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\n On his new album, Ukrainian-born, New York-based pianist and composer Vadim Neselovskyi explores the horror and hope he’s felt since Russia’s incursion.
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Arkady Mitnik<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Arkady Mitnik<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Vadim Neselovskyi isn’t used to being stumped. Music has flowed out of him since he was five years old. But the pianist-composer was transfixed and unable to play when he saw images of Russia’s all-out air and ground assault on his native Ukraine four years ago.<\/p>\n Three weeks later, when he finally approached the piano, he played brutal, repetitive chords at maximum volume. They became the basis of “Tanks Near Kyiv,” the second movement of an 11-part suite for piano and string trio he’s performing worldwide. The chords grow relentlessly faster, joined by frenetic strings. Repeated strokes on the violin become a desperate cry for help until it all peters out to a dissonant whisper in his signature blend of classical and jazz.<\/p>\n