CD release: „Dvořák: Cello Concerto“
Dvořák's Cello Concerto alongside contemporary works by Ukrainian composers as an inspiration for humanity and hope
What began in December 2023 with a solidarity concert in Kyiv (Kiev) during the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine continues with the release of a joint album: cellist and OPUS Klassik winner Raphaela Gromes together with the Ukrainian National Orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Volodymyr Sirenko.
The focus of the new album, which will be released on September 13th on Sony Classical, is Antonín Dvořák's famous Cello Concerto, framed by works by contemporary Ukrainian composers Hanna Havrylets, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Yuri Shevchenko and Stepan Charnetsky. The selection of pieces alone impressively reflects the two main ideas behind this special album: artistic passion and a deep connection to Ukraine.
Raphaela Gromes' relationship with Dvořák's cello concerto has long been a very personal one: “It is considered THE cello concerto par excellence, and it is for me too,” says the Munich native. ‘Even as a child, I listened to the work on an endless loop. (...) The range of emotions in this concerto is enormous: youthful, heroic vigour and freshness, yearning love, solidarity, deep pain, redemption at the end. If there is one work that manages to shed a little light even in the darkest times, it is this one.’
The cellist, who is world-renowned for her emotional depth and richly nuanced palette of sound colours, presents her first recording of the great Dvořák concerto and, by incorporating Ukrainian music, is also sending a strong signal of solidarity and compassion - for example in Valentyn Sylvestrov`s ‘Prayer for Ukraine’, the effect of which Raphaela Gromes was able to experience first-hand during her concert in Kyiv: ‘It was a prayer for the future of Ukraine that was felt throughout the hall! Everyone held their breath while we played, many cried, including the musicians on stage. Afterwards, we experienced overwhelming reactions from the audience: people showered me with gifts. One soldier gave me his badge and said: ‘This is to protect you.’ The subsequent recording of the piece was one of the most emotional musical moments of my life’.
Hanna Havrylets (‘Tropar, prayer to the holy mother of God’), who died on 27 February 2022, is represented on the album as a composer who always attached great importance to the tradition and survival of Ukrainian heritage, which was endangered by the war. She left behind many unfinished works.
Raphaela Gromes also chose ‘We are’, Yuri Shevchenko's emotional version of the Ukrainian national anthem, for the album. The composer, who also died shortly after the start of the war, wanted his anthem to resound around the world as a silent prayer for Ukraine. The inclusion of the song ‘Tschervona Kalyna’ by Stepan Charnetsky as a symbol of hope and victory rounds off the emotional and powerful programme of the album.
‘My heart always remains open to Ukraine,’ Raphaela Gromes recently said in an interview - and you can feel and hear that in every single note.