The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra is an orchestra composed of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainian members of other European orchestras.[1] [2] Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, who has Ukrainian ancestry, provided the impetus for the creation of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra,[3] [4] which the Metropolitan Opera of New York and the Polish National Opera immediately supported as a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine.[5] [6]
The 74 musicians, all Ukrainians – recent refugees, Ukrainian members from some European orchestras (e.g. Tonkünstler Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)[7] and some of the top musicians of Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa and elsewhere in Ukraine – assembled in Warsaw 10 days before the inaugural concert for intensive rehearsals.[6] The inaugural concert was held in Warsaw on July 28 (2022) at the Polish National Opera.[4] The programme of this concert included the 7th Symphony by the Ukrainian composer Valentyn Silvestrov, Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (soloist: Anna Fedorova), Leonore's aria Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? from Beethoven’s opera Fidelio (soloist: Liudmyla Monastyrska) and the 4th Symphony in E-minor by Johannes Brahms.[8] [7] On July 31 the Orchestra performed the same programme at the 2022 BBC Proms, a performance that was hailed by The Guardian as "highly impressive and deeply moving".[9] [6]
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra continued its world concert tour with concerts in the United Kingdom – Edinburgh (Edinburgh International Festival) and Snape (Snape Maltings, Suffolk), Germany – Munich (Isar Philharmonic Hall), Berlin (Konzerthaus) and Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), France – Orange (Chorégies d'Orange Festival, Vaucluse), Netherlands – Amsterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Festival) and Ireland – Dublin (National Concert Hall). In European cultural capitals, the orchestra was greeted with standing ovations and positive reviews from critics.[10] The tour concluded with concerts in New York (Lincoln Center) on August 18 and 19, 2022 and in Washington, DC (Kennedy Center) on August 20.[6] [4] The New York Times acclaimed the Lincoln Center performance as "admirably even-keeled and soft-spoken, an embodiment of a cultured nation".[11]