Silenced by Soviets, Rediscovered in War: Polovyi Returns to Kyiv Stage

On April 9, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine hosts a concert pairing rediscovered works by Valerii Polovyi with music by his internationally acclaimed daughter, Victoria Vita Poleva.

Conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson and performed by the Kyiv Camerata with leading Ukrainian soloists and the Shchedryk Children’s Choir, the concert forms part of the “Liberated Music” initiative, aimed at restoring suppressed Ukrainian composers to public memory.

“At a time when the inner cities of Ukraine are suffering one genocidal air attack after another, I’m preparing to travel to Kyiv for an important concert on April 9 in Kyiv’s Philharmonic Hall,” Wilson said. “Together with the Kyiv Camerata, my beloved and heroic chamber orchestra dedicated to contemporary Ukrainian composers, we’ll be performing the music of Poleva and that of her heroic father, Valerii Polovyi, a composer the Soviets tried to erase…Although suppressed, [Polovyi’s] indomitable will could not be broken. It will be a revelation to perform his music alongside that of his brilliantly gifted daughter.”

A student of Borys Lyatoshynsky, Polovyi was arrested in 1950 on fabricated charges and sent to forced labor in Kazakhstan. Even in captivity, he continued composing, sketching music on scraps and cement sacks. Works conceived during that time – including his Second String Quartet and Concerto for Two Violins — will be performed.

Despite later rehabilitation, Polovyi’s music remained outside Soviet-approved aesthetics and largely absent from concert life. Today, it returns as part of a broader effort to reclaim Ukraine’s suppressed cultural heritage.

In conversation with Kyiv Post, Poleva reflected on how her father’s life shaped his music:

“He didn’t study history – he lived it. The experience of suffering, loss, injustice was too close to translate directly into music, but it’s there – especially in the vocal works, which are deeply intimate.”

Poleva says that contemporary performers bring new depth to this legacy: “Musicians today understand more about life. They know what catastrophe is – not from textbooks. That’s why his music can sound even more relevant now.”

Poleva describes her connection to her father as an ongoing inner dialogue: “I play his music, argue, cry, laugh – and understand him more than ever. Today, I am older than he ever was.”

While she shares a deep expressive kinship with his work, she also defines her own artistic path: “I move away from strict academic development. I write freely – following what feels true. That is my territory.”

For Poleva, the April 9 concert marks the beginning of a wider return: “My father’s music must come back to the stage. There is no one left to forbid it or deny its value.”

Her own works on the program include “Missa brevis,” written in 1986 in memory of her father, and “Illuminated Sorrow,” composed during Russia’s full-scale invasion – both reflecting a continuum of personal and collective grief.

The concert stands as both tribute and restoration – bringing back a silenced voice while affirming the continuity of Ukrainian musical culture across generations.

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