Between Modernism, Ukrainisation, and Soviet Ideology

How did Borys Liatoshynsky become Ukraine's leading composer? A fascinating case of politics, identity, and musical Ukrainisation.

Today, Borys Liatoshynsky (1895–1968) is considered one of the leading Ukrainian composers of the twentieth century. However, in the first half of the 1920s the national musical community did not regard him as a Ukrainian composer. Only in the second half of the decade did he gradually assume leading positions as both a composer and a public figure in Ukraine. Liatoshynsky’s process of musical Ukrainisation—while his musical language combined late-Romantic and expressionist techniques—offers a revealing example of the direct influence of politics on a composer’s definition of his own musical identity.

Lecturer

Iryna Tukova

Iryna Tukova, PhD, Dr. Habil, is an Associate Professor of Music Theory at the National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) and a co-founder of the Liatoshynsky Foundation NGO. Her research focuses on the history of Ukrainian art music of the 20th and 21st centuries, the works of Borys Liatoshynsky, and art music created during times of war. She has published extensively on Ukrainian art music history in postcolonial contexts and is co-author, with Dr. Olena Korchova, of the 2026 monograph The Times of the Looking Glass: Borys Liatoshynsky’s Choice.