Home page » Topics » Art » The Living Museum of Accordions in Zhashkiv The town of Zhashkiv is home to one of the biggest collections of accordions in Ukraine Ivan Sukhyi works on the second floor of the town’s music school: since 1991 he has been leading the children’s accordion ensemble Ukraine’s only accordion museum is here too; the collection has around five hundred exhibits some of which are over a hundred years old All are in working order and can be played by any visitor to the museum Professional musician Ivan Sukhyi has been teaching children to play the accordion for many years he realised that simply playing was not enough: what he needed was a multi-angle approach he had collected so many that the music school (where Ivan worked) offered to open an exhibition room Ivan explains why the museum is unique: the instruments aren’t just there to be looked at – Right now this is the only accordion museum in Ukraine; it’s in the Ukrainian Book of Records Because you know that in any local history museum everything is open: it’s a place dedicated to pure That’s one distinguishing feature of this museum It’s also the base of the Ukrainian accordionists’ ensemble — 26 to 28 people – I realized that I had to gather material until I’d gathered so many that I had to open a museum It turns out that the children are happy too It’s a job that makes you smile: if they enjoy it The accordion came to Ukraine from Russia at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries connected by a bellows — appeared in the 1820s and spread very quickly The accordion was popular among village dwellers in Ukraine; it was used to play humorous songs The instrument was even adapted to the vocal-instrumental folk tradition particular to Ukraine dumas (folk ballads — ed.) and religious verses or psalms Ivan Sukhyi led an orchestra of Russian folk instruments up until 1991; then he decided to bring in the accordion and quickly attracted the interest of others; soon enough Ivan’s father helped him to make a drum for them the group was invited to participate in the inter-republican children’s festival in Khmelnytskyi —  The director called me and asked what I could bring and the resulting ensemble was awarded a prize in this competition the ensemble came to the competition better prepared The judges argued that the accordion was not a Ukrainian instrument and never had been Ivan was outraged by this; he says there was an accordion in every Ukrainian village: — I was upset by their disdainful response Ever since then — since 1991 — I haven’t played any Russian songs on the accordion of which 38 were nationwide or international ones In 28 years I’ve taught more than 250 children to play the accordion and we’ve travelled to 12 European countries This type of accordion — known in Ukrainian as a harmon or harmonika — is the predecessor of the bayan (button accordion — ed.) and the piano accordion Ivan says its distinguishing feature is that it pushes the human body into movement: but the person starts doing a little involuntary dance This kind of muscle contraction is called innervation Many different kinds of instruments find their way into the museum collection by himself or with his father (who still works in the workshop at the age of 92) — The harbakord is a combination of three different types of accordion — the harmon the bayan and the piano accordion — and it’s amazing We invented it ourselves — I dreamed it up I wanted to play only on the left hand side of two instruments my brother and I took a whole summer — all of three months — to make it The first instrument Ivan Sukhyi created was a small accordion and his daughter asked him to make one like it Another pearl of the collection is the reed organ who stored it under a canopy; it took four years to dry out vibrating sound; they don’t make them like that anymore It’s our pride and joy — there’s an instrument like this in the Museum of Theatre Art in Kyiv The one in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi doesn’t work either But we had enough skills and knowledge to repair it and give it a new life and it’s a real antique piece in our collection The museum also houses an instrument from the days of the Russian Empire Ivan mentions a certain accordionist named Petronetskyi The tsar appreciated his musical talent so that instruments were made for him in the royal workshop Ivan is very happy to have bought such a valuable piece: and added one more voice: now you can play it back and forth and it produces a richer sound Ivan says he’s never bored by the accordion; he can even play for 13 hours in a row: — I’m doing what I’ve loved since childhood But all that wasn’t enough for me — I wanted to study Then I went back to music school to study the balalaika I completed a four-year programme in one year and became a balalaika teacher I graduated from the international accordion school in St I studied for 18 years and would love to keep on studying The music school in Zhashkiv celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2018 the musical community in Zhashkiv did not believe anything would come of it some of his students have gone on to become very successful: — I have three prizewinning boys: one has won three international competitions even took part in the children’s version of Ukraine’s Got Talent They have all received certificates awarded by the Association of Accordionists of Ukraine Ivan thinks that all his students should receive the accolade of “honoured accordionist of Ukraine” He doesn’t worry that the children will become arrogant they go to bed aware of what they have achieved; the next morning Ivan Sukhyi holds the title of “honoured cultural worker of Ukraine” and has also received several other orders of merit Ivan — as the number two accordionist in Ukraine — received a presidential accordion from Viktor Yushchenko but he is unwilling to rest on his laurels Ivan has constantly had to defend the accordion to argue that it is worthy of a place among the Ukrainian instruments In Ukraine he has performed in Kirovohrad (now called Kropyvnytskyi — tr.) He says he made these trips in defence of the accordion do you know what I do when I’m a member of the jury I come and plant the Ukrainian flag and the Zhashkiv coat of arms students are able to receive an official accordion diploma — the first of its kind in Ukraine a student of mine finished the accordion course and wanted to continue studying where there’s a music college specialising in the accordion He graduated from there and became Ukraine’s first professional accordion player Now he’s studying the accordion at the conservatory in Moscow but it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to find a job in Ukraine If they opened an accordion class somewhere here The museum collection also features instruments made out of matches Among his many matchstick creations (including a tractor) Senchukov has created 13 different musical instruments: a student from the music school made an accordion out of beads so I said to Bohdan that it was time for us to combine our talents Bohdan had already begun making a matchstick guitar Then he