Marking the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will reunite for a landmark concert at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki, home of the Polish National Opera, on February 25
The orchestra, founded in response to Putin’s 2022 invasion, is under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and remains resolute in its defence of Ukraine’s artistic legacy on the cultural front
Program to feature Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the orchestra’s unique Ukrainian-language version to reassert the values of freedom, resistance, and progress against the forces of oppression
New York, NY (February 4, 2025)—Following its three acclaimed summer tours of the great concert halls and cathedrals of Europe and the United States, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will again assemble under the baton of its Canadian Ukrainian founder and music director, Keri-Lynn Wilson, for a special concert in Warsaw. They will mark the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a continuing demonstration of Ukrainian artistry as the nation fights for its freedom.
The program will feature the orchestra’s emotionally charged version of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with the unique feature of its choral text, Schiller’s great cry of freedom, resistance, and progress against the forces of oppression in the form of his poem “Ode to Joy,” sung by the soloists and chorus in Ukrainian.
The concert will be livestreamed by arte.tv across Europe, and there are plans for a live TV broadcast to Ukraine. Arte will also broadcast the concert on TV in early March. The film will stream on PBS.org and the PBS App beginning March 6, and will broadcast on PBS stations on Friday, March 28 at 10:30pm ET (check local listings). TVP Kultura will broadcast in Poland.
“Whether it’s three years or 30 years, our mission to defend Ukraine’s culture and its brave people shall carry on. It’s so right that we gather once again in Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki, our home away from home, to send our musical message for Ukraine’s liberty to the world. In our Ukrainian-language version of Beethoven’s Ninth’s ‘Ode to Joy,’ we sing ‘Slava’ for the glory of a free Ukraine. Our support for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in their fight for democracy shall never falter.” —Keri-Lynn Wilson, Music Director.
Under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra brings together leading musicians based in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and elsewhere in Ukraine alongside Ukrainian musicians forced into exile by the war and Ukrainian members of European orchestras. “The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s remarkable concert tours have seen it become not only the musical voice of Ukraine,” says First Lady Zelenska, “but a powerful cultural voice for everyone who cares about liberty in the face of aggression.”
The orchestra was founded by Keri-Lynn Wilson, working with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Polish National Opera, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture in February 2022 as a direct response to Putin’s attempt to silence Ukrainian freedom and culture. The orchestra has gone on to defend Ukraine’s artistic legacy on the cultural front in three highly praised tours of the great concert halls and cathedrals of Europe and the United States, including performances at the BBC Proms and the Barbican in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Lincoln Center in New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as concert halls in Poland, France, and Ireland.
They have also played at the storied musical church of Saint-Eustache in Paris, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, as well as a special concert in a Gdańsk Bay shipyard, Poland, the birthplace of the Solidarity movement and a venue symbolic of the struggle for freedom and self-determination in the face of despotism. Their concerts have showcased contemporary Ukrainian composers such as Silvestrov, Skoryk, and Stankovych, alongside the greats of the wider European musical tradition and enjoyed a rapturous and emotional public response, critical acclaim, and unprecedented media attention for an artistic venture of this kind.
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s performance version of Schiller’s great poem “Ode to Joy,” sung by the soloists and chorus in Ukrainian, follows in the tradition of another remarkable cultural and historical gesture. On Christmas Day 1989, just weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Leonard Bernstein conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the city and made one important change to the text. Bernstein 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, the orchestra’s founder and conductor, Keri-Lynn Wilson, working with her Ukrainian musical colleague Ievgeniia Iermachkova, changed “Freude” to “Slava” (“Glory”), 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!”).
A live recording of the orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was released by Deutsche Grammophon last year. The orchestra, and Keri-Lynn Wilson, also feature in the documentary feature film Beethoven’s Nine: Ode to Humanity, which examines Beethoven’s symphony within both historical and contemporary contexts of war and of hope.
The orchestra will again convene this summer for its 2025 tour.
Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson is the founding conductor and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. As a staunch supporter of Ukrainian liberty, Ms. Wilson performed Verdi’s Requiem at the Lviv Opera House in February 2023 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the invasion, and she has returned to Ukraine on numerous occasions since then to lead performances in solidarity. Earlier this year, she was appointed music director of the Kyiv Camerata, Ukraine’s Leading Chamber Orchestra, to lead concerts both inside and outside of Ukraine. Her international career as a conductor of opera and symphonic music has taken her to many of the world’s leading opera houses and symphony orchestras. Among the opera companies she has conducted most recently are Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Deutsche Opera Berlin. Among the orchestras she has most recently led are the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and Bruckner Orchestra Linz. On August 24, 2024, Ukrainian Independence Day, Ms. Wilson was awarded the Order of Princess Olga by President Zelensky for her contributions to Ukrainian culture.
CONCERT DETAILS AND PROGRAM
25 Feb 2025 at 20:00 at the Teatr Wielki (Polish National Opera), Warsaw: teatrwielki.pl
Tickets available here
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
The orchestra will be joined by Ukrainian guest soloist singers Olga Bezsmertna (soprano), Nataliia Kukhar (mezzo-soprano), Vasyl Solodkyy (tenor), and Vladyslav Buialskyi (bass-baritone), and the Choir of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic.