Within my playlist, I tried to encompass all of the sides that characterize who I am; that’s why it consists of different genres and languages. Some of the music represents my historical background, some my ideological belief, few songs simply expose my taste, and others show my values.

Originally I immigrated to the United States from Ukraine back in 2005, yet I tried to maintain my ties with my culture through music, readings and community involvement. Hence I listen to a lot of Ukrainian music. Generally I find music from different cultures very interesting, but I try to keep that connection with my Ukrainian identity unsevered so most of it is Ukrainian.

For the past 13 years I have been playing classical piano, so I included the pieces that I’ve played in the past. The particular style in classical music that could also be seen is that most of the music is in some kind of way revolutionary o brawling with immense emotions. Throughout my musical career, these are the types of pieces which I enjoyed playing ad performing the most.

In addition to the style of the classical pieces, I also knew the story behind them or the composers’ biographies. It helped me understand the emotions and messages which they tried to convey to the listener and the performer. For example the Revolutionary Etude by Chopin, which is considered to be one of his masterpieces, was composed in one night when the Russian Army invaded his country and captured a city with his whole family in it. On the other hand, knowing Rachmaninoff’s biography as a revolutionary helped me understand his music better. He went into exile during the Russian Revolution over his opposing views from the Bolsheviks. For that, they launched his piano from the second floor of his estate. Here in America he refused to play in Carnegie Hall and made his spectators wait until the Bolshevik government official left the Hall in disgrace. He had a profound sense of longing for his country and a strong principle for which he stood. In general I respect people who stand for their views and justice.

I included two Liszt pieces, one of which I performed myself, Wilde Jagd (The Wild Hunt) Transcendental Etude. It is filled with different emotional storms, which can often characterize me. Another Liszt Etude from the same Transcendental series is called Mazeppa. This particular piece was dedicated to a famous Ukrainian renaissance thinker, military commander, politician and a national hero who was the richest man in Europe at the time. The two Ukrainian songs are about a historical period of WW2 and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army which defended Ukraine against the Nazis and later on NKVD units. It has an ideological background and reverence for the people whom I have immense respect.

Lastly there are the Swedish House Mafia songs, which both pertain to my taste and my ideology. The song “Save the World” conveys an optimistic and utopian message that we should be hopeful, follow our dreams and try to change the world for the better.

http://open.spotify.com/user/1296397153/playlist/3VhFyMOo2KxV1ugGvp3x3K