Exclusively for ELLE.UA
Many Ukrainian professional musicians and musical groups have been performing abroad since the beginning of the full-scale war for cultural, diplomatic, charitable, and educational purposes, focusing the attention of Western audiences on the promotion of high Ukrainian art. One of such groups is the Kyiv Tango Orchestra quartet. All members of the quartet (Nazariy Stets, Tetyana Pavlichuk-Tyshkevych, Igor Sayenko, Taras Vidysh) are famous Ukrainian musicians, laureates and winners of Ukrainian and international competitions, performers of many premiere works by Ukrainian composers, and active volunteers since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
On the eve of the concert-presentation of the new album of Kyiv Tango Orchestra under the philosophical title Timeless, ELLE met with the soul, artistic director and only woman of the collective – Tetyana Pavlichuk-Tyshkevych. The musician is a descendant of a famous musical dynasty, great-granddaughter of the founder of the Kyiv Conservatory, laureate of many international competitions, pianist, teacher, composer.
Kyiv Tango Orchestra will present a concert-presentation of the album Timeless on September 17, 2025 at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, in the Lysenko Column Hall at 7:00 PM.
You, both solo and with a group, actively open our musical art to the world during a full-scale war. What particularly impressed you during your performances in support of Ukraine abroad?
At our concerts abroad, I was often struck by the sincere surprise of the audience. People did not expect that we could hold a concert in English and German and at the same time play at such a high professional level. They were also struck by the fact that we were beautiful, smiling and positive. I always joke: “Did you think we would arrive dirty, in ripped jackets, cars, with tear-stained faces?” No! We are a strong, talented nation with a sense of style, with a love for stage image. For us, every concert is a special event, and beautiful visuals are part of the profession. I am especially struck by how some audiences reacted to our performance: “We didn’t even know that there were such musicians in Ukraine.” And it is strange: Ukrainians have always been a musical nation. We must promote our own culture, use the window of opportunity that was given to us at a very high price. We take the stage with a heavy heart from the news, but we give sincere smiles, positivity, and gratitude for the support, attention, and opportunity to help Ukraine through music.
What artistic actions during the Great War do you consider the most effective?
Each of our charity concerts during the Great War became a successful artistic event. After all, every time after returning to Ukraine, we managed to purchase and deliver a lot of necessary assistance to children in shelters, patients in clinics and families who especially needed it. It was not only food, clothing, hygiene products or stationery, but also medicines, expensive drugs and even payment for operations. A special event for me was a trip to Bruges (Belgium), where we performed a charity concert at the Royal Theater. All the funds from ticket sales were transferred to the Ukrainian town of Kopychyntsi in the Ternopil region, which receives a large number of displaced persons and implements many important social projects.
Ukrainian music in general has a very tragic history with interrupted traditions, destroyed generations, oppression. You represent a unique musical dynasty, the history of which deserves a great study, a book and a film. In the meantime, I will ask you to briefly tell this family story for ELLE readers.
I am extremely proud of my roots and grateful to each ancestor and my parents for who I am today — for my nature, talent, and the knowledge they passed on. My parents are very talented: my father is also a singer, to whom I owe my acting talents, love for the stage, for Ukrainian songs, and traditions; my mother is a pianist, who is my main mentor and friend, to whom I owe, probably, everything. My older sister — a pianist and teacher — instilled in me a love for beautiful things, travel, and the ability to love myself and be feminine.
A special place in our family history is occupied by my great-grandfather, a famous Kyivan, composer and public figure Semen Tyshkevych-Azvazhynsky, who was the founder of the first workers' conservatory in Kyiv and the Lysenko Music and Drama Institute. He suffered a tragic fate: he was shot, and our family lost everything – property, instruments, his works. His wife, pianist Valentina Zhubr, with her three sons ended up in a concentration camp in Germany, then they lived for some time in Austria, where she founded a music school in St. Valentine (this institution still exists today), and later returned to Ukraine. In Kyiv, great difficulties awaited them with the stigma of “the wife of an enemy of the people”, so they started a new life in Lutsk, where Valentina became one of the founders of the first Chopin music school. She was an extraordinary person and teacher who raised a whole galaxy of students.
Our family story is truly worthy of books and movies. It is an example of resilience and love for family and music.
During the pandemic, while sitting in isolation, you started writing music. What have you written in recent years? Where can you listen to your works?
What I started writing is generally some kind of fantasy for myself and a big surprise for everyone who knows me well and sincerely treats me. My mother was the first listener and critic of my music. Then my father, friends, students, and since the full-scale invasion, my lover. My close friend, composer and performer Usein Bekirov, also supported me at the beginning.
I have written almost ten piano pieces, each with its own title and story. I have set myself an ambitious deadline: by the spring of 2026, I will edit, record, and publish these works both on paper and in audio and video format. This is not an easy task, but I accept it as a challenge and promise not to fail. Currently, only one of my works is available – “On Malevich” – and you can listen to it on my YouTube channel.
By the way, I have already played some of my works at concerts in Slovenia, Norway, and Germany, but never in Ukraine. Everything is ahead. I really believe in it.
You perform unexpected musical experiments, develop dialogues between different cultures, between different musical genres. Tell us about your album Timeless, which you will soon present to the capital's audience?
The album Timeless is the dream child of our team. The album came about thanks to the support of friends – the parents of my students, Natalia and Oleksiy Mushak.
The music from the album is extremely personal to me. Each piece on the Timeless album is a part of our shared journey during the war, it preserves the memory of what we experienced, a whole bunch of still frames. For it, we collected pieces that were most often performed during a full-scale invasion, mainly at concerts abroad, and it was these pieces that we wanted to record for history. Among them, in particular, are seven famous Ukrainian songs. The album title symbolizes that this music transcends time, retains its value and power regardless of fashion or era. This is music that never ages and always sounds relevant.
Last year, you, one of the best pianists in the country, married the virtuoso double bass player Nazariy Stets. You and your husband are together almost 24/7. What is it like to live together, constantly work together, and tour? What advice can you give to young couples from your experience for harmonizing their relationships?
(Smiles.) This question will lead to at least one separate interview, which I may decide to do at some point. Or maybe I will decide to do it together with my husband. There is a lot to talk about and a lot to tell. (Smiles.)
For now, I can try to answer briefly: living and working with Nazariy is a real happiness and a great challenge at the same time. There are so many things that simply cannot be planned, because it is… unrealistic. (Smiles.) And I love planning. So, I am learning to live differently. I think like a man after all. It is difficult for us without each other, even on a physical level. I always get sick when he goes somewhere, and he is very worried about me — like a little girl. That is why we try to be together: we travel, prepare concerts, rehearse. And thanks to this, our partnership becomes deeper — we understand and feel each other better, support and inspire each other.
Advice to young couples: find a balance between professional and personal moments, learn to value time together and not be afraid to talk about your needs. When there is mutual respect and support, living together and creating becomes an incredible source of joy and strength.
Do you have any practices or rituals that help you maintain inner balance in our dizzying times?
I look for different ways to unwind and recharge. Shooting range and boxing used to calm me down, but now I embroider a beautiful towel, play tennis, experiment in the kitchen, learn new piano pieces, read interesting books, learn how to edit videos for my projects, and continue to improve my English and German.
I realize that we are all, and I in particular, here on earth, temporarily. We live, love, create — and this is a great gift!
Text: Myroslava Makarevych
