Ukrainian writer, historian, bandurist, composer, art critic, ethnographer, teacher, theater and public-politician. A victim of Stalinist terror.
Biography
He was born in the family of Martyn Pylypovich Hotkevich (he came from the middle class, by nationality Polish) and Ukrainian Olga Vasylivna (née Kryvonohova), a peasant from the Sumy region.
In 1894, he graduated with honors from the Kharkiv Real School, which gave him the right to enter a higher educational institution after taking several competitive exams.
In 1900, he graduated from the technical faculty of the Kharkiv Institute of Technology.
On August 11, 1898, he passed the test for the driver's assistant of the Ekaterininskaya Railway for the right to drive a train (certificate No. 474).
In 1900, he worked for a short time as a railway engineer on the Kharkiv-Mykolaiv railway.
Developed his own diesel train project (1901) 30 years earlier than the American counterpart.
He was persecuted for his participation in leading the political strike of 1905 and in January 1906 he was forced to move to Galicia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. In Galicia, Hotkevich settled first in Lviv, and then in Kryvorivna; toured all of Galicia and Bukovina with violin concerts and concerts of Ukrainian folk songs accompanied by bandura.
Returning from Galicia to Greater Ukraine in 1912, he settled in Kyiv and joined the literary and artistic life: he gave lectures. In January 1913, he became the editor of the literary magazine "Herald of Culture and Life". At the same time, he continued to perform with bandura with the "Bandura Evening" series of concerts.
Persecuted again since the beginning of the First World War and expelled from Ukraine in 1915, he settled in Voronezh, where he lived until the revolution of 1917.
He distrusted the Bolshevik occupation of Ukraine, but since 1920 he actively participated in the literary and artistic life. In 1920–1928, he taught Ukrainian language and literature at the Derkachiv zootechnical school.
Hnat Hotkevich
In 1926–1932, he taught at the Kharkiv Music and Drama Institute, where he conducted a bandura class.
In 1928–1932, he was the artistic director of the Poltava Bandurists' Chapel.
He fell out of favor with the government in 1932 and lost his government positions after the death of Mykola Skrypnyk. His works were banned.
In 1934, he was hit by a train and was seriously injured.
He was arrested for Yezhov region. On September 29, 1938, he was sentenced to death by firing squad by the special three of the UNKVS in the Kharkiv region for "Participation in a counter-revolutionary organization and espionage in favor of Germany." The sentence was carried out on October 8, 1938.
Rehabilitated on May 11, 1956. After rehabilitation, "Works in two volumes" (1966) was published.
Literary activity
At the opening of the monument to Ivan Kotlyarevsky in Poltava, 1903. From left to right: Mykhailo Kotsyubynskyi, Vasyl Stefanyk, Olena Pchilka, Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhailo Starytskyi, Hnat Hotkevich, Volodymyr Samiylenko
Khotkevich began his literary activity in 1897 (the story "The Georgian Girl" in the Lviv magazine "Zorya"). Further works of his great literary heritage: the stories "The Prodigal Son" (1898), "Christmas Eve" (1899), the series "Life Analogies" (1897-1901), the collection "Mountain Watercolors" (1914); during the years 1914–1915, a number of stories were written under the name "Hutsul pictures" (first printed in 1923 in the magazine "Chervonny Shlyach"); the novel "Aviron" (1917), the novel "Berestechko" and others.
The most significant achievement of Khotkevich's prose work was the romantic novel about Hutsul life "Kamina Dusha" (1911), which was republished several times (in different editions) later. Hotkevich is the author of a number of dramatic works in which he depicted the anti-feudal and national liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people.
Hotkevich's literary and artistic heritage is rich and thematically diverse. Among other things: "Gryhoriy Savych Skovoroda" (1920), a number of scientific studies about Taras Shevchenko, Yuriy Fedkovich, Olga Kobylyanska, "Musical Instruments of the Ukrainian People" (1930). During Soviet times, Hotkevich translated a lot of world classics: Shakespeare ("Romeo and Juliet", etc.), Moliere, Schiller, Hugo.
Belonging in Soviet times to the politically unreliable and standing aside from the literary discussions of that time, Khotkevich was nevertheless one of the most popular writers in Ukraine, as evidenced by the appearance of his "Works" in 8 volumes (1928–1932). But then oppression began again, as a result of which the tetralogy about Taras Shevchenko, on which Khotkevich had been working since 1928, remained unfinished.
Khotkevich was most productive in the literary field in Kharkiv. Here he first announced himself as a talented poet, playwright, prose writer, and translator. In a short time, he wrote a collection of poems "Trembitiny tony" (1924), the plays "After Dawn" (1925), "Explosion" (1927), "Onslaught" (1931), translated the novel of the Polish writer Kazimierz Tetmayer "The Legend of the Tatras" ( 1928), published the short story "Mutsa" (1928), the collection of short stories "Cesar's Right" (1932), the novels "Black Lake" (1929), "Zakhar Vovgura" (1932). His novel "Dovbush" was also not completely printed in a separate book during his lifetime, but after the murder of KhotkevichIn 1938, the archives preserved the complete manuscript of the novel "Dovbush", dated 1920. Later, the novel was published posthumously, namely in 1965 by the Lviv publishing house "Kamenyar".
