Igor Shamo

Igor Shamo is one of the most popular modern Ukrainian composers.

Igor Shamo’s life and creative work are connected with Kiev, where he was born in 1925. Being the Soviet Army officer, he went back to Kiev after the Great Patriotic War. In 1951 he graduated from Kiev Music Conservatory, the composition class of Professor Boris Lyatoshynsky.

Thanks to bright aptitude and high level of professionalism Igor Shamo performed in absolutely different kinds, forms and genres of musical art.

In the field of instrumental music the composer preferred genre pictorial and graphic musical imagery. Such are not only "Moldavian Rhapsody", suite "Fluerash", "Festival Suite" and the other compositions for symphonic orchestra, but also "The Pictures of Russian Painters", "Ukrainian Suite", "The Songs of the Friends" suite for piano and a lot of the pieces for chamber ensembles and even the chorus ("Carpathian Suite" etc.).

In such kind of works an emphasis on intonation and modal characteristics of national music plays the great role. Such weakness of the composer found its realization in chorus opera called "Yatran games" (libretto by V. Yukhimovych). Written for the soloists and an A Capella chorus, it constitutes a bright example of original realization of Ukrainian folk ceremonial and calendar songs.
At the same time, such Igor Shamo’s works as a Symphony No. 1 for string orchestra, Simphonietta concert for chamber orchestra, a Symphony No. 3 "In memory of the heroes", etc. create substantial images of philosophically deep, lyrical and dramatic simphonizm. Pathetic lyricism which is typical for many various Shamo’s works found its fullest realization in the songs. Developing the line of lyric songs in Ukrainian music, Igor Shamo enriched it with pathos of high public spirit, having created his original style of modern Komsomol and youth songs. Igor Shamo’s works enjoy wide popularity in musical life, pedagogical practice of musical educational institutions, at the concerts as well as on radio and TV programs.
The radio listeners, especially the rural ones, often ask the Ukrainian radio to broadcast the Ukrainian folk songs such as "Ne shumy, kalynonko" ("Do not rustle, snowball tree"), "Karpaty, Karpaty" ("The Carpathian Mountains"), "Oy, verbychenko" ("Oh, willow"). The authors of such letters did not even suspected that these works are not folk, but they are Igor Shamo’s ones. This "mistake", as a matter of fact, evidences people’s recognition.
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information, photo from: http://www.igorshamo.de/index.html