Violinist in Kharkiv bomb shelter helps raise funds for displaced musicians

Record ID: 1671224

  • Title: Violinist in Kharkiv bomb shelter helps raise funds for displaced musicians
  • Date: 27th April 2022
  • Summary: KHARKIV, UKRAINE (APRIL 26, 2022) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) VIRA LYTOVCHENKO, VIOLINIST FROM KHARKIV, SAYING: "We are so strong that we can not only think about survival, about eating and sleeping; we can also think about high (arts), about music, about classical music. Because this was our life before the war. This is our life, our culture, our music. It's very typical for Kharkiv to play and listen to classical music. It's a symbol of us not surrendering, and that we hold on to our culture against any odds."
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2022 10:34
  • Keywords: bomb shelter fundraising for Ukraine international musical collaboration music video russo-ukraine war we are the world
  • Location: KHARKIV, UKRAINE / VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • City: KHARKIV, UKRAINE / VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA004403126042022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: With Russia's attack on Ukraine, millions of people fled their home towns or found themselves in cellars and metro stations turned bomb shelters.
    Kharkiv resident, violinist Vira Lytovchenko, started playing her instrument after she’d seen one of her students cheering up people in a metro station.
    "A girl in an evening dress, in front of a horrible bomb shelter. This makes people wonder, it is shocking and draws attention," she explains her popularity on the internet, adding that she never wanted to make a "show" out of it.
    "I don't want to ever stage anything ... This is our life and we never wanted this. We longed for a peaceful, normal life, and we had it."
    Lytovchenko believes that if people around the world see the situation through her eyes, it will help the Ukrainian cause.
    She says that the fundraiser, launched by another Kharkiv native living in the United States, has financially supported over 50 musicians and their families, mostly from Mariupol and Kharkiv.
    It attracted attention from musicians all over the world who have now joined her fundraising efforts composing 'The Brave Ones'.
    Lytovchenko says it is important that people watching her performance don't forget about medical workers, volunteers and many other essential workers working in difficult conditions.
    However, musicians have to play their part; "it's a symbol of us not surrendering, and that we hold on to our culture against any odds," Lytovchenko says about her message to her fellow citizens.
    Parts of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine close to the border with Russia, have been under continuous Russian fire for almost two months.
    Three people were killed and seven wounded in Russian air strikes and shelling of the northeast Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday (April 26), regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said.
    (Production: Felix Hoske)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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