Theatrical activity and creativity
Hnat Hotkevich in a student performance, 1899
While still a student, Khotkevich organized a village theater in the village of Derkachy in the Kharkiv region (1895). During his student years, he managed a student theater in Kharkiv that traveled around the outskirts of Slobozhanshchyna.
In 1900, he was the founder of the village theater in the village of Pechenegs
In 1903, he founded the first workers' theater in Ukraine, which during three years gave more than 50 performances, mostly Ukrainian classics, in the Ukrainian language. He specially wrote a number of plays between them for her.
While emigrating to Galicia, he founded the Hutsul Theater in the village of Krasnoillya (now Ivano-Frankivsk Region). He specially wrote the plays "Dovbush" (1909), "Hutsulskyi Ryk" (1910), "Neproste" (1911) and others for him.
In 1912, after returning to Kharkiv, he resumed the activities of the workers' theater.
Among Khotkevich's other dramatic works, we should mention "On the Railway" (1910), the historical play "About Igor's Regiment" (1926) and the tetralogy "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" (1929), which were highly praised by critics of the time (Olexander Biletskyi). In particular, in the last part of the tetralogy "Pereyaslav", Khotkevich, contrary to the official concept, condemned the Pereyaslav Agreement as an act that led to the enslavement of Ukraine by Russia.
The author of several dozen film scripts. Played the role of the kobzar Kyryk in the film "Nazar Stodolya" (1937).
Explorations: "People's and Medieval Theater in Galicia" (1924), "Theatre of 1848" (1932).
Musical activity and creativity
Kobzar performance at the 12th Archaeological Concert in 1902
Hnat Khotkevich and the Kharkiv Bandur Quartet based on the students of KhMDI
In his youth, Khotkevich studied the violin with the Kharkiv violin professor Ilnytskyi and reached a professional performance level, giving numerous solo concerts of violin music. He was equally adept at playing the piano and had professional singing skills, singing in a baritone. Professional musical training on the violin helped him learn and improve playing the bandura and laid the groundwork for the later creation of professional courses for playing the bandura.
Khotkevich started learning to play the bandura in 1896 and as a bandura soloist toured almost all major cities of Ukraine. Khotkevich created his so-called Kharkiv school of playing the bandura on the basis of the folk way of playing the bandura, which was used by the Kobzars of Slobojan. In 1902, at the 12th Archaeological Congress, he organized a presentation of kobzars and prepared a report that was of decisive importance for the further development of kobzar art in Ukraine. It was the first known performance of an ensemble performance on the bandura.
In 1909, Hotkevich published the first bandura playing textbook in Lviv.
In 1926–1931, the artist led the bandura class at the Kharkiv Music and Drama Institute. While working on improving the design of the bandura, he created the bandura pedagogical literature "Bandura playing manuals" (1909, 1929, 1930, 1931), "Bandura playing short course" and composed a number of compositions and arrangements of folk songs.
In 1928–1931, he managed the Poltava Bandurists' Chapel, for which he created a respectable repertoire. The team under his direction achieved such success that it became the first Soviet team to receive a contract to tour North America.
Musical compositions
Khotkevich is the author of about 600 musical works - romances, choirs, string quartets, large-format works for bandura and bandura orchestra. His "Poem about Bayda", "Storm on the Black Sea", "Slave Market in Kafa", "Autumn", "Sofron", "Nechay", "And in the field an innkeeper", "About the death of a Cossack bandurist", "About Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" today are considered folk. Although many of H. Hotkevich's compositions were published during his lifetime, in 1931 they were all banned and excluded from performing practice, so today most of his works are forgotten.
For the choir - "Kolomyiki" (1919), "My evening dawn" (1922), "Flowing water" (1922), "The Dnieper is wide roaring and moaning" (1927), "Under the mountain, ravine, valley" (1927), "The lark chirped" (1927), "Oh dear - the dark grove!" (1922).
For voice accompanied by piano - "Oh, don't drink beer, honey" (1927), "Vesnyanka" (1927), "There is no wind in the grove of the grove" (1927), "The sun is warm, the wind is blowing" (1927), " Oh, I'm my husband" (1927), "Spring has come" (1927), "An obscure day passes" (1928), "Miners" (1928).
For the orchestra - "Autumn", "Mystery".
For bandura - "Gift" (1910), "Slave Market in Kafa" (1913 and 1928), "Autumn" (1931), a series of melodeclamations based on the texts of Ukrainian poets.
For voice accompanied by bandura — "About the death of a Cossack bandurist", "About Bohdan Khmelnytskyi", "About Cossack Golota", "About a storm on the Black Sea".
For the bandurists' chapel - "Poem about Bayda", "Storm on the Black Sea", "Testament", "Sofron", "Nechay", "And in the field an innkeeper".
