Maksym Berezovsky

MAKSYM BEREZOVSKY (1745, Hlukhiv – 1777, St. Petersburg), a composer and singer, studied first at the Hlukhiv school of Orthodox singers and then at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, from where he was taken to the Court Singing Band in St. Petersburg. From 1758 he sang in the Kapela, and from 1762 he was a soloist in the court opera troupe.

In 1769-73 he studied in Italy with G.B. Martini. In 1771 he received a composition diploma from the Bologna Philharmonic Society, of which he later became a member. His opera Demofont do libertta Metastasia, staged in 1773, received much acclaim in the press of the time. In Italy, he also wrote the opera Iphigenia, as well as a sonata for violin and harpsichord (1772), the first Ukrainian work in this genre. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, he was accepted to work at the Tsar’s Choral Band without a specific position. Lack of opportunities for creative work, material troubles and intrigues led to his untimely death under unexplained circumstances. His oeuvre includes the 8-part Liturgy, parts of the Mass, and choral concerts, among which the most noteworthy is Don’t Abandon Me at a Leaning Age. Berezovsky’s work marked the beginning of Ukrainian classicism in music, later developed by Bortniansky and Vedel.