The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

The National Tchaikovsky Music Academy of Ukraine

Ivan Karabyts

Second-year student
Faculty of History and Theory of music
Romanchuk Yana

Kyiv, 2020
 The music heritage of Ivan Karabits - one of Ukraine’s XX-th century leading
composers, represents a number of stage, vocal, symphonic and chamber works.
Following the tradition of Mahler and Schostakovich the musical language of Ivan
Karabits has deep roots in Ukrainian and Slavonic symphonic and folk tradition of
past centuries and has left a deep influence on various generations of Ukrainian
composers of the second half of XX-th century.
Born in 1945 in a Greek village Yalta in the Donetsk region of Ukraine he
graduated from the Kiev Conservatory in 1974 where he studied with prominent
Ukrainian composer Boris Lyatoshinsky. Ivan Karabits began winning recognition
while still a student at the age of 24 when he became as a laureate of all-Union
competition for young composers. He has since won many more awards and honor for
his works and held the title of “People Artist of Ukraine”. Professor of the
composition at the Kiev Tchaikovsky Music Academy, founder and artistic director of
the Ukrainian Internatinal Festival “Kiev Music Fest”, music advisor to the Ministry
of Culture of Ukraine, member of Ukraine’s State Comission on UNESCO Affairs,
chairman of the jury of international competition for young pianists in memory of
Vladimir Horowitz, Music Director of the State ensemble of soloists “Kiev
Camerata”.
His works are frequently performed throughout the countries of the former
Soviet Union, and many of his compositions have been heard by audiences in France,
Germany, Finland, Italy, Argentina, England, and the United States.
The initial period of creative work of the composer is characteristic of the free
use of dodecaphony. The works of the early period (1 st sonata for cello, sinfonietta for
string orchestra, sonatina for piano) are characteristic of expressive type of expression
and search of the individual style. In 70-80s the composer displayed his interest in
conceptual immensity in implementation of philosophical problems (themes of
Motherland, memory, moral obligations). There was a priority of symphonic genres in
their correlation with scene and vocal genres, instrumental concert (“Sad
Bozhestvennykh Pisen (Garden of Divine Songs) Concert for choir, soloists and
orchestra) versified by H. H. Skovoroda, “Kyivski Fresky (Kyiv Frescoes) opera-
oratorio, three concerts for orchestra).
Symphonic style of I. Karabits displayed draft for dramatic type as the main
one in synthesis of different genre fundamentals (in correlation of epos, drama and
lyrics in “Piat Pisen Pro Ukrainu” (Five Songs about Ukraine) epic symphony,
conflict dramatic and lyric fundamentals in the Third Symphony). Music lexis of
composer reflects the various vectors of style landmarks: different genre and style
layers of Ukrainian folklore (duma, plangent song, instrumental affectations) and
national professional music art (remarkable chants, canticle, choir culture of baroque,
stylistics of B. Liatoshynsky), music classics of the 20 th century (G. Mahler, D.
Shostakovich, S. Bartok, I. Stravinsky) and modern trends, mass genres.
Universality of music language of the works of next period was determined by
the synthesis of different elements of modern composers techniques (non-serial
dodecaphony, pointillism, clusters, aleatory composition, sonority) in combination
with new acoustical and new modal pitch organization, interception of different style
trends (neoclassicism, neobaroque, neoimpressionism, jazz lexis). In sphere of images
there is the increase of tragic principle and actualization of the theme of penitence
(Concert No. 3 “Holosinnia” (Lamentations), concert-triptych for orchestra), a new
implementation of the theme of pantheism (“Music from Waterside”).
 Referenses
1. Biography of composer. URL: http://www.karabits.com/en/biography/