The Freedom Symphony – Concert for the Victims is a large-scale symphonic production performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, featuring 68 musicians on stage. The concert reflects on the universal struggle for freedom, human dignity, and cultural survival in times of war. It is built as an international touring project that uses classical music as a direct emotional language—beyond politics, beyond borders. The program does not simply present music, but creates a shared space of reflection where audiences are confronted with the realities of conflict and the enduring power of human resilience. It connects European cultural traditions with the lived experience of Ukraine today, turning the symphonic stage into a place of testimony, memory, and hope.
Artists
Cast & Creative Team
The project is led by Volodymyr Sirenko, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine since 1999. Sirenko is an internationally recognized conductor with a long career across Europe, Asia, and North America, known for his deep commitment to Ukrainian symphonic culture and its representation on the world stage. Under his leadership, the orchestra has become one of Ukraine’s most important cultural voices. A key artistic element of the production is Hungarian soprano Kata Simon, who appears in a symbolic role as a grieving mother. Her presence introduces a human, vocal dimension to the orchestral narrative, transforming abstract historical and political themes into direct emotional experience. The combination of full symphonic force and solo voice creates a powerful contrast between collective sound and individual loss. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine itself, founded in 1918, is one of the country’s leading cultural institutions, internationally acclaimed for its artistic level and its role in preserving and representing Ukrainian musical heritage.
Artistic & strategic context
The concert is structured as a continuous dramaturgical journey rather than a traditional program. It begins with monumental symphonic works and gradually moves into more intimate, emotionally intense pieces that explore identity, loss, resilience, and the human cost of war. The repertoire includes works by Dvořák, Sibelius, Barvinsky, Barber, and others, alongside a newly commissioned world premiere created specifically for this project. Each piece contributes to a single narrative arc, where music becomes a form of testimony and reflection rather than pure performance. A central symbolic moment is the appearance of the soprano as a mourning mother, which anchors the abstract orchestral narrative in a deeply personal human story.
Why is this concert interesting and meaningful?
- A powerful European cultural statement on freedom and human dignity.
- Brings together diverse composers and traditions in one unified narrative.
- Includes a moving exhibition of Ukrainian children’s drawings.
- Creates a multi-layered experience of music, memory, and reality.
- Turns the concert into a shared emotional and societal reflection on war and resilience.