Ukrainian composer, conductor, teacher, violinist, critic, public figure, creator of many popular shooting songs; chief conductor and inspector of military bands of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1920).
Biography
He was born on September 15 (according to other sources, September 1) 1892 in Zalishchyki. His mother knew many Ukrainian songs, sang well herself, and his father liked to play the flute. The science of playing the violin and music theory began when Mykhailo was 8 years old. His aunt's brother, Vasyl Tsalynyuk, taught him.
After graduating from the public school, he entered the Zalishchytskyi Teachers' Seminary. There he spread his knowledge of musical instruments. Vasyl Tsalyniuk, organist F. Konyor, priest I. Turkevich, and professor E. Starzhynskyi had an influence on the formation of musical and aesthetic views and compositional creativity of Mykhailo Hayvoronskyi. In the 17th year, he led the mixed and male seminary choirs and the seminary orchestra. He also worked with village orchestras in Stary Zalishchyki, Dobrovlyany and Blyshchanka.
Since his youth, Mykhailo experienced national inequality in his native land, so he used the first opportunity to change the Polish sounding of his surname (Gavronsky) to Ukrainian.
Hayvoronskyi's first compositional attempts and successes are connected with 1910. His earliest works include: a choral composition with words from M. Shashkevich's collection "Oh, the eagle flew away". It was performed by the Zaleshytskyi choir in 1911. In 1910, he conducted the orchestra of the "Sich" society.
In 1912, a graduate of the seminary, Hayvoronsky began working as a teacher in Zashkiv, near Lviv. At the same time, he studied music at the Lysenko Higher Music Institute. At the big concert in Lviv, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of T. G. Shevchenko, Mykhailo Hayvoronsky conducted the teachers' choir, which, among other things, performed his first works to the words of Oleksandr Oles.
In the ranks of the USS
With the beginning of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the great national liberation movement of Galicia begins. Hayvoronsky joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Sich riflemen, as part of Vasyl Didushka's hundred, he participated in the Carpathian battles.
Over time, Mykhailo Hayvoronsky became a choirmaster, composer-conductor, organizer of the brass band of the Ukrainian Sich riflemen, inspector (visitor) of the military bands of the Ukrainian Galician Army. He was assisted by Roman Lesyk, a chorister, conductor of the rifle band, author of the musical works "Legion of the SSS", "Evening in Ukraine", sextets for clarinets and saxophones.
M. Hayvoronsky mentioned:
"There were three trumpet orchestras under the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. The first one was led by me and Roman Lesyk; from the beginning of its creation until the November events of 1918. The second orchestra was formed in the spring of 1918 at the school of the Ukrainian Ukrainian Sikh Army under the leadership of Bohdan Kryzhanivskyi." After several months of independent existence this orchestra (already in Greater Ukraine) merged with the first brass band.The third orchestra of the Ukrainian Ukrainian SSR began its existence at the beginning of 1919 under the direction of the musician of the first orchestra, Osip Kukhtin.
Repertoire of orchestras
The repertoire of the orchestra was replenished with the musical works of Antin Balandyuk, a choirmaster, musician, composer; Yaroslav Barnych — composer-conductor, member of a string quartet, author of music for the operettas "Hutsulka Ksenya", "Sharika"; Bohdan Kryzhanivskyi, Roman Kupchynskyi, Levko Lepky — authors of many rifle songs.
The first piece of music performed by the orchestra was "Sokil March". They also performed the "French March" and "Kolomiykovy Pohid" recorded by Roman Lesyk. Hayvoronsky composed his own marches: "1st Rifle Campaign", "2nd Rifle Campaign", "Stripa-march", "On the Road", "The Cossack Rides", "For the Native Land" ("We are going to battle") and other. Later, they learned the hymn "Ukraine is not dead yet", "Salvator march", "Prayer", "Funeral march", "Vyazanka folk songs", etc.
Since 1918, the visitor of military orchestras of the UGA, head of the orchestra of the Ukrainian Theater in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Mykola Sadovskyi Theater (1919)[1]. In the early 1920s, he taught at the M. V. Lysenko Higher Music Institute in Lviv, worked as a music teacher in a girls' gymnasium, conductor of the combined choirs "Boyan" and "Bandurist", took an active part in musical life.
In emigration
In 1923, Mykhailo Hayvoronsky left for permanent residence in the USA, where he founded the Music Conservatory in New York together with Roman Prydatkevych (1924). At the same time, he attended lectures at Columbia University. Soon he organized the Ukrainian Instrumental Orchestra, which he managed until 1936, as well as a united choir of singers from 7 surrounding churches, with whom he arranged large concerts of his works in 1932–1936.
From the second half of the 1930s, he focused on composition, and also provided constant assistance to the youth united in the "League of Ukrainian Youth of North America".
In 1931, he fell seriously ill. Despite his illness, he published compositions for Ukrainian songs "Polyssia" (1933).
In 1936, he published his work "Our Music in America". Soon his songs in the collection "Podillia" were published in Zhovkva.
He was especially creative for the composer1938: processed Belarusian folk songs, orchestral works, published the works "Prelude" and "Sonatina" for violin and piano.
With the beginning of the Second World War, he had to interrupt his correspondence with his native land. And later the illness confined the composer to bed. His last works were mostly chorale.
Life ended in the 57th year. He died on September 11, 1949 in New York, where he is buried.
Art
The most famous of Hayvoronsky's compositions include more than 30 rifle songs (several of his own texts), rhapsody "Dovbush", overtures, dances and marches for brass band. Including:
A shooter was riding on a troop
Hey, Sich is going over there on the mountain
The sich army is coming
When you died, the bells didn't ring for you
The measure, the blood of the brothers, was filled
Oh, the shooter fell
From the Blue Don to the Gray Carpathians
Live, Ukraine (lyrics by Olesya)
and other.
In America, "Symphonic Allegro", "Red Viburnum" waltz, "Morozenko" quartet, "Christmas Suite" and "Kolomyika" for violin trio, violin works "Elegy", "Lullaby", "Song without words", "Serenade" were created ", "Sonatina".
The composer's pen also includes the choral collections "Carols and donations", "Hutsul Christmas", two services of God, two "Izhe Cherubim". From theater music, his music for the plays "Vii", "Dovbush" and "Hetman Doroshenko" is the most famous.
Commemoration
In Zalishchyki, a street is named after M. Hayvoronskyi; a monument was erected to him (1992; sculptor M. Nevesely).
There is Hayvoronsky Mykhailo Street in Lviv.
