CD Recording Fundraiser

Come and hear some of the music I'll be recording with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits at the end of May!

Hello,

My name is Roman Lytwyniw and I’m a British/Ukrainian violinist living in London. I was born in Manchester to Ukrainian parents and started playing the violin and piano at the age of 8. I also sang in my mum's Ukrainian choir and would spend summers with family in Ukraine, so my heritage and music-making have always been deeply connected.

I studied at Chetham’s School of Music from the age of 9-18 and then continued my studies at the Royal Academy of Music, before completing the international artist diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music. I’m now also doing a part-time masters in performance science at the Royal College of Music to satisfy my own intellectual curiosity.

Some highlights of my career so far include; leading the Miloš Karadaglič and Jess Gillam ensembles on tour, co-leading some of the best chamber orchestras in the U.K., performing in chamber festivals in the U.K. and Europe and touring as “The Fiddler” in the critically-acclaimed 2025 production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Whilst at the RNCM, I had the pleasure of performing the largely unknown Violin Concerto in G Minor by Reinhold Glière with the BBC Philharmonic - a deeply lyrical, expressive and colourful piece of music. Glière was born in Kiev in modern day Ukraine, where he studied before moving to Moscow, as was customary at the time. He was later appointed director of the Kiev Conservatory and taught amongst others, Boris Lyatoshinsky, a leading member of the new generation of 20th Century Ukrainian composers. Lyatoshinksy completed and orchestrated Glière’s violin concerto in G minor following his death in 1956.

As this concerto has rarely been performed or recorded, I’ll be recording it, along with Glière’s Romance with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits at the end of May. Kirill, a world renowned Ukrainian conductor (and until recently the principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra), champions Ukrainian music across the world and will also record two orchestral pieces to complete the CD, titled Glière: Violin Concerto and Orchestral Works. I believe it’s particularly important to be recording this music at this time and my aim is to share and celebrate the music and culture of Ukraine.

This is where I need your help and support. Almost all classical CD’s are privately funded, and so I’m fundraising to pay for the orchestra and costs of production. This amazing music is very close to my heart and it would be an honour to share it with you all.

At the start of the war, I spent a month in Poland helping my disabled grandmother leave Ukraine and join my mother in Manchester. The journey was very difficult for her and I was heartbroken when she passed away 6 months later. This CD is dedicated to the memory of my amazing grandmother, Yaroslava Savchyn.

Once I’ve raised all the necessary funds, and the CD is released (early 2027), I’ll be donating proceeds from mechanical sales to a Ukrainian charity supporting young people affected by the War in Ukraine and organising a series of fundraising concerts for a selection of Ukrainian charities.

I hope you can join me in turning this dream into a reality.

Thank you,

Roman