War separated them, music brought them together. “The hardest part was saying goodbye”
Photo: Mateusz Marek/PAP
Ludwika and Wiktor have been married for 14 years, they have known each other much longer. Before the first bombs fell on Kyiv, their lives were filled with music: they are both violinists of the Ukrainian national orchestras. Their son is also learning to play the violin. Nothing remains of this pre-war reality. She found refuge in Vienna, he stays in Germany with the orchestra. We don’t see each other very often, maybe once a month. We have three or four days for ourselves, – says Viktor Ivanov.
According to statistics published in January 2023, from February 24, 2022 Ukraine nearly 8 million people left. Another 6.5 million people have been forced to migrate within the country, and almost 18 million are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Behind these statistics are the individual experiences of those affected by Russian aggression. And each of these stories is filled with pain, longing, separation, great stress, anxiety and hope that this nightmare will end someday.
On July 28, at the Grand Theater – National Opera in Warsaw, the world tour of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra began under the baton of one of the world’s most outstanding conductors, Keri-Lynn Wilson, whose great-grandparents came to Canada just from Ukraine. It was she, together with the general director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Peter Gelb – privately her husband and this is their first joint professional initiative – who implemented the project of a unique orchestra, consisting of the best Ukrainian orchestra musicians. The 75-member band arrived in Warsaw on July 17 and within 10 days a completely new orchestra was formed, which played a total of 13 concerts for over 30,000 spectators. The violin section included, among others, the married couple Ludwik and Wiktor Iwanow.
Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra – a minute of silence for the victims of the war in Ukrainetvn24.pl
They have known each other for over 20 years and have a small son. Before the first bombs fell on Kyiv, they belonged to prestigious orchestras, from time to time they played on the same stage. They did not hesitate with the decision to leave the house. The Russian invasion separated them, and thanks to the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, they were able to spend nearly two months together. You can quickly realize that they share a mutual love, but also a great passion for music. And now a unique commitment to the fight for the country’s freedom through music. Because all they want is to go back to their old lives.
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra project was nominated for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej 2022 award in the Event of the Year category.
Ludwika and Viktor Ivanov tvn24.pl
Tomasz-Marcin Wrona: When did you meet? Did you play in the same orchestra before the invasion?
Viktor Ivanov: We’ve known each other since 2000 and got married in 2008. In Kiev, we played in different orchestras, but sometimes we played together on different projects.
Ludwik Iwanow: Wiktor is a violinist in the Kiev National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Ukraine conducted by Natalia Ponomarczuk. This orchestra was founded by Roman Kofman. And I am a violinist in the orchestra of the Kiev National Opera.
Viktor: No its not like that. My orchestra was founded by the famous violinist Anton Sharoyev, and later it was taken over by Roman Kofman, who was also the artistic director for many years [wybitni przedstawiciele ukraińskiej muzyki – red.].
What was your life like before February 24?
Louis: It was full of projects, we had so many plans. Our son also plays the violin on Friday [25 lutego – red.] he was supposed to play in a school concert, and on Thursday the war started. Everybody had to change all their plans (Mrs. Ludwika is holding back tears with difficulty).
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