Ivan Ivanovych Maichyk (December 26, 1927, Odrekhova, Sianicki County, now Poland - October 24, 2007) was a Ukrainian conductor, folklorist, composer, and teacher. Honored Artist of Ukraine (1993). Member of the NSCU (1999).
He was born in the family of a shoemaker and a poly-instrumentalist musician, a member of the wedding chapel of the ancient village of Odrekhiv, Syanytsia district, on December 26, 1927. The artist's youth is associated with Austria, where he was an Ostarbeiter in 1942 together with his sister Anna. There, Ivanko worked in the mill of J. Furtner, who allowed him to visit the city of Linz (the birthplace of Anton Bruckner) at his leisure. Every Sunday in the Mozarteum concert hall, symphonies and masses by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Bruckner and other composers were performed - these were the first vivid musical impressions that influenced the young man to become a professional conductor.
After the war, in his new homeland (in 1946, the Maichyk family was relocated to the Ternopil region to the village of Kokutkivtsi (now Zboriv district, Ternopil region), Ivan graduated from the Ternopil Music School as an accordionist. He received his professional musical education in Lviv. He studied at the Lviv Music College (choral conducting, class of Yevhen Kozak). Later he became a student at the Lviv Conservatory. Taking the advice of Stanislav Liudkevych and Adam Soltys, the musician studied composition privately with the avant-garde composer Andrzej Nikodemowicz.
Ivan Maichyk was noted for his excellent organizational skills: he led the choirs of Lviv schools #24 and #62, the choir of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ivan Franko University of Lviv, the choir of the Lviv Ukrainian Printing Institute, and the choir of the Schoolchildren's Palace. Perhaps it is precisely this line of work that has led to the fact that a significant part of Ivan Maichyk's creative work is composed of works oriented to be performed by amateur, amateur, and children's groups.
A significant page in the artist's biography was his work as an editor and sound engineer of the music department of the Lviv Regional Committee for Radio and Television (1959-1971).
I. Maichyk continued the artistic tradition started by Mykola Kolesa and Yevhen Kozak - he organized a choir. This professional group was a real artistic laboratory, immediately noticed by the musical community of Lviv and appreciated by a wide range of radio listeners.
Thanks to Ivan Maichyk, the works of Lviv composers S. Liudkevych, E. Kozak, A. Kos-Anatolsky, choruses from operas by W. A. Mozart, B. Smetana, R. Wagner, G. Rossini, the best choral works by undeservedly forgotten and often banned Ukrainian composers, such as: V. Barvinsky, M. Verbytsky, O. Koshytsky, O. Nyzhankivsky, and A. Vakhnyanyn. At the same time, Ivan Maichyk was working on collections of Ukrainian Folk Songs from the repertoire of S. Krushelnytska, P. Karmaliuk, and O. Vrabel. He also continued to collect Lemko folk songs and process them.
The mature period of his life is associated with a powerful professional choral group - the Trembita Chapel (1964-1965). Ivan Maichyk was invited to the position of the chief conductor and artistic director of the chapel after the legendary Ukrainian choirmaster Pavlo Muravsky left this responsible post. During the two years (1964-1965) of his leadership, the Trembita Choir completely renewed and complicated its repertoire, including the following works: "Boredom oppresses" by D. Sichynskyi, "Dream" by K. Stetsenko, with lyrics by P. Hrabovskyi, "Clouds" with lyrics by M. Voronoi, and "Rejoice Sing" with lyrics by O. Oles. She performed the fund recordings of Vesnivka by V. Matiuk on lyrics by M. Shashkevych, Barcarolle by F. Schubert and Slavic Dance by A. Dvorak (text and arrangement for choir by I. Maichyk), Transcarpathian folk song "Marika was walking..." arranged by E. Kozak, original composition by I. Maichyk. Maichyk's original composition "Singing in the Carpathians".
Ivan Maichyk was inspired by his pedagogical activity at the Luhansk State Medical University. The artist taught conducting, headed the conducting department for a long time, directed the student choir for four years, and led the vocal ensemble for thirty-five years. I. Maichyk not only trained specialists with the highest musical training, but also formed his students as nationally conscious creative personalities. I. Maichyk's colleagues were amazed at his perseverance, organization, inexhaustible inspiration, unwavering patriotism, and optimism. For thirty years, the teacher created his own conducting school: he trained more than 20 successful conductors, including: Yaroslav Hnatovsky, Bohdan Hengalo, Olena Shevchenko, Levko Rega, Volodymyr Bozhko, and Mykola Zheromsky. The authority of Ivan Maichyk in the artistic life of Lviv is evidenced by the fact that he was often invited to serve on the jury at reviews of choirs in the city and region.
An important fruit of his pedagogical and creative activity is a collection that is still awaiting publication - "Choral Textbook. Children's Songs, Choral Works and Vocal Ensembles for Music Schools". In it, the author proved himself not only as a teacher, but also as a compiler, a successor of the musical and pedagogical concepts of M. Lentovych, K. Stetsenko, and F. Kolessa, as a folklorist, arranger, and practicing composer - the author of numerous original choral works, an extraordinary interpreter of the best examples of classical and contemporary poetry.
Music critics noted that the composer enriched the laconic Lemko miniature and gave it life on the concert stage. "The composer pays much attention to the piano part, which in each case accurately and convincingly complements the poetic vocal images," noted Maria Bilynska, PhD in Art History, in her review of Ivan Maichyk's works.
The result of the composer's creative activity was his recital on the occasion of his 60th birthday, entitled "Songs of the Beskydy", which took place in 1987 in the concert hall of the Lviv State Philharmonic named after S. Liudkevych with the participation of leading soloists and choirs. The interesting musical repertoire attracted the attention of musicologists Maria Bilynska, Yurii Bulka, and A. Hudzenko. In 1988, Ivan Maichyk was invited to attend the celebrations in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Ukraine-Rus, where he was warmly welcomed by the Ukrainian diaspora and his native countrymen.
Creative work
In 1967, he published his first collection of folk songs "My Songs", then "Lemko Folk Songs Arranged by B. Drymalyk" (1970), and articles about Solomiya Krushelnytska, A. Kos-Anatolsky, and others.
Choral works to the words of V. Stelmakh, B.-I. Antonych, M. Petrenko.
Compiler of collections:
"Folk songs from the repertoire of S. Krushelnytska" (1971),
"Folk songs from the repertoire of P. Karmalyuk" (1976),
the collection "Oh, the wild cherry blossomed. Folk Songs from the Voice of Hanna Ilnytska" (transcription of melodies; lyrics by Mykola Ilnytskyi) (1981),
"Ukrainian Folk Songs from the Repertoire of O. Vrabel" (1982),
"Choral Works to the Words of Ukrainian Poets" (1989),
"Choral works on the words of B.-I. Antonych" (1989) and others.
"Ukrainian Folk Songs Arranged for Choir" (2000),
"Ukrainian folk songs from the repertoire of O. Vrabel"
"Choral works and romances on the words of Taras Shevchenko" (2003),
"Collection of vocal choral works and romances to the words of B.-I. Antonych" (2004).
