…To Love, Not to Love…
minimalist collage on Shamo’s “How can I not love you, my Kyiv”
Performed by Lindsey Eckenroth (Flute), Gleb Kanasevich (Clarinet), Caroline Drexler (Violin), Carrie Frey (Viola), Helen Newby (Cello), Margarita Rovenskaya (Piano), Gerson de la Rosa (Vibraphone)
The work is the author’s reaction to what is happening with his hometown. “Is it possible to love this city as before? How do I recognize the cozy Kyiv of my childhood in a modern metropolis?” In terms of genre, it is a minimalist collage based on the famous song “Як тебе не любити, Києве мій,” or “How can I not love you, my Kyiv,” originally composed in 1962 by Ihor Shamo and made the city’s official anthem in 2014. The song is divided into fragments of unequal length. Each soloist plays a melodic passage several times, and then moves on to the next fragment. All the soloists merge into the single question: “How can I not love you?” And the answer comes as a counterpoint of the chorus of Shamo’s song and another, world-famous melody. Thus, the local problem fits into the global context of civilization.