Songs of Coal and Steel

Illustration

When: 27 November 2025, 18:30Where: Kryvyi Rih Municipal Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy named after T. H. Shevchenko

On 27 November in Kryvyi Rih, the concert “Songs of Coal and Steel” will take place, concluding a large six-month project during which young Ukrainian composers created new musical works.
Over several months, young composers selected through an open call explored the theme of Ukraine’s heavy industry. They immersed themselves in the history and memory of the industrial East, learned about coal extraction processes, and spoke with workers at the Zaporizhstal plant directly on site. They recorded factory sounds and collected processed materials for an installation. Coal mining and metallurgy have shaped everyday life in central and eastern Ukraine for generations. With this project, the composers and artists seek to pay tribute to this cultural heritage — an important part of the identity of thousands of Ukrainians both in the past and today. All the gathered experience and recorded industrial sounds are being reinterpreted by the artists and transformed into new musical compositions created within the project.
The concerts will feature six new works for ensemble (with electronics). Before each concert, visitors will see the installation “Reliquaries for Industrial Waste” by artist Maryna Shchehelska.
“The industrialisation and economic revival of West Germany after World War II are closely connected to the coal and steel districts of the Ruhr region. Mining plays an important role in local culture, and in 2010 the region became the European Capital of Culture. In Ukraine, a significant part of industrial infrastructure is currently occupied or must be protected from brutal Russian attacks at the cost of human lives. Yet Donetsk, Luhansk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions are also unique cultural landscapes whose identities are deeply tied to coal and steel production. With this project, we want to highlight the exceptional culture of these lands, which have suffered so heavily from colonialism and military violence, while also building musical bridges to the industrial regions of Western Germany,”— Fabian Müthaler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
Notably, several composers of the project were born in eastern regions of Ukraine, giving “Songs of Coal and Steel” a personal dimension for them: Volodymyr Rudenko (Zaporizhzhia), Valeriia Vynohradova (Berdiansk), and Maksym Ivanov (Kryvyi Rih). A graduate of the Kryvyi Rih Music College, Maksym went on to refine his skills as a flutist at the Dnipro Academy of Music while also studying composition. According to the young musician, it is his time in Kryvyi Rih that inspires his creativity:“Here, I am removed from daily chaos and can return to my childhood, when everything evoked awe and a sense of beauty — whether it was the burning sky or the neighbour’s dog covered in the dusty red ore.”
The young composers worked under the guidance of mentor Sven-Ingo Koch, a German composer and musicologist. Originally from Hagen, he grew up in the Ruhr region known for its metallurgical industry, and his father once worked in a coal mine. The theme of rethinking industrial heritage is therefore deeply personal to him. At the same time, his extensive experience enriches the collaboration with Ukrainian musicians. Koch has worked with the orchestras of SWR, WDR, Bavarian Radio, the Arditti Quartet, and leading contemporary music ensembles such as Musikfabrik, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Ascolta, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Resonanz, Neue Vocalsolisten, and others. He is a laureate of prestigious Stuttgart and Rome music awards, and his music is performed at major contemporary music festivals across Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Finland, and more.
“I grew up in the Ruhr region and vividly remember the red sky during evening walks. Locals said it was the Christ child baking cookies. Of course, I did not think about pollution back then. Later, I often visited former mines that had been transformed into concert halls — their acoustics are unique. It’s fascinating to witness how these industrial spaces gain new life,” says Sven-Ingo Koch.
As part of the project, concerts will also take place in Dnipro (28 November) and Kyiv (5 December). On 3 December, an open discussion “What Is the Industrial East of Ukraine?” will be held at the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, and on 4 December an opening of the audiovisual installation will take place at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine.
Works to be performed:
Tetiana Khoroshun — madrigal for ensemble and electronicsMykhailo Romanyshyn — 2-3-2-1 for ensemble and electronicsValeriia Vynohradova — domna 0 for ensemble and electronicsMaksym Ivanov — The Crimson Dust for ensembleValeriia Svyryda — Manus et umbra for ensemble and electronicsVolodymyr Rudenko — Ode to Fire for ensemble
Ensemble 24:
Khrystyna Hordiienko (violin)Khrystyna Merchuk (cello)Maksym Ivanov (flute)Nazar Yarmoliuk (clarinet)Yaroslav Hres (clarinet)Yuliia Shevchenko (horn)Adrian Shyiko (trombone)Anastasiia Sabadash (percussion)Antonii Kedrovskyi (conductor)
Maryna Shchehelska, visual artist.

Photo from the concert

Photo: Oleksii Protsenko

Tour of Kryvyi Rih

Photographer Anna Balvas

Public initiative designed to develop Kryvyi Rih

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Public initiative designed to develop Kryvyi Rih

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