Music is still a song, even if one cannot literally sing it: it is not a philosophy, not a world-view. It is, above all, a chant, a song the world sings about itself, it is the musical testimony to life.Valentyn Sylvestrov
A few years ago, pianist Diana Ketler performed the composition 'The Messenger' by Valentyn Sylvestrov at the Stiftfestival of Daniel Rowland. Rowland was deeply moved by the music: "I had the feeling that we were connected to the spirit of Mozart and Schubert. I was immediately touched by this moving, tender and magical music". The timeless mysterious melodies of Sylvestrov are comforting and full of nostalgia, often barely a whisper.
A couple of years later in 2021, Daniel Rowland invited the prominent Ukrainian pianist Borys Fedorov to perform The Messenger at the 17th edition of the Stiftfestival in a programme with works by Mozart, Schnittke and Pärt. Both Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt referred to Ukrainian Valentyn Sylvestrov as "one of the greatest composers of our time". Not long after this concert, Fedorov would have to leave his classroom at the Kiev Conservatorium to catch the very last KLM flight to Amsterdam, where he was reunited with his daughter, pianist Anna Fedorova, on the eve of the Russian invasion.
This album is a tribute to a unique musical voice and a deep bow to Rowland's Ukrainian friends. In addition to Valentyn Sylvestrov's works for solo piano and his compositions for violin and piano, the composition 'Epitaphium' for violin, cello and piano can be heard featuring cellist Maja Bogdanović.
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