Volodymyr Ivasyuk

Volodymyr Mykhaylovych Ivasyuk (4 March 1949 Chernovtsy Obslast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union – 18 May 1979 Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union)--also "Ivasiuk"-- Ukrainian: Володи́мир Миха́йлович Івасю́к; Russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Ивасю́к) was a very popular Ukrainian composer and poet from the Ukrainian SSR. He is the author and composer of the widely popular song "Chervona Ruta", popularized by Sofia Rotaru in 1971 but later covered by other singers as well.

Biography

Ivasyuk was born in the city of Kitsman, Chernivtsi Oblast, on March 4, 1949. His father Mykhaylo Ivasyuk was a well-known writer from Bukovyna. His mother Sofiya Ivasyuk, from the Zaporizhia Oblast by birth, was a teacher in a local school. As early as the age of five, Volodymyr began learning to play the violin at a music school. Later, he learnt to play the piano as well. In 1964 he created an ensemble - "Bukovyna" - in his school and wrote their first songs, the first of which was "Lullaby".

After Volodymyr had already graduated from secondary school, his family moved to the city of Chernivtsi where his father was offered a teaching job at the University of Chernivtsi. Volodymyr went to study at a Medical Institute while he continued his musical career.He joined the "Karpaty Ensemble" at a local community centre and played the violin and offered his songs to be performed.

He became a national phenomenon in the Soviet Union, when on September 13, 1970 he publicly performed, in a duet with Olena Kuznetsova, the songs "Chervona Ruta" (Ukrainian for 'Red Rue')and "Vodohray" in a theatre of Chernivtsi in the presence of a thousands of townsfolk and millions of TV viewers.

Unbeknowst to him, Ivasyuk’s fame spread very fast indeed. In 1971 his "Chervona Ruta", performed live in Moscow with along fellow Chervona Ruta co stars Vasyl Zinkevych and Nazary Yaremchuk won the Best Song of the Year award of the Soviet Union, and his "Vodohray" was the best song of the next year. "Chervona Ruta", sung by Sofia Rotaru (whose of Moldovan ethnicity), became a megahit, particularly after it featured in the musical "Chervona Ruta", directed by Roman Oleksiv.

Ivasyuk moved to Lviv and enrolled at the music conservatory, composers department. Upon graduation from the medical institute, he worked as a doctor, and joined the post-graduate courses at the Department of Pathological Physiology to work for his next degree. In Lviv Volodymyr created the songs: "I - your wing" , "Two rings", "Ballad about mallow", "Ballad about two violins". All these saongs and many other works of Ivasyuk were premiered by Sofia Rotaru.

His celebrity status in the Soviet Union and his cultural contributions in general, and Ukrainian in specific, drew the attention of Soviet authorities. On May 18, 1979 was found hanged in a forest located on the outskirts of Lvov. The official cause of death was listed as suicide but the circumstances of his death remain unkown to this day. He is buried at Lychakivskiy Cemetery. There is a museum in Chernivtsi dedicated to preserving his memory.

Picture Gallery

External links

* [http://ivasyuk.org.ua/ Pages to memories of Volodymyr Ivasyuk]