Taras Shukhevych (18 January 1886, Lviv - February 1951, Lviv) was a Ukrainian pianist and teacher, a representative of a large family from which many well-known church, public, musical, and socio-political figures of Galicia came. Uncle and teacher of General Taras Chuprynka. He was the son-in-law of Karlo Bandrivskyi.
Biography.
In 1904, Taras graduated from the Lviv Gymnasium and entered the Law Faculty of Lviv University. At the same time, he studied at the Conservatory of the Galician Music Society at the piano faculty in the class of the famous teacher Willem Kurtz.
In 1910, he successfully graduated from both educational institutions. After his studies, the pianist began an active concert career. His repertoire included piano works by Lysenko, as well as works by contemporary composers. In 1909, he performed V. Barvinsky's Prelude for the first time in Lviv. Barvinsky's Prelude and the play "Evening in the Grand Dame" by Debussy. The pianist's style was characterised by romanticism, fine detail and intelligence of performance.
During his first concerts, Shukhevych met his love, Olha (Olena) Bandrivska. On 17 September 1912, Taras married Olha Bandrivska.
After the wedding, the couple went on a honeymoon trip to Italy and visited Solomiya Krushelnytska, who was living in Viareggio at the time. After returning from Italy, Taras Shukhevych began working as a lawyer in various institutions, but he was not satisfied with his work in this field. He was attracted to work in the field of musical art; he wanted to realise himself as a pianist and piano teacher.
To improve his skills, in 1913 he entered the Music Academy in Berlin. In Germany, Taras Shukhevych studied with the famous pianist Ernst Donaghy. On the advice of his teacher, he gave private piano lessons. However, the First World War prevented him from completing his studies. Shukhevych was mobilised into the Austrian army and was sent to the Italian front.
After the war, in 1919, Taras Shukhevych went to Berlin for the second time for two years, where he studied privately with Professor Karl Barth. He participated in many concerts in Lviv and other cities of Galicia, as well as in Prague, Belgrade, Berlin, and Milan. The basis of his solo repertoire was composed of works by Ukrainian composers such as Mykola Lysenko, V. Barvinsky, and M. Kolessa; he also performs works by E. Grieg, R. Schumann, C. Debussy, C. Saint-Saëns, and M. de Falla.
T. Shukhevych's performances as a member of chamber and instrumental ensembles with Roman Savytskyi, Roman Kryshtalskyi, Petro Pshenychka, Yevhen Perfetskyi, as well as as a concertmaster with singers M. Holynskyi, Odarka Bandrivska, S. Fedychkivska, M. Boškovych-Ahatonovych, and others were very successful.
He popularised the works of contemporary composers in Galicia, and was the first performer of many piano opuses by V. Barvinsky, Z. Lysko, M. Kolessa, L. Revutsky, and V. Kosenko.
Since 1922, Shukhevych has been devoting himself mainly to teaching. Together with his wife, he taught piano at the Lysenko Higher Music Institute (1922-1930, 1933-1939), and in 1930-33 he worked at the Polish Conservatory named after K. Szymanowski. In December 1939, after the Soviet government reorganised music educational institutions, Taras Shukhevych became an associate professor of the piano faculty of the newly established Mykola Lysenko Lviv State Conservatory, and at the same time headed the piano department of the Lviv Music School.
During the Second World War, Taras Shukhevych headed the piano department of the State Music School with the Ukrainian language of instruction. In the postwar years, he became a professor and head of the special piano department at the Lviv Conservatory.
Among his students were N. Khytrova, L. Stefanivska, E. Burachynskyi, I. Kots, A. Kos-Anatolskyi, M. Pshenychka (Zahaykevych), O. Nyzhnyk-Popil, L. Kossak (Babiuk), I. Sonevytskyi, V. Vytvytskyi, O. Kohn, and R. Shukhevych (Taras Chuprynka).
In 1950, Taras Shukhevych resigned from the conservatory, to which he had devoted more than thirty years of his life. The reason for his resignation was most likely his poor health. In addition, in the 1950s, Shukhevych's name was undesirable on the lists of conservatory teachers. Taras Shukhevych courageously fought the disease, but, unfortunately, it progressed. In February 1951, he passed away. Shukhevych was buried on field 4 of the Lychakiv Cemetery.
T. Shukhevych's performances as a member of chamber and instrumental ensembles with Roman Savytskyi, Roman Kryshtalskyi, Petro Pshenychka, Yevhen Perfetskyi, and as a concertmaster with singers M. Holynskyi, Odarka Bandrivska, S. Fedychkivska, M. Boshkovych-Ahatonovych, and others were very successful.
