Nikolay Lusenko Ukrainian composer, folklorist, founder of the Ukrainian national school of composition Date of Birth: 22.03.1842 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Mykola Lysenko

Mykola Lysenko was a Ukrainian composer, folklorist, and the founder of the Ukrainian national compositional school. He was born into an ancient Cossack noble family in Ukraine. His father, Vitaliy Romanovich, was a colonel in the Ordensky Cuirassier Regiment, and his mother, Olga Yeremeevna, came from a noble family in Poltava. Lysenko was homeschooled by his mother and the famous poet A.A. Fet. His mother taught him French, refined manners, and dancing, while A. Fet taught him the Russian language. At the age of five, Lysenko showed musical talent, and a music teacher was hired for him. He developed a love for the poetry of Taras Shevchenko and Ukrainian folk songs from an early age, which was instilled in him by his maternal grandparents.

After completing his homeschooling, Lysenko moved to Kyiv to prepare for gymnasium. He studied initially at the Veyle Pension, and later at the Geduen Pension. In 1855, he enrolled in the Second Kharkiv Gymnasium, where he graduated with a silver medal in the spring of 1859. While studying at the gymnasium, Lysenko privately studied music with N.D. Dmitriev and became known as a pianist in Kharkiv. He was invited to perform at evenings and balls, where he played pieces by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and improvised on Ukrainian folk melodies. After completing gymnasium, Lysenko enrolled in the natural science faculty at Kharkiv University. However, a year later, his parents moved to Kyiv, and he transferred to the department of natural sciences at the physics and mathematics faculty of Kyiv University. He graduated from the university on June 1, 1864, and obtained his candidate of natural sciences degree in May 1865.

During his time at Kyiv University, Lysenko immersed himself in the study of operas by A. Dargomyzhsky, Glinka, A. Serov, and familiarized himself with the music of Wagner and Schumann. It was during this time that he began collecting and harmonizing Ukrainian folk songs. He also organized and led student choirs, with which he performed publicly. After completing his university education and a short period of service, Lysenko decided to pursue higher musical education. In September 1867, he enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory, one of the best in Europe. He studied piano with K. Reinecke, I. Moscheles, and E. Wenzel, composition with E.F. Richter, and theory with Papertitz. It was there that Lysenko realized the importance of collecting, developing, and creating Ukrainian music, rather than copying Western classics.

In the summer of 1868, Lysenko married Olga Alexandrovna O'Connor, his third cousin who was eight years younger than him. However, after twelve years of marriage, they separated without officially divorcing due to the absence of children.

After successfully completing his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1869, Lysenko returned to Kyiv, where he lived for over forty years, engaging in creative, teaching, and public activities. He participated in the organization of Sunday schools for peasant children, later in the preparation of the "Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language," and in the census of Kyiv's population. In 1878, Lysenko became a piano teacher at the Institute for Noble Maidens. In the same year, he entered into a civil marriage with Olga Antonovna Lipska, a pianist and his student, whom he met during concerts in Chernihiv. They had five children together. Olga Lipska passed away in 1900 after giving birth to their last child.

In the 1890s, in addition to teaching at the institute and giving private lessons, Lysenko worked at the music schools of S. Blumenfeld and N. Tutkovsky. In 1904, the Music and Drama School (later named after Mykola Lysenko) was opened in Kyiv, organized by Lysenko. It was the first Ukrainian educational institution that provided higher music education following the conservatory program. Lysenko used the funds collected by his friends during the celebration of his 35 years of activity in 1903 to publish his works and purchase a country house for himself and his children. In the school, Lysenko taught piano. Both the school and Lysenko as its director were under constant police surveillance. In February 1907, Lysenko was briefly arrested but released the next morning.

From 1908 to 1912, Lysenko served as the chairman of the Ukrainian Club's board. The society carried out extensive public and educational activities, organizing literary and musical evenings and courses for rural teachers. In 1911, Lysenko led committees to support the construction of a monument to T. Shevchenko on the 50th anniversary of the poet's death, established by the society. Mykola Lysenko passed away on November 6, 1912, suddenly from a heart attack. Thousands of people came to bid farewell to the composer, who traveled from all regions of Ukraine. His funeral took place in the St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. The choir leading the funeral procession consisted of 1,200 people, and their singing could be heard even in the center of Kyiv. Lysenko was buried at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv.