Feodor Akimenko

1876 - 1945

Ukrainian Theodore Akimenko (he was born in Kharkiv) was born at a time when the country was still part of Imperialist Russia. At an early age he went to St Petersburg to sing at the Imperial Court. While at the court he learned composition and amongst other things, taught Stravinsky.

Following the vicissitudes of revolution and counter revolution Akimenko emigrated first to Prague and later to Paris. His style was initially quite modernist.

However he became increasingly focused on a Ukrainian cultural identity, a reaction to the Russification that had infected Ukrainian culture following the collapse of the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth.

His later work in particular is coloured with Ukrainian themes, including Christmas carols and choral arrangements of Ukrainian folksongs.

The violin concerto is an earlier work from his time in Russia: