Symphony No.3
On a snowy morning in January 1980, I received a letter from Monaco. This was an invitation to participate in Prince Pierre's Music Composition Contest. The conditions of the contest were quite tight - the work had to arrive in just one month. But this fantastic opportunity awoke my hidden energies, and this one-movement symphony lasting 22 minutes was completed on time.
Despite my best hopes, I was not allowed to send out the score from behind the iron curtain. However, the stars prepared for this music an even better fate. The following year, the Symphony was performed at the Column Hall of Kiev Philharmonic by the Ukrainian State Orchestra, conducted by Fyodor Glushchenko.
This was a very emotional moment for me. In my childhood I was a frequenter to this magnificent, yet very cozy hall, where I heard such legendary artists as Svyatoslav Richter, Van Cliburn and Arthur Rubenstein. It was namely here that I heard for the first time the sound of a symphony orchestra while attending the concert series of Nathan Rachlin. And, of course, I was aware that this philharmonic hall had hosted Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninov, Leonard Bernstein.
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Several years after the premiere Volodymyr Sirenko with the same orchestra recorded this work for the radio. Recently Symphony No.3 was included in the CD collection featuring the history of the Ukrainian National Orchestra.
Many years have passed, and the world has undergone deep transformations. But my symphony remains the same. And - who knows - perhaps one day this music will finally make its way to Monaco - the fairytale place, which inspired me to write this symphony and where it truly belongs.