Speaker welcomes Ukrainian orchestra to parliament

Musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine performed an impromptu concert at Speaker’s House - as part of their mission to fight the war against Russia on the cultural front. 

Forty members of the NSOU dropped in on Sir Lindsay Hoyle during their 17-venue UK tour, to tell him how Russian President Vladimir Putin is using his illegal invasion to seize the cultural identity of the Ukrainian people. 

Hundreds of cultural sites* have been damaged since Ukraine was invaded 20-months' ago; with Ukrainian language books removed from libraries, and musicians having to practice underground as bombs rain down overhead. 

But the NSOU, one of the oldest and finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe, is hoping ‘to wrestle the spotlight from Russia’ to instead show off Ukraine’s cultural prowess with its biggest single-country tour. 

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay said: ‘Russia might think it can diminish, destroy and eradicate the Ukrainian spirit – but it is wrong. 

‘Ukrainian culture, and especially its music, which brings so much comfort to soldiers en route to the battlefields and to those huddled in shelters trying to escape the bombs, is alive, well and thriving, despite Putin’s best efforts. 

‘The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is living proof that the Ukrainian people will continue to enjoy their cultural heritage, no matter what Russia throws at them.’ 

With no flights in and out of Ukraine, the 90-member orchestra travelled for 20-hours by coach across two borders to Warsaw, Poland, where they boarded a flight to Heathrow. 

The musicians will perform in venues across the UK, including at Birmingham Symphony Hall, Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, at the Liverpool Philharmonic, and finally at Norwich’s Theatre Royal on 5 November. 

They will play a repertoire of music, carefully selected by the orchestra to resonate with the country’s current situation, including Mazeppo by Liszt, inspired by the Ukrainian hero Ivan Mazeppa, who victoriously fought against the Russian imperial regime in the 17^th century. 

Alexander Hornostai, NSOU’s managing director and producer, said the orchestra had lost many musicians to the war – either through conscription, or because they had been forced to move away from war-torn Kyiv. 

While those remaining continue to practice and perform in the Lysenko Column Concert Hall in the Ukrainian capital, they are regularly forced to retreat to a shelter beneath the building when the sirens go off, he said. 

‘We are fighting for the recognition of Ukrainian culture all over the world,’ he said.  

‘Ukraine is not Russia; Ukrainian music is not Russian. It is special, original, self-sufficient, and beautiful. We have renounced all Russian music and art without hesitation – by replacing it with Ukrainian music we are trying to crystallize a sense of pride for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.’ 

ends 

Notes to editors 

• *As of 13 September 2023, UNESCO verified damage to 289 sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022 – 120 religious sites, 27 museums, 109 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 19 monuments, 13 libraries ,1 Archive. 

• The UK Home Office agreed to waive visa fees for the 90-member orchestra. 

• British Airways has used sponsorship to help fund return flights for the entire orchestra. 

• Sir Lindsay Hoyle has long been a supporter of Ukraine, having welcomed President Volodymyr Zelensky into Speaker’s House before the war, and earlier this year to address MPs and peers in Westminster Hall. He also allowed the President to address the House of Commons via video link, welcomed his wife, Olena Zelenska to put on an exhibition on Russian War Crimes in Portcullis House, and held meetings with his opposite number - Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada - and several Ukrainian MPs.