The National Chamber Ensemble “Kyiv Soloists” is the realisation of a long-standing dream of outstanding Ukrainian violinist and teacher Bogodar Kotorovych (1941-2009). The orchestra is composed of renowned musicians from all over Ukraine, most of them are winners of national and international competitions, representing the traditions of the founder. Anatoli Vasylkovskii has been the Artistic Director of NCE “Kyiv Soloists” since 2017.
The Ensemble gained reputation as a promoter of internationally acclaimed composers. Among others, the Military Requiem by Benjamin Britten, the Double Concerto by George Palmer and the Marimba Concerto by Erkki-Sven Tüür were played for the first time in Ukraine by Kyiv Soloists. The ensemble also makes considerable efforts to popularise modern Ukrainian composers such as Myroslav Skoryk, Yevgeni Stankovych and Valentin Silvestrov among many others.
The diversity and the potential of the Ensemble has attracted the attention of established performers of different styles like Valery Sokolov (violin, Ukraine), Kirill Karabits (conductor, Ukraine-England), Oksana. Lyniv (conductor, Ukraine-Austria), Erki Pehk (conductor, Estonia), Stéphane Réty (flute, France), Maxim Rysanov (viola, England), Naum Grubert (piano, Netherlands), Gary Hoffman (cello, USA), Claudio Martínez Mehner (piano, Spain), Julian Milkis (clarinet, USA), Denis Severin (violoncello, Switzerland), Dimitri Ashkenazy (clarinet, Switzerland), Oxana Yablonskaya (piano, Russia/USA), Vag Papian (piano, Armenia/Israel), jazz singer Nino Katamadze (Georgia), the founder of the band «Deep Purple» Jon Lord and jazz pianist Konstanty Wileński (Poland).
The expressive and poetic style of the “Kyiv Soloists” in combination with Ukrainian musical traditions has captivated audiences all over the world: Luxembourg Palace and UNESCO in Paris, Komische Opera in Berlin, Great National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Place Flagey in Belgium, Radio Kulturhaus in Vienna, Concert Hall Esplanade in Singapore and World Exhibition in Japan. The ensemble has been invited to international festivals: David Oistrakh Festival (Estonia), modern music festival “Warsaw Autumn” (Warsaw, Poland), modern music festival in Krakow (Poland), classic music festival in Ruhr (Germany), International Festival of Symphonic Music (Algeria), Ankara Music Festival (Turkey), International Music Festival by Ludwig van Beethoven (Poland), but also Ukrainian festivals like “Season Music Premiers”, KyivMusicFest, GogolFest, ChamberArtMusic.
In recognition of the orchestra’s activity representing Ukrainian culture abroad, “Kyiv Soloists” received the title of “National Ensemble” of Ukraine.
For distinguished accomplishments representing Ukrainian culture in the world, the Ensemble received the title of “Ambassador of Ukrainian culture in the World” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The main performances
1999 November – Germany. Ruhr Festival of Classical Music. Concerts in Berlin and Munich.
2000 September – Poland. International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn”.
2001 July – Austria. Grand Prix at XXX Vienna International Festival-Competition and first prizes in nominations “Chamber Orchestras” and “All Orchestras”.
2001 September – Germany. World premiere of the cantata of Philip Emanuel Bach “A Grateful Hymn of Friendship” with the choir of the Berlin Singing Chapel (Comic Opera Hall, Berlin)
2001 and 2003 – Japan A tour of Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Kyoto. Record a CD of one of the concerts.
2005 August – Japan. World Exhibition “Expo-2005”. Concert in the central exhibition hall “Expo Plaza”.
2005 September – France, Paris. Performances at the Madeleine Church, Senate and UNESCO Conference Hall.
December 2005 – Singapore. Days of Ukraine in Singapore. Concert in the Esplanade Hall.
2006 October – Austria. Concert at RadioKulturhaus (Vienna) on the occasion of the opening of the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Austria.
2008 March – Poland. Concert tour of the cities of Poland in the framework of the XII International Music Festival. L. van Beethoven
January, January – Concert of the ensemble on the occasion of Ukraine’s inauguration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE
August, August – Concert at the Congress Center Le Regent in Carnegie Montana (Switzerland)
2017, April – 34th International Music Festival in Ankara (Turkey)
2017, November – Concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic (Poland)
2018, January – Concert at Milan Conservatory J. Verdi (Italy)