brought a matchstick model of a button accordion — which wasn’t playable — and I brought him the best accordion that existed at that time The result was this accordion: the basses are made out of matches The fingerboard alone is made up of 5,000 matches; 18,000 were needed to make the whole instrument I won second prize at the Lanciano accordion competition in Italy It plays beautifully; it’s a high-quality instrument He has made it many times over; he’s made that fingerboard several times This one has also made it into the record book We even have a special date in the calendar — Matchstick Day A festival of matchstick craft was held here and craftspeople came from all over Ukraine to display their creations: there were ships but Bohdan is the only one to have made matchstick instruments: and our ensemble has made it into Ukraine’s National Register of Records and we have the world’s only ensemble of matchstick instruments created by craftsman Bohdan Senchukov and director Ivan Sukhyi He’s a candidate for the Guinness Book of World Records We know there’s a Hawaiian guitar in there a souvenir rather than an instrument that can be played So this is how one dedicated individual can create a whole museum of instruments from 200-year-old antiques to home-made pieces These instruments can then be used to teach people to play Ivan Sukhyi has trained many aspiring musicians; more than anything he has worked hard to preserve the tradition of accordion playing and make sure it continues into the future Involved in the preparation of the material 13 volunteers Project support: Fundacja Euromaidan-Warszawa Use of materials is only permitted upon providing the source: Ukrainer.net Дизайн — Артем Зубкевич Розробка — Deluxcode Because of the Russian invasion in Ukraine the two top horses Comme il faut and Cornet Obolensky were stuck at Gestüt Zhashkiv Now the two would have found their way out of Ukraine after all.  The two horses were no longer available for breeding and there were fears for the safety of the animals who stayed close to the war zone Now Martin Peeters posted a picture in which is seen that Comme il faut and Cornet Obolensky are on the truck to make their way out of Ukraine 31–Poland’s Michal Rapcewicz was eliminated from the Central European League World Cup Final when Randon the horse he competed at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games showed blood on both sides from what officials determined was caused by spurs and a yellow disciplinary card was issued to the rider The Polish SP gelding began his Grand Prix career in 2006 and was ridden at both World Equestrian Games in Aachen Euopean Championships and several World Cup Finals in both Europe and the United States as well as the two Olympics an International Equestrian Federation (FEI) 4* judge eliminated the 31-year-old rider based on a report of FEI Chief Steward Jan Posluszny of Poland Two yellow cards within a year of one another triggers automatic suspension of two months THE world famous show jumping stallions Cornet Obolensky and Comme Il Faut were safely evacuated from war-torn Ukraine on Wednesday passing the border at Korczowa-Krakowiec into Poland Martijn Peters from Horse Flight Operations shared a picture of the stallions on a truck leaving Ukraine where they were formerly based at Gestüt Zhashkiv They were due to make their way to the stables of Hubert Vornholt in Münster Korczowa-Krakowiec is currently the only point on the border where horses can leave the country and the process of evacuating horses is being made more difficult as only those with EU papers are permitted to pass over Devastating videos of horse owners letting their animals free in a forest in the hope of them surviving have been shared on social media Polish officials associated with two of the country’s leading studbooks are reportedly trying to simplify border crossing protocols in order to facilitate and speed up the entry requirements The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) said they are also working on the border issue “The ability to evacuate horses is very difficult due in part to the road infrastructure but also as currently only horses with EU papers are able to pass over the border We are working closely with the FEI on this matter The focus is currently on providing aid to the horses within the country The majority of Ukrainian stables are in a critical state Supplies are very low and donations of feed and shavings are urgently required,” said an EEF spokesperson The Ukrainian Equestrian Federation has now created a foundation in order to manage offers of accommodation and accept physical donations at a hub in Poland Romania and Hungary are all in the process of creating quarantine stations with offers of longer-term accommodation from Germany and Italy so far feed and sawdust for the horses that are still left behind in Ukraine while they are also pleading for transport vehicles to get the horses out of the country a notice on the www.helpukrainehorses.eu said: “There are safe areas and transportation stables available to bring horses to safety But there is a shortage of vehicles for horse transportation At this very moment there is two cars who are taking the trips back and forth to bring two horses at a time from danger zone to closest transportation stable Horse vans and cars with trailers can be arranged to cross the border from Poland to Ukraine as part of the humanitarian convoys.” met with the main farm organisations and Teagasc this week to discuss the impact on Irish agriculture and supply chains Ukraine is the fourth largest grain exporter in the world and have stated they are not exporting this year McConalogue outlined the challenge that faces farmers in the short- and long-term with supply chains likely to be disrupted for a period “Our great sector is facing one of the most significant challenges in recent years we must take proactive steps to limit any potential disruption to our feed and food supply chains By working collectively we can ensure that the sector is insulated against the worst of what might come from supply chain disruptions.” The Minister announced that he has tasked Teagasc with heading up a National Fodder and Food Security Committee to minimise the impact on farms and plan in the short to medium term A spokesperson from Irish feed company Gain Equine Nutrition said: “Glanbia Ireland is the biggest buyer and user of Irish grains Gain has built longstanding established relationships with ingredient suppliers over many years We will continue to work closely with all elements of our supply chain in this dynamic situation.” Templepatrick-based Polish national Magdalena Oleszek is organising a collection at Tyrella today (Saturday) for two Ukranian families who are staying with her family in Poland bedding and would also welcome donations for fuel costs as she will have the goods delivered to Poland Northern region event organiser Dora Beacom will have a bucket in her office for financial donations About us Contact us Advertise with us Company information Careers Privacy statement Terms of service Commenting policy Change cookies settings