:30pm-7:45pm

On September 12 at 8:00pm, the stage at Orchestra Hall will come alive with the Ukrainian Global Symphony as conductor Nickolai Podvin makes his long-awaited debut on the Orchestra Hall stage - fulfilling a dream he has held since he was five years old. A conductor of Bulgarian and Roma heritage and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Podvin will lead an extraordinary ensemble of musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Rochester Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, University of Minnesota, and the Twin Cities Musicians Union.

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At the heart of the evening lies a performance of the uncensored version of Ukrainian composer Borys Liatoshynsky’s Third Symphony - a monumental work first heard in this restored form in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, when the original fourth movement was finally recovered. Recent discoveries have since revealed Soviet alterations within the first, second, and third movements as well. To help fully restore the work, Podvin has digitized the current score and provided the Liatoshynsky Foundation in Ukraine with crucial resources to reconstruct and publish the complete, uncensored score for the first time.

The program will also feature a rediscovered cello concerto, performed by multi-Grammy Award-winning, world-renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz. 

“In these times, our concert halls must become sanctuaries for Ukrainian music. We must preserve and protect Ukraine's cultural identity, now more than ever.”  Nickolai Podvin

This concert is more than a performance - it is a movement. It seeks to raise awareness of Ukraine's rich contributions to classical music, long overshadowed and suppressed. This event was made possible through generous community support, strong partnerships, and funding provided by the Minnesota Humanities Center Cultural Heritage Fund. With gratitude to the Twin Cities Musicians Union, Orchestra Hall, and the Ukrainian American Community Center.