Viktor Kosenko

Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko (; – 3 October 1938) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and educator. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a master of lyricism.

Kosenko's life is conclusively divided into three distinct phases, in Warsaw, where he studied with renowned teacher Aleksander Michałowski, in Zhytomyr, where he began teaching piano and music theory at the Music Technicum, later becoming director of the Zhytomyr Music School, and finally in Kyiv, where he devoted more time to symphonic compositions such as his Heroic Overture, which brought him due recognition in the world of Soviet music.

Kosenko's music combines a post-romantic idiom with intonations of Slavic folk songs and Western-European influences. His vocal, chamber and symphonic works are among the most important pieces of that time in USSR.

Life and career

Early life and education Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko was born on 23 November 1896 in Saint Petersburg, into the large family of a major general, Stepan Kosenko. Viktor's family moved from Saint Petersburg to Warsaw in 1898, From 1908, he studied under Aleksander Michałowski, a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory.

Kosenko continued studying composition and music theory under the composer Mikhail Sokolovsky, piano with Iryna Miklashovskaya, and playing as concertmaster at the Mariinsky Theatre. Miklashovskaya described him as a "talented musician, very modest and well-behaved." During his studies, Kosenko wrote symphonic poems, and preludes and mazurkas for the piano. His music during this period is characterized with stylistic musical characteristics of Romantic and post-romantic directions, which features a combination of the European tradition with a national Ukrainian element. later becoming director of the Zhytomyr Music School.

This period that Kosenko spend in Zhytomyr was one of the richest in his musical career for he perfected his own artistic style in instrumental, vocal and chamber music; genres in which he was very active at that time. In September 1922, he gave his debut in Zhytomyr, performing his own compositions. Kosenko originally taught piano and chamber ensemble classes, and a year later, he also began teaching a specialized course on analysis of form in both the historical-theoretical and compositional departments. The school was later reorganized, the music classes being transferred to the Kyiv Conservatory, where he taught from 1934 to 1937, while the rest of the school became the National University of Theatre, Film and TV. However, during this time, he did not abandon his performing and composing activity, which he loved so much. to where they all moved thanks to his wife's insistent requests to the Soviet Ukrainian Government in order to recognize Kosenko's efforts in popularizing genuine Ukrainian national music.

Music Kosenko's vocal compositions include a large number of ballads, choral and folk arrangements as well. He composed over 100 compositions for piano among waltzes, preludes, nocturnes, sonatas and mazurkas, in a total of about 250 musical works such as his symphonic Moldavian poem, violin and piano concertos, trios and string quartets during his short musical career. Kosenko was already deeply interested in learning and gathering information on Moldavian folk-music. his music shows no direct indication that any specific folk song was used in his compositions. Kosenko used then melodies, harmonies, dorian, lydian and phrygian modes, so linking his work with Ukrainian folk tunes. Some of these elements involved doubling melodies in thirds, sixths and tenths, using "open" fifths, and pedal points. Ukrainian Soviet writer Pavlo Tychyna, whose work Kosenko also set to music, highly valued the artistic contributions of the composer, saying of him: "The reflection of his creative soul has permanently left sunny illuminations on my biography."

Pianistic career

Influences and style Kosenko was popular not only as a composer, but also as an outstanding pianist who had a wide range of activity. His first compositions were markedly influenced by the works of composers such as Alexander Scriabin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and his compatriot Mykola Lysenko.

Aleksander Michałowski, Kosenko's piano teacher in Warsaw, was another major influence on him during his youth. With him Kosenko studied the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, and many other romantic-era composers. Michałowski also encouraged Kosenko to play in ensembles. Following his move to Kyiv, he continued to actively perform. He gave his last concert in 1935, when he performed his own music with bass singer Ivan Patrozhynskiy and soprano Maria Litvinenko-Volhemut. The concert was broadcast live on the radio from his apartment on Pidval'na street. Slavic Nobility: Alexander Scriabin – Viktor Kosenko (piano works: Poemes, Mazurkas, Sonatas), by Violina Petrychenko, Ars Produktion, Naxos Library catalogue No.: ARS38153 Ukrainian Moods – Piano Miniatures (iano works: Lev Revuskij, Viktor Kosenko, Mykola Kolessa, Igor Schamo, Yurij Schamo, by Violina Petrychenko) Ars Produktion – ARS 38 195