Beethoven 9

Just released on Deutsche Grammophon: a live recording of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra performing Beethoven 9 in Ukrainian, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson.

The highlight of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s 2023 European tour was its emotionally charged performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, with Schiller’s great poem “Ode to Joy”, his cry of freedom, resistance and progress against the forces of oppression, memorably sung by the soloists and chorus in Ukrainian. The Warsaw concert, captured in this recording, was the first time the symphony’s text had been presented in translation outside of Ukraine. Schiller’s poem was rendered in a new performance version prepared by UFO founder and conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson working with her Ukrainian musical colleague Ievgeniia Iermachkova. This new singing translation followed the precedent set by Leonard Bernstein, who conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Berlin on Christmas Day 1989, just weeks after the fall of the Wall, in that it made one important change. Bernstein famously altered Schiller’s opening word “Freude” (Joy) to “Freiheit” (Freedom) and in so doing defined a moment of hope in German, and world, history. In making her performance version Wilson followed Bernstein’s lead and the opening word of the piece in Ukrainian was “Slava”, from the phrase that has become familiar around the world as the rallying call of Ukrainian resistance in the face of ruthless Russian aggression, Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!"). 

“The idea to sing in Ukrainian came to me quite late in our preparations,” explains Wilson. ”But it was so obviously the right thing to do. Putin is literally trying to silence a nation. We will not be silenced.”The orchestra in Warsaw was joined by Ukrainian soloists Olga Kulchynska (soprano), Nicole Chirka (mezzo-soprano), Dmytro Popov (tenor), Vladyslav Buialskyi (bass-baritone), and the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir. The UFO gave a second performance of the symphony with the Ukrainian text in Berlin on Ukrainian Independence Day, 24 August 2023. The orchestra and soloists were here joined by the newly establIshed Ukrainian Freedom Chorus, 40 singers made up from Ukrainian refugees and others resident in Berlin. The performance was attended by the Federal President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a public show of support for Ukraine’s fight for its freedom. Wilson has subsequently taken this version of the symphony back to Ukraine and performed it in Lviv in December 2023 with Lviv National Opera.