Creative Project Dedicated to Viktor Kosenko – a Representative of Lyric Romanticism. “11 Etudes in the Form of Old Dances”

Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko (1896–1938) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and teacher, often referred to as the “unsurpassed lyricist” of Ukrainian music of the first half of the 20th century.

Kosenko is rightfully considered a leading figure of Ukrainian piano music. He created the greatest number of works of various forms and genres specifically for the piano, an instrument he mastered with exceptional skill.

Kosenko’s favorite composer was always Chopin – a virtuoso pianist and a master of the most subtle nuances of piano sound.

Being a talented pianist, Kosenko was actively engaged in concert performance throughout his life, performing the finest works of Ukrainian and international classical music. He was also a skilled ensemble performer, accompanist, and a gifted teacher.

In Ukrainian music, a notable example of neoclassicism is Kosenko’s cycle “11 Etudes in the Form of Old Dances,” Op. 19, composed between 1928 and 1930.

This is an example of lyric romanticism in a “classical” form, stylizing a Baroque suite through dance forms: two gavottes, allemande, two minuets, courante, sarabande, bourrée, rigaudon, passacaglia, and gigue. The piano suite includes eleven etudes of different characters and moods, vividly contrasting in genre, yet united by a single lyrical and sensitive compositional style.

A distinctive “Kosenko-style” feature is the national melodic element, “dressed” in the form of old dances.

Each piece in Kosenko’s cycle presents a complex pianistic challenge: a performer who undertakes these etudes must possess a high level of virtuosity.

Full version on YouTube:

Viktoriia Bakum Akhmadzhanivna, accompanist of the Department of Theory and Methods of Teaching Artistic Disciplines