Ludkewycz, Stanislaus
Ludkewycz, Stanislaus
Ludkewycz, Stanislaus, significant Polish composer and pedagogue; b. Jaroslav, Galicia, Jan. 24,1879; d. Lwów, Sept. 10, 1979. He studied philosophy at the Univ. of Lemberg, graduating in 1901, then went to Vienna, where he studied composition with Gradener and Zemlinsky at the Cons. (Ph.D., 1908). He then settled in Lemberg. From 1910 to 1914 he served as director of the Inst. of Music there; then was recruited in the Austrian army, and was taken prisoner by the Russians (1915). After the Russian Revolution, he was evacuated to Tashkent; liberated in 1918, he returned to Lemberg; from 1939 to 1972 he was a prof. of composition at the Cons, there. When the city was incorporated in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic after World War II, Ludkewycz was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the Soviet government (1949). On the occasion of his 100th birthday in 1979, he received the Order of Hero of Socialist Labor. His music followed the precepts of European Romanticism, with the representational, geographic, and folkloric aspects in evidence. Stylistically, the influence of Tchaikovsky was paramount in his vocal and instrumental compositions.
Works
dramatic: Opera: Dovbush (1955). orch.:2 piano concertos (1920, 1957); 4 symphonic poems: Valse mélancolique (1920), Stone Carvers (1926), Dnieper (1947), and Moses (1956); Violin Concerto (1945); Carpathian Symphony (1952). chamber:Piano Trio (1919); Variations on a Ukrainian Theme for Violin and Piano (1949); piano pieces. vocal:Eternal Revolutionary for Chorus and Orch. (1898); Caucasus, ode for Chorus and Orch. (1905–13); The Testament, cantata (1934; rev. 1955); Conquistadores for Chorus and Orch. (1941); A Testament for the Pioneers for Chorus and Orch. (1967); songs.
Bibliography
M. Zagaikevycz, S. L (Kiev, 1957); S. Pavlishin, S. L. (Kiev, 1974).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire