Fedir Yakymenko

Fedir Stepanovych Yakymenko (; 8 February 1876 – 3 January 1945) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and teacher.

Early life Yakymenko was born in the village of Pisky, Kharkov Governorate, Russian Empire. His father was a church cantor, and he and his two brothers grew up in a musical environment. His brother Yakiv Stepovy also became a composer.

Education At 10 years old, Yakymenko was selected to join the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella

Career In 1897, Yakymenko began to work as a teacher on the conducting courses at the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella. In 1901-02 he briefly taught music theory to Igor Stravinsky. Subsequently, he was conductor of the music school in Tbilisi (1901-1903) and then became director of the music school in Nice (1903-1906).

In 1912, Yakymenko moved to Moscow, where he performed as pianist and as conductor at concerts organised by Serge Koussevitzky. Yakymenko's musical output during this time was very connected to Ukraine, including arrangements of folk songs and other pieces dedicated to Ukraine.

Yakymenko supported the Ukrainian liberation movement and Ukrainian nation-building, was very involved in Ukrainian diaspora during his time abroad, and his work has many references to and themes from Ukrainian culture.

Yakymenko was also inspired by astronomy, and in 1904 he became a member of the French Astronomical Society.