Piano Extremist

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Piano Extremist

Piano Extremist (also known as Maidan Pianist) — is an Ukrainian pianist, composer and artist. It is a history of a man who created the image that became famous around the world. This image is built by the modern generation of Ukrainians after the Maidan events during the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity. Due to the important historical component and because of the project author’s affinity for classical music, the genre of his personal creative heritage can be called historical neoclassics.

Bio

In 2014, Piano Extremist first played on Khreshchatyk «Ludovico Einaudi — Nuvole bianche»., while dressed in a balaclava and bulletproof vest. On YouTube, his video was viewed over 500,000 times and became a musical symbol of the Maidan.

Later that year, in the fall, together with battalion ‘Dnipro 1’ of Ukrainian state military forces, he visited the ATO (anti-terrorist operation zone in eastern Ukraine) and started an ATO music tour called “We will protect those who protect us.”. He travelled mainly through central and eastern Ukraine, visiting more than 50 cities with charity street concerts. In general, in 2014–2018, Piano Extremist performed more than 300 concerts in Ukraine: in the north, south (Chongar blockpost), west and east.

In the early spring of 2014, Piano Extremist created his first composition ‘To Heavenly Hundred’, and later, before the beginning of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, he wrote «Everyone Has Their Own Battles”. In 2015, he recorded his first music album at Dnipro studio and called it after the slogan that was written on his wooden shield, which he used during protests when authorities beat and tortured Ukrainian activists during the Revolution of Dignity: «Protection of the Free Hearts» (2015), and visited a number of Ukrainian cities presenting it. The album’s online version is uploaded on SoundCloud. Four years later, with the addition of new instruments and electronic flavours, it was re-recorded in a Kyiv studio and released on disc with a cover and personal sketches by the project author.

Due to the important historical component and because of the author’s affinity for classical music, the genre of his own creative heritage can be called ‘historical neoclassics’. Indeed, the author himself prefers to say «Music is my Weapon», and thinks that his live performance, where he contributes a part of himself, speaks to people better than any definition.

In 2019, due to a severe health condition, the Pianist interrupted his live tour and focused on painting, which became a part of his life during breaks between concerts.

During performances, he always wears his balaclava and thoroughly hides his face.

Music is not the only way the Maestro expresses his feelings, thoughts and tells us what he saw. Later, Bohdan started to create paintings.

Freedom Instrument

Maidan Pianist played on different pianos that were set in various places on the Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity: in the Labor Union House, in front of the Kyiv City Council building and in the Ukrainian Hall. Then such instruments located on the Maidan squares of different Ukrainian cities were called ‘Freedom Instrument’.

Painting

In 2017, Piano Extremist expanded the horizons of his oeuvre and started to draw. After the ATO zone, he went to Odessa to rest for three days. He hadn’t seen the sea for a long time, so he swam a couple of times a day, even despite the cold water. During those three days, he lived in a friend’s house, and her daughter took drawing lessons. He just observed for the first couple of days how she drew, and on the last day, he asked about a master class. She agreed, and that day he created his first three paintings with oil paints. He called his paintings amateur, but when people started buying them through Facebook, he started working thoroughly on improving his techniques. All the pain and horror that followed him and his country, people who faced the war, he started to reveal now in paintings that were concordant with his musical compositions.

Most of Bohdan’s works are dedicated to the ATO events; sometimes it is recognizable Donetsk Airport or Ukrainian ATO heroes. Some works are abstract art with spots and lines. ( maznyamaestro series). Many works are interpreted differently by different people, but they provide everyone with memorable impressions. Those works touch something deep inside us that we try not to recall every day or even intentionally avoid those topics, something that we do not speak about.

In 2020, Piano Extremist started experimenting and combined his concerts with exhibitions. Thus, he did a mini-tour in Ukraine before the COVID-19 quarantine.

By now, more than 500 paintings have been created.

Paintings Series

• sketchbookofwar
• maznyamaestro
• autumn_porn
• Акварельні мініатюри. Графіка

Movies

• Participation in a movie. In 2014, Polish director Drygas (Ukrainian: Дригас ) created a documentary movie Piano, where Piano Extremist became one of the characters – there he talked about his life story and the path that brought him to Maidan…

• Episode

• Soundtrack to the movie "Ilovaisk. Heaven Knights". Movie "Ilovaisk. Heaven Knights." is based on interviews with relatives, dear ones, friends and sworn brothers of the lost heroes, as well as archive materials. Shooting was done in several Ukrainian cities. Director – Strelchenko (Ukrainian: Стрельченко )
• The soundtrack to the film contained three versions of the composition ‘Illovaisk. Tribute to Taras Brus (Tribute to My Sworn Brother Taras)’

Interesting Facts

• The title ‘Piano Extremist’ was taken from a Russian propagandist, who gave negative feedback about participants of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity.
• First concerts, the Pianist performed on specially prepared by volunteers (found, bought or donated) street pianos in different Ukrainian cities. Some concert managers even painted instruments specially for the performances as a tribute to the musician and participants of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity.
• Later concerts, the Pianist performed using his own instruments: Kurzweil and Yamaha, which were donated by patrons and fans.
• He was a volunteer in the ATO and helped paramedics.
• The Pianist prefers not to give interviews shortly before or after concerts. He explains that it is not a “star disease” but exhaustion and strain. Each concert for him is a transformation and ‘living through’ the related events from his musical compositions again and again.

Albums

• Protection of Free Hearts (2015)

Compositions

To Heavenly Hundred Everyone Has Their Own Battles The Walk with Someone Who is Gone Illovaisk. Tribute to Taras Brus (Tribute to My Sworn Brother Taras) Morning After the Terrible Night Hero's Soul Winter The Girl Who Inspired The Pianist. In Memory of Wife and Son. The Walk with Someone Who Is Gone To Heavenly Hundred. The Improvisational Version. Sloviansk. Revival. Heart Chongar. Tribute to Oleg Sentsov (Ukrainian: Олегу Сенцову ) Maxwell’s demon

Concerts

Concerts at the Frontline

• Batalion Karpatska Sich (Ukrainian: Батальйон Карпатська січ )
• Butivka Mine (Шахта Бутівка )
• Mariupol Concert (Маріупольський концерт )

Live Performances

• Piano Extremist played in the Kyiv Museum of Printing
• Piano-Extremist (Vinnitsa, 5/05/2014)
• Piano Extremist
• Piano Extremist - The morning after terrible night
• Maidan Pianist
• Ukrainian soldier playing piano
• I promised not to talk much, I will play – Piano Extremist
• Zaporizhzhya

Piano Extremist in the mass media

• «Maidan Pianist.»: history of the person who created the image that became famous around the world
• Six years after the Maidan. Pianist’s Monologue. Radio Freedome
• Faces Of Maidan: The Piano Extremist
• The most popular Maidan Pianist brings music to a frontline.
• Maidan Pianist: My weapon is a fortepiano. / 24 channel
• The Piano Extremist: Maestro of Euromaidan
• Evening. Pianist. Maidan

References

Social Networks

• support of the project Piano Extremist. Patreon
• Facebook Piano Extremist
• Soundcloud
• Behance
• Pinterest
• Fecebook Піаніст Майдану
• Instagram
• Youtube

This article "Piano Extremist" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Piano Extremist. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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