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Borys Lyatoshynskyi (b.1895, Zhytomyr – d.1968, Kyiv) Ukrainian composer, conductor, pedagogue, public figure, one of the founders of Modernism in Ukrainian classical music. Borys Lyatoshynskyi demonstrated great musical talent from an early age. He attended Nemyriv Gymnasium, and later the gymnasium in Zlatopol, where his father was the director. There, he began to study the violin under music teacher Bentsion Khaimovskyi. In 1913, he moved to Kyiv, enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Kyiv, and graduated in 1918. The following year, he completed the composition class of Reinhold Glière at the Kyiv Conservatory (today, the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (NMAU)). In 1920, Lyatoshynskyi began teaching music theory at different performance departments of the Kyiv Conservatory, and headed the Association of Contemporary Music at the Mykola Leontovych Music Society (1922-1925). In 1935, he was appointed professor, and went on to teach at the Kyiv and Moscow Conservatories (1935-1938). Between 1941-1943, many faculties of the Moscow Conservatory were relocated to Saratov, where Lyatoshynskyi continued teaching and composing. In 1944, he returned to Kyiv, worked as the artistic director of the Kyiv State Philharmonic (today the National Philharmonic of Ukraine), as music consultant with the Radio Committee, and taught at the Kyiv Conservatory. Borys Lyatoshynskyi died in Kyiv and was buried in Baikove Cemetery. Lyatoshynskyi taught such great Ukrainian composers as Ivan Karabyts, Yevhen Stankovych, Leonid Hrabovskyi, Lesya Dychko, Mykola Poloz, Valeriy Polyoviy, Ihor Shamo, Heorhiy Miretskyi and Valentyn Sylvestrov, all of whom contributed to the global renown of the Ukrainian school of music composition. Lyatoshynskyi was awarded numerous honours and prizes, namely the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine in 1974. Lyatoshynskyi wrote in a wide range of musical genres and succeeded in elevating Ukrainian symphonic music to the world level. However, he was subjected to devastating criticism by Soviet censorship and accused of ‘formalism’. He composed five symphonies, as well as large-scale orchestral works: suites (Slavonic Suite opus 68; Polish Suite opus 60), overtures (Slavonic Overture opus 61; Solemn Overture; Overture on four Ukrainian Folk themes opus 20), ballads (Grazhyna based on a poem by Adam Mickiewicz), and symphonic poems (On the banks of the Vistula; lyrical poem in memory of Reinhold Glière). Lyatoshynskyi’s symphonies are rich in texture, drama, reflecting a musical language with modernism features, and tinged with tones of French Impressionism and Slavic melodies. He composed two major operas (The Golden Crown; Shchors) and many choral and orchestral works (Testament for choir and orchestra to the poem by Taras Shevchenko), Slavonic Concerto for piano and orchestra), pieces for wind orchestras, romances for voice and orchestra, and for voice and chamber ensembles. He created chamber/instrumental pieces (Ukrainian Quintet opus 42; Sonata for violin and piano opus 19), four string quartets, two instrumental trios, piano works, choral pieces, romances, arrangements for folk songs, and music for theatre and cinema. He also orchestrated Mykola Lysenko’s operas Aeneid and Taras Bulba (with Levko Revutskyi), and the finale of Reinhold Glière’s Violin Concerto. Borys Liatoshynsky went through several stages of music composition, enriched the genre and stylistic palette of Ukrainian music, expanded its conceptual and thematic horizons, and extended the range of musical expression.