Valentyn Sylvestrov is a living Ukrainian classical composer, born in Kyiv in 1937. This lovely piece, The Messenger, was written in 1996, five years after Ukraine declared independence from the former Soviet Union, in memory of his wife, Larysa, who had passed away unexpectedly.
Sylvestrov said it is about loss, and return. In bearing witness to what is happening in his country this winter, may we all be thankful for what we have, for what we’ve lost, from where we’ve returned.
As with all of her work, the pianist, Hélène Grimaud, plays stunningly.
