Piano Extremist

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Piano Extremist

Piano Extremist (also known as a 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 important historical component and because of the project author’s affinity for classical music, genre of his personal creative heritage can be called historical neoclassics.

Bio

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

Later that year, in the fall, together with batalion ‘Dnipro 1’ of Ukrainian state military forces he visited ATO (anti-teroristic operation zone at the East of Ukraine) and started ATO- music tour called “We will protect those who protects us.”. He travelled mainly through Center and East of the Ukraine, visiting more than 50 cities with the charity street concerts. In general in 2014 - 2018 Piano Extremist performed more than 300 concerts in Ukraine: North, South (Chongar blockpost), West and East of Ukraine heard alive performances.

In the early spring of 2014 Pіano Extremist created his first composition ‘To Heavenly Hundred’, and later before the beginning of the russian military agression against Ukraine - «Everyone Has Their Own Battles”. In 2015 he records his first music album on Dnipro studio and calls it after slogan that was written on his wooden shield that he used during protests when authorities beated and tortured Ukrainian activists during Revolution of Dignity: «Protection of the Free Hearts» (2015) and visited a number of Ukrainian cities presenting it. Album online version is uploaded on the SoundCloud. In 4 years, with addition of new instruments and electronic flavours, it was re-recorded in Kyiv studio and got its disk version with the cover and personal sketches of the project author.

Due to important historical component and because of the author’s affinity for the classical music, 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 thing that better than any definition speaks to the people, is his alive performance, where he contributes a part of himself.

In 2019 because of the severe health condition Pianist interrupted his alive tour and focused on painting, which became a part of his life when he had a break between the concerts.

During performances he always puts on his balaclava and thoroughly hides his face.

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

Freedom Instrument

Maidan Pianist payed on a different fortepianos, that were set in a different places of the Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity: in a 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 extended horisonts of his oeuvre and started to draw. After ATO zone he went to Odessa to have 3 days of rest. He saw a sea long time ago so he went to swim couple times per day, even despite the cold water. These three days he lived in a friend’s house and her daughter took the drawing lessons. He just observed first couple days how she draws and in the last day he asked about the 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 the Facebook, he started working thoroughly on his technics’ improvements. All the pain and horror that followed him and country, people who faced with the war, he started to reveal now in paintings that were concordant with his musical compositions.

Most of the Bohdan’s works are dedicated to the ATO events, sometimes it is recognizable Donetsk Airport or Ukrainian ATO heroes. Some works are the pieces of abstract art with spots and lines. ( maznyamaestro series). Many works are interpreted differently by the different people, but they provide everyone with the 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 starts experimenting and combines his concerts with the exibitions. Thus he did a mini-tour in Ukraine before the covid-19 quarantine.

By now it was created more than 500 paintings.

Paintings Series

• sketchbookofwar
• maznyamaestro
• autumn_porn
• Акварельні мініатюри. Графіка

Movies

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

• Episode

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

Interesting Facts

• Title ‘Piano Extremist’ was taken from the russian propagandist, who gave negative feedbacks about participants of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity.
• First concerts Pianist performed on the specially prepared by volunteers (found, bought or donated) street fortepianos in a 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 Pianist performed using own instruments: Kurzweil and Yamaha, that were donated by patrons and fans.
• he was a volunteer in ATO and helped paramedics.
• Pianist prefers not to give interviews shortly before or after concerts. He explains that it is not a “star desease” 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 )

Alive 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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