I stopped to reflect on a disc released on February 23rd, 2024, by record label Deutsche Grammophon, which holds a special significance, and which, on March 4th, 2024, will also be commemorating one of Radio România Muzical's achievements - I'm referring to the Ode to Peace project, which I initiated in 2022.

On March 10th, 2022, 59 radio stations from 33 countries around the world broadcast Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and its fight for a free world. It was the first time that Beethoven's emblematic symphony was associated with the symbol of freedom and solidarity with Ukraine; this was followed by many other events, culminating, I believe, with the recording on this disc: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, performed by the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, conducted by American conductor Keri Lynn Wilson, who, however, is of Canadian and Ukrainian descent.

In April 2022, the same Keri Lynn Wilson, a well-known conductor specializing mainly in opera music, had the initiative to form the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, composed of 74 musicians who are either part of the most renowned orchestras of Ukraine, have sought refuge in Europe and the United States, or are members of prestigious European orchestras. This ensemble is under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Polish National Opera in Warsaw. In 2023, the orchestra went on a European tour, during which they presented Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 - the recording on the disc is from the concert on August 20th, 2023, at the Opera in Warsaw. What makes this recording special is the fact that the Ode to Joy is sung in Ukrainian, marking the first time this translated version was performed outside Ukraine. This version was based on the text adapted by Leonard Bernstein in 1989, which replaced the word Freude (Joy) with Freiheit (Freedom), thus giving symbolic meaning to the concerts he conducted after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will hold another European and American tour in the summer of 2024, because, as Kerri Lyn Wilson states, it is more important than ever to support Ukraine's fight as a symbol of the free world.

We will now listen to a recording that stands out not only for its symbolism, but also for the high musical quality it showcases: a very well-structured, very expressive vision with a feeling that inspires strength and freedom. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, the Choir of the Podlasie Opera and the Warsaw Philharmonic, under the baton of Kerri Lynn Wilson, along with a gallery of Ukrainian soloists: soprano Olga Kulchynska, mezzo-soprano Nicole Chirka, tenor Dmytro Popov, and bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi.