Viktor Kosenko - Sonata op. 18 in A minor; Sergei Bortkievicz - Sonata op. 26 in G minor.

Ukrainian classical music has been making its way into the classical music world in recent years, probably also in the context of the attention paid to Ukraine following the terrible war that began in February 2022. But the music of this country, especially that created over the past century, has been a constant concern of specialists - formal rigor, variety and vitality of sound discourse, expressiveness, influence of Western European creation and elements of folkloric inspiration being just some of the characteristics of Ukrainian cult music.

Three of the representative sonatas for violin and piano from this repertoire are included on an album entitled Ukrainian Masters, released on the 23rd of February 2024 on Naxos Music. They are 20th century pieces composed by Viktor Kosenko, Myroslav Skoryk and Sergei Bortkievicz, recorded in autumn 2022 in New York by violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv and pianist Steven Beck.

Solomiya Ivakhiv, born on the 3rd of April 1980, was born in Lviv and studied at the prestigious Lviv Conservatory, then continued her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. She has performed on major stages in North America and Europe - the Ukrainian National Orchestra, Charlestone Symphony Orchestra and Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra being just a few of the ensembles she has collaborated with. She is currently a professor of violin and viola at the University of Connecticut and in 2021 was awarded the title of Artist Emeritus of Ukraine.

A sensitive, charming and eloquent performer with excellent technique, Solomiya Ivakhiv has a vast repertoire and one of her concerns is promoting Ukrainian musical creation to the world. She has released six discs to date, the most recent being pressed with American pianist Steven Beck, a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and an experienced interpreter of the modern repertoire.