By Halyna Kravtchouk, Winnipeg, Canada
«Koshetz’s Ukrainians are more wonderful than ever», Winnipeg Free Press
The Ukrainian National
Choir, under the direction of the world-renowned Ukrainian choral conductor
Alexander Koshetz, ceased to exist in 1924. In Maestro’s own words, the
troubles began in Havana (when the singers attempted to strike over ten days of
unpaid work. Additional reasons for the choir’s dissolution included
misunderstandings and clashes among the choristers, indecent behavior by some
singers, constant conflicts with their impresario Max Rabinow, and falsified,
humiliating, and provocative information in the press. These negative reports
were influenced by russophiles and moscow agents and targeted the choir, the
conductor, and the choristers. Some singers, lured by promises of well-paying
jobs, wished to continue independently and become famous without Rabinow and
Koshetz. As a result, everyone, including the conductor, was left jobless and
penniless.
After a year of
unemployment, Alexander Koshetz signed a new contract with Max Rabinow, the
founder and director of the American Institute of Operatic Art in Stony Point,
New York. Rabinow appointed Maestro as the principal conductor of the American
Choir (The Stony Point Ensemble).
Koshetz had to prepare the newly formed choir for a North American tour
scheduled for August 1925, during which they planned to give 100 concerts over
a 15-week period.
