In 2025, the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine and the Youth Music Center launched the project ‘Songs of Coal and Steel’ for young Ukrainian composers. Participants selected through an open call spent three months researching the theme of Ukraine’s heavy industry, including learning about coal mining processes and visiting the Zaporizhstal steel plant. They then had another three months to compose music for Ensemble 24
The project participants included Tetiana Khoroshun, Mykhailo Romanyshyn, Valeriia Vynohradova, Maksym Ivanov, Valeriia Svyryda, and Volodymyr Rudenko. Their mentor was the German composer and musicologist Sven-Ingo Koch. He grew up in the Ruhr region, known for its metallurgy and mineral extraction, and his father worked for some time in a coal mine.
‘For many Ukrainians, coal mining and steel casting became an integral part of life, everyday routines, and identity, — the description of ‘Songs of Coal and Steel’ reads. — Changes in shifts at factories shaped the rhythm of adults’ lives, while shiny pieces of coal became bright toys for children. Today, due to russian aggression, physical access to the coal mines of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is impossible, and important memories are losing their rootedness. In order to preserve the memory of this cultural layer in musical works, we are launching the project ‘Songs of Coal and Steel’’.
Works written by the composers:
Tetiana Khoroshun — ‘madrigal’ for ensemble and electronics
Mykhailo Romanyshyn — ‘2-3-2-1’ for ensemble and electronics
Valeriia Vynohradova — ‘domna 0’ for ensemble and electronics
Maksym Ivanov — ‘The Crimson Dust’ for ensemble
Valeriia Svyryda — ‘Manus et umbra’ for ensemble and electronics
Volodymyr Rudenko — ‘Ode to Fire’ for ensemble
Schedule of the ‘Songs of Coal and Steel’ presentations:
November 27, Kryvyi Rih, 6:30 PM — Taras Shevchenko Theatre.
November 28, Dnipro, 6:00 PM — Dnipro Center for Contemporary Culture.
December 5, Kyiv, 6:00 PM — National Philharmonic of Ukraine.
All premieres of the project will be accompanied by the audiovisual installation ‘Reliquaries for Industrial Waste’ by multidisciplinary artist Maryna Shchehelska.
