Oleksandr Arturovych Shymko (*4 August 1977) is a contemporary Ukrainian composer and pianist. He was born on 4 August 1977 in Borshchiv, Ternopil region, Ukraine.
In 1997, he graduated from the S. Vorobkevych Chernivtsi Music College as a pianist. In 1998-2002, he studied at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine at the Department of Composition in the class of Professor Yurii Ishchenko. In 2002-2005, he was an assistant trainee at the Department of Composition of the same Academy. Since 2003, he has been a member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine. Since 2004, he has been the chairman of the youth commission of the Kyiv organisation of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine. In 2004, he received a scholarship from the Mayor of Kyiv for gifted youth. In 2005, he took an internship at the K. Szymanowski Music Academy (as a scholarship holder of the "Gaude Polonia" of the Ministry of Culture of Poland) in the composition class of Professor Oleksandr Lasoni. In 2006, he became a scholarship holder of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung. From 2006 to 2008, he worked as a consultant at the NSCU. Since 2007, he has been the head of the musical department of the Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theatre of Russian Drama.
Laureate of the L. Revutsky Prize of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine (2007).
Member of the organising committee of the XVII International Festival "Musical Premieres of the Season" (2007).
Since 2007, he has been a member of the Board of the UWCU. Organiser and musical director of the festival "Musical Tribune of Kyiv Youth" [Archived 19 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine] (2008).
The composer's works are performed by well-known Ukrainian and foreign performers: The National Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the National Symphony Orchestra of the State Television and Radio Company of Ukraine, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Lviv Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of the House of Organ Music (Dnipro), Archi Chamber Ensemble, Ukrainian Academic Folklore and Ethnographic Ensemble "Kalyna", Orchestra of New Music (Poland), Taratto Trio (Poland), National Ensemble of Soloists "Kyiv Camerata", Kyiv Municipal Chamber Choir "Khreshchatyk".
Participant of many international festivals of contemporary music: "Musical Premieres of the Season", "Kyiv Music Fest", "Warsaw Music Meetings", "New Music" festival (Poland), "Krakow Composers' Festival" (Poland), "Velvet Curtain II".
Works
for symphony orchestra:
Symphony No. 1 (2004-2006)
- "Hymn to Life"
- "Ocean of Life"
- "The Pulse of Life"
Symphony No. 2 "Genesis" (2006)
Symphony No. 3 "Elysium" (2010)
Symphony No. 4 (2013)
for mixed choir and symphony orchestra:
"Hymn to the Sun" cantata with lyrics by M. Voloshyn (2003)
"Heavenly Mechanics" (2003-2004)
for a cappella choir:
"Songs of the Sea" (2007) cantata with lyrics by Maria Druzhko
- "Loneliness"
- "Song of the Mast"
- "Hymn to the Sea"
ballet
"The Chosen One of the Sun" (2006) [Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine] (libretto and choreography by A. Rubina)
concerts :
Concerto for piano and symphony orchestra No. 1 (2002)
Concerto for piano and symphony orchestra No. 2 (2007)
Concerto for violin and symphony orchestra (2012)
Concerto for violin and viola and symphony orchestra (2014)
works for chamber orchestra:
"The Book of Fairy Tales"
I "Mystical Dances" (2004)
II "Dreams of the Old Forest" (2005)
III "Reincarnation" (2005)
"Time of Aquarius" (2005, 2007)
"Hymn to Loneliness" with lyrics by G. Poshvyatovskaya (2007)
"Kallisti" (2009)
"Etnica" (2009)
"Equilibrium" (2011)
"OffLife" (2013)
chamber ensembles:
"Three Dialogues".
No. 1 "Two Birds" (2004) - for two flutes
No. 2 "Silence" (2005) - for piano and harp
No. 3 "Shadows and Light" (2005) - for violin and cello
"The Book of Secrets of the Night (2005) - for flute, viola and harp
for piano:
"The Petrel" (1997)
"Sharme" (2002)