Apprentice bandurists
L. Haydamaka
G. Bazhul
G. Nazarenko
V. Zucchini
O. Gerashchenko
Ya. Gaetskyi
I. Oleshko
O. Levadna
Bibliography
Literary works
Prose
The Prodigal Son (1898)
Christmasand evening (1899)
Goodness conquers all (1899)
The cycle "Life analogies" (1897—1901)
The Strange Adventures of the Sagwin Insect (1901)
Poetry in Prose (1902)
Life (1912)
Fireplace soul (1911, the novel was published with the author's illustrations)
Mountain watercolors, collection (1914)
Hutsul pictures (1914—1915, first printed in 1923)
Letter to Mamma (1917)
Aviron (1917)
Dovbush (written 1920, first printed as a separate book 1965)
Tarasyk (first edition — 2002)
Drama
Hutsul year (1910)
On the Railroad (1910)
Not Easy (1911)
About Igor's Regiment (1926)
Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (1929)
Articles and intelligence
Yakiv Ivanovich Shtogolov (Overview of his life and activities) (1898)
From Russian Ukraine (1900)
Letter to the editors of LNV (1903)
"Earth": a novel by Olga Kobylyanska (1907)
Literary Impressions (1908)
Literary impressions (analysis of modern literature) (1908)
Literary impressions of the past year (1909)
Hryhoriy Savych Skovoroda (1920)
Hutsuls and Hutsuls (1920)
Folk and Medieval Theater in Galicia (1924)
About Kobza and Bandura (1928)
Two turning points in the history of Kobzar art (1928)
Theater of 1848 (1932)
Memoirs
Memories from the Revolution of 1905 (1926)
Translations
Mordovets D. Sahaidachny: historical novel (1908)
Collection of works
Works in 8 volumes (1928—1932)
Khotkevich H. Works. T. 1: Stories, book. 1 / Hnat Hotkevich. — Kharkiv.
Khotkevich, G. Works Volume 2: Life analogies / Hnat Khotkevich. — Kharkiv: Rukh, 1928. — 232 p.
Khotkevich H. Works. T. 3: Stories, book. 3 / Hnat Hotkevich. — Kharkiv: Rukh, 1929
Khotkevich H. Works. T. 4: Stories, book. 4 / Hnat Hotkevich. — Kharkiv: Rukh, 1929. — 251 p.
Khotkevich H. Works. T. 5: Stories, book. 5 / Hnat Hotkevich. — Kharkiv: Rukh, 1929. — 251 p.
Khotkevich H. Works Vol. 6: Bohdan Khmelnytskyi: tetralogy / Hnat Khotkevich. — Kharkiv: Rukh, 1929. — 438 p.
Works in two volumes (1966)
Musicological works
"Textbook of playing the bandura" (1909 and 1929, 30, 31); reprint Detroit, USA, 1968; reprint Kharkiv, 2003.
"A short course in playing the bandura" 1931; reprint Kharkiv, 2003.
"Musical instruments of the Ukrainian people", Kh., 1930; reprint Kharkiv, 2003.
"Kobza, torban and bandura" 1931.
"Bandura and her possibilities" 1933, Kharkiv, 2007.
"Bandura and her repertoire" 1933, Kharkiv, 2009.
"Bandura and its construction" 1934, Kharkiv, 2009.
"Bandura" 1935.
Khotkevich H. M. Musical instruments of the Ukrainian people. The second edition. — Publisher O. O. Savchuk — Kharkiv, 2012. — 510 p.
The fate of the family
Khotkevich's wife, Platonida Volodymyrivna, was repressed and exiled to Kazakhstan after the war. Later, after returning to Ukraine, she lived in Kryvorivna, where she worked in the house-museum of Ivan Franko.
Daughter Halyna was deported to Germany during the Second World War, and then settled in Morocco with other displaced persons, where she was a parishioner and member of the Orthodox Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Rabat for a long time. Since the beginning of the 1970s, she lived in the French city of Grenoble. She died on January 26, 2010.
Son Bohdan enlisted in the Ukrainian division and disappeared in the fight with the Red Army near Kursk.
Olya's daughter settled in Venezuela.
Son Yevhen drowned while illegally crossing the Soviet-Iranian border.
Son Volodymyr stayed in Kharkiv and became rector of Kharkiv University.
Commemoration
Competition named after Hnat Hotkevich
Since 1998, the International Competition of Performers on Ukrainian Folk Instruments named after Hnat Hotkevich has been held in Kharkiv once every three years. Bandurists-instrumentalists, bandurists-singers, cymbalists, pipers, domrists, kobzars take part in the competition. Traditionally, they have to include one of the pieces of Kharkiv composers specially created for this competition in the mandatory program.
Memorial building-museum of Hnat Hotkevich
In 1995, the memorial room-museum of Hnat Khotkevich was opened in the village of Visoko, which is a branch of the Kharkiv Literary Museum.
Streets named after Hnat Hotkevich
More details: Hnat Hotkevich Street
Streets of Hnat Hotkevich exist in many settlements of Ukraine, in particular in Lviv, Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk.
