Neo-Baroque:
A Musical Experiment Bridging Centuries
As part of BAroCK to the Future, Music Will Save The World has commissioned an artistic experiment bringing together the musical language of the Baroque and the voices of contemporary Ukraine.
At the heart of this initiative is the poetry of Oksana Rubaniak, a Ukrainian warrior-poet and commander in the 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Her words, written against the backdrop of russia's war against Ukraine, provide the inspiration for two distinct musical interpretations by young Ukrainian composers Yurii Pikush and Maksym Ivanov.
The experiment explores a compelling question: Can a musical language developed centuries ago express the emotions, struggles and aspirations of people living today?
Yurii Pikush has composed a new Neo-Baroque aria specifically for the voice of mezzo-soprano Anna Starushkevych, who will give its world premiere. Setting Rubaniak's poetry to music, the work explores how contemporary Ukrainian poetry can find expression through Baroque-inspired vocal writing.
Yurii Pikush (b. 1998) is a Ukrainian composer whose work spans orchestral and chamber music. In 2023, he won First Prize at the Second Myroslav Skoryk All-Ukrainian Composers' Competition in Lviv.
His music has been featured at major international contemporary music festivals, including ISCM World New Music Days (Romania, 2026), Musikfest Berlin and Musica Viva (Germany, 2025), the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (USA, 2025), Warsaw Autumn (Poland, 2024) and Neue Musik Tage Bamberg (Germany, 2023).
His work has also been presented at numerous Ukrainian festivals, including Contrasts, Kyiv Music Fest, Kharkiv Music Fest and Kyiv Musical Premieres of the Season.
Maksym Ivanov initially composed a vocal work setting Oksana Rubaniak's poetry to music, before adapting it for viols, with an opening passage for violin and harpsichord. In this instrumental version, the original vocal line is transferred to an instrument, exploring how the emotional meaning of the poetry can be conveyed without a singing voice. The words remain an integral part of the musicians' interpretation, even though they are no longer sung.
Recording of the performance is coming
While rooted in Baroque musical traditions, both works reflect a distinctly contemporary Ukrainian experience. An important part of the artistic vision is to move beyond suffering and towards hope, resilience and the possibility of a brighter future.
Both works will receive their premieres on 30 October 2026 at the Lviv National Philharmonic, as part of BAroCK to the Future, conceived and directed by mezzo-soprano Anna Starushkevych, founder of Music Will Save The World.
The initiative embodies one of the organisation's central artistic convictions: art must reflect the times in which it is created.