Gnat Khotkevych
multidisciplinary artist and innovator
He received his education at the Kharkiv Institute of Technology at the Technical Faculty. In 1901, when he worked as an engineer on the Kharkiv-Nikolaev railway, he developed his own project of a diesel train, that is, 30 years earlier than the American counterpart.
Khotkevych's interest in the history of his country, folklore, Ukrainian literature was traced during his studies at the school. He wrote scientific works on Ukrainian music, theater, Kobzar art, etc. Later, he often gave lectures on folk instruments, kobzars and bandurists, which he organized himself.
Khotkevich's theatrical activity began in his student years. In 1895 he organized a village theater in Derkachi in Kharkiv region. Later he managed a theater in Kharkiv, with which he toured Slobozhanshchyna. In 1903, Khotkevych created the first workers' theater in Ukraine, with which he staged more than 50 performances in Ukrainian within three years. During his emigration to Ivano-Frankivsk region in the village of Krasnoillya, he founded the Hutsul Theater.
Especially for the Hutsul Theater, Hotkevich wrote plays “Dovbusch” (1909), “Hutsul Year” (1910), “Difficult” (1911), etc. Among other dramatic works of Hotkevich, it should be noted “On the railway” (1925), the historical play “O regiment Igorevim” (1926) and the tetralogy “Bohdan Khmelnitsky” (1929), “Pereyaslav”.
The first swallow in the literary activity of the artist was the story “Georgian”, published in the Lviv magazine “Zorya”. Khotkevich wrote many prose works, but his most notable achievement is the romantic story from Hutsul life “Fireplace Soul” (1911). In addition, he created more than a dozen film scripts.
Publishing was one of Hotkevich's dreams. The man made his first attempts in this field back in his student years. Subsequently, he created the publishing house “Vydano V.I.Gurt”, wanted to publish the works of Ukrainian writers, distribute them, but it was with the selection of literature that there were many problems. Colleagues in Peru, for example, Lesja Ukrainka, Olga Kobylianska, did not support the initiative, because they considered it humiliating to publish in the publishing house of Hotkevych because of his unprofessionalism. Nevertheless, Mikhail Kotsyubinsky showed tolerance and democracy and sent Hotkevich fifty copies of his book “Dear Price” for sale.
In addition to his own works, Hotkevich has a number of translations. During the Soviet occupation, he translated Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, etc.), Mollier, Schiller, Hugo, a novel by Polish writer K. Tetmayer's “Legend of Tatr”.
In January 1913, Gnat Hotkevich was editor of the literary magazine “Bulletin of Culture and Life”.
Gnat Hotkevich had experience in cinema. In 1937, he played the role of Kobzar Kyryk in the film “Nazar Stodol”.
Professionally possessing the skills of singing and playing the violin and piano, Hotkevich had a special love for musical instruments for bandura. The musician began to master the instrument when he was 19. Training was easy, so after a short time he traveled almost all major cities of Ukraine as a bandurist-soloist. Subsequently, he even created his so-called Kharkiv Bandura School, and also published a series of pedagogical literature for bandura “Textbooks of Bandura” (1909, 1929, 1930, 1931), “A Short Course on Bandura” and composed a number of compositions and adaptations of folk songs. During 1928—1931 he headed the Poltava Bandurists' Chapel, for which he created a rich repertoire. The team under his leadership achieved tremendous success and received a contract to tour North America. Since 1998, the International Competition of Performers on Ukrainian Folk Instruments named after Gnat Hotkevich has been held in Kharkiv every three years. Bandurists, singers, cymbals, violinists, domrists, cobblers participate in the competition. In Canada and Australia there are bandurist chapels named after Hotkevich.
The musician has completed approximately 600 musical works: romances, choruses, string quartets, large-format works for bandura and bandura orchestra, etc. Many of his compositions today are considered folk, for example, “Poem about Baidu”, “Storm on the Black Sea”, “Nontea”, “About the Death of a Cossack Bandurist” and others. Many works of Hotkevich were published during his lifetime, and in 1931 the Soviet authorities banned them and excluded them from performing practice.