Mykola Kolessa

Mykola Filaretovich Kolessa (6 December 1903 – 8 June 2006) was a prominent Ukrainian composer and conductor, born in Sambir near Lviv. His father Filaret was a prominent Ukrainian ethnomusicologist and composer and his cousin was the celebrated pianist Lubka Kolessa. He graduated from Lysenko Higher Musical Institute, then studied in Prague under Vítězslav Novák and Otakar Ostrčil, and taught at Lviv Conservatory. His works include two symphonies (1949 and 1966), symphonic variations (1931), a 'Ukrainian Suite' (1928), all for orchestra, and 'In the Mountains' for string orchestra (1972), and a number of chamber and incidental works as well as some song cycles. His composition style was tonal and conservative and has been linked to that of Alexander Glazunov, although influences from Bartok and the early 20th-century French school can be heard as well. As a conductor he worked with world-famous ensembles such as the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ballet Theater, the Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Trembita Choir, becoming the founder of the Lviv conducting school.