Lubomyr Melnyk

Pioneer Works is pleased to present Lubomyr Melnyk, the Ukrainian-born virtuoso and pioneer of “continuous music”. For over five decades, Melnyk has defied all classical conventions to forge a unique language for the piano, transforming the instrument into a resonant “choir of sound” that stands alone in the musical landscape.

Rooted in the lilting contours of Ukrainian folk music, Melnyk’s work is the result of a lifelong dedication to a technique that pushes the boundaries of what is physically possible on the piano. Refusing association with any other genre or artist, his signature style utilizes rapid, complex note production and the sustain pedal to generate free-flowing cascades of sound. He composes as he plays feeling out lines and individual rhythmic cells that bubble, undulate and gradually expand into vast, interlinked frameworks. As Melnyk describes the experience: “My fingers feel like the winds of the world; it feels like you’re physically transcending dimensions.” This is a rare opportunity to witness an artist whose work is unrivaled in the world of modern piano.

About the artist

Lubomyr Melnyk is the fastest pianist in the world. He can play nearly twenty notes per second, a near-overwhelming but perfectly controlled roil that blurs into a gorgeously cohesive whole. Lauded for his ability to create a symphony of sound with a single instrument, Melnyk has spent 40 years developing his unique piano technique.

Born in Ukraine in 1948, Melnyk fell for the piano at an early age. Given lessons as a young child after his family emigrated to Canada after the iron curtain came down, he was immediately transfixed by the possibilities of the instrument. “On the piano, you can create whole worlds,” he reflects. “I realised that it could be an orchestra, a choir of sound.” Described as “continuous music,” the style combines the soaring density of post-rock and the virtuosic delicacy of minimal-classical. What results is a meditative, mind-bending cloud of abstract sound, with clear emotions and images appearing out of the pointillist flurry.

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