Roman V. Prydatkevych (June 1, 1895, Zhyvets - November 17, 1980, Owensboro, Kentucky, USA) was a Ukrainian composer, violinist, organizer of the Ukrainian Conservatory in New York, co-organizer of the Society of Supporters of Ukrainian Music, and a member of a number of New York orchestras.
At the age of 8, he performed in Przemysl and Lviv. He entered the academic gymnasium in Lviv and the VMIL. He studied violin with teachers A. Dolzhytskyi, E. Shchedrovych-Hankevych, E. Perfetskyi, and theoretical subjects with F. Kolessa and S. Liudkevych. After graduation, he entered the Vienna Academy of Music.
During the First World War, he served in the Austrian army, then in the Ukrainian Galician Army as a violinist.
From 1920 he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music. After graduation, he went to Berlin, where he took lessons from K. Flesch and his assistant R. Harzer. At the same time, he successfully toured Europe.
In 1923, he emigrated to the United States, actively performing, and gaining universal recognition. He enters Columbia University and later graduates from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
In 1924, together with M. Haivoronsky, he founded the New York Conservatory of Music.
In 1930, Roman Prydatkevych organized the Ukrainian Trio, which performed at the Town Hall in New York and performed compositions by J. Bach, V. Barvinsky, M. Lysenko, and K. Stetsenko with great success. The trio consisted of soprano Maria Hrebinetska, pianist Alisa Korchak (later replaced by Olha Tkachuk), and Roman Prydatkevych himself as a violinist.
In 1937-1940, he was a concertmaster of the New York City Orchestra, later the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera and many other orchestras in the United States. In 1946-1965, he was a professor at Morrissey College in California. In 1970 he made a successful tour of Europe, performing in London, Berlin, Paris, Salzburg and other cities.
In 1953, at the University of Rochester, R. Prydatkevych defended his doctoral dissertation on "Bach's Passions and Their Musical and Historical Background".
As a composer, R. Prydatkevych is the author of more than 200 musical works. His First Symphony was performed in 1928 by L. Stokowski in Denver.
Roman Prydatkiewicz died on November 17, 1980 in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Family.
Wife - Lidia Prydatkevych (Klopotovska) (1900-1988). Daughter - Anna Prydatkiewicz-Kuharchuk (Anna Kuchar), pianist and music teacher. Grandchildren: Andrii, Roman, and Theodore. Grandson Theodore Kuchar is an American conductor and director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.
