On this fascinating release, Dalia Stasevska, the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor since 2019, showcases music from her homeland of Ukraine. The composers here are definitely not household names, but in Stasevka’s hands these pieces are never less than absolutely arresting.

Levko Kolodub’s Solemn Overture opens with a bang and really isn’t solemn at all. Kolodub was into his winds, and they’ve got plenty of work to do here in this kaleidoscope of shimmering orchestral colours. A whip-crack of an opening.

The biggest (and possibly most well-known) piece here is Boris Lyatoshinsky’s Grazhyna from 1955, a wonderfully rich, winding piece with Scriabin-esque chromaticism throughout. Here, too, the winds are the stars (the oboe, in particular, gets a truly lovely melody in the first movement), but the BBC’s brass shine in the second movement as well. Stasevska directs them to an immensely satisfying conclusion as Lyartoshinsky’s full-blooded orchestration kicks in.

Fedir Yakymenko’s represented here by two works, the Nocturne for String Orchestra, and Angel (Poem-Nocturne). These sweet, delicate works, evoking Debussy at times, were the real highlight for me.

We conclude with Mykola Lysenko’s Taras Bulba Overture from his 1880s opera. Stasevska notes that “this piece is to Ukrainians what Finlandia is to Finns”, and as you might expect, it’s a stirring piece full of scurrying strings, brass blasts, and noble melodies. 

A genuinely terrific release of under-heard music, played with gusto by a top-notch orchestra and a conductor who knows exactly what she’s doing. Superb.

Listen on Apple Music

Title: Ukrainian Mixtape
Works: Music by Levko Kolodub, Boris Lyatoshinsky, Mykola Lysenko
Performer:  BBC Symphony Orchestra/Dalia Stasevska
Label: Platoon PLAT31361