Catherine Likhuta
Ukranian-Australian Composer
Likhuta was born on May 28, 1981 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Having grown up during the era of perestroika and glasnost, the Ukraine SSR and the Soviet Union became more open and semi-independent with the rise of Gorbachev as president. With the downfall and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, she had grown up most of her life in an independent Ukraine and a rapidly changing economy and turbulent politics with the various protests in Ukraine during the late 1990s and early 2000s. She had received all of her music education in Ukraine through the Kyiv Gliere Music College and the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, both universities are state universities and had received a lot of government support in funding her education. She continued to a Ph.D. in composition in the University of Queensland. In a podcast by the International Horn Society, she talked about how she comes from a family of musicians but she is the first one to become a composer. She had originally immigrated to the United States with her husband in 2005 as he worked at Cornell University, but then they moved to Australia in 2013 and have stayed there since. Throughout her time in the US and Australia, she has been expanding her music circles as she had to start anew when she moved to the US and Australia, as well as promoting the works of 21st century Ukrainian composers along the way.
University of Queensland
This is the university she attended for her Ph.D. in composition and ultimately the city that she resides when she is in Australia.
Protests in Ukraine
Most of her early life had had major political movements in Ukraine that still have an impact to this day. This picture is from a protest in 2019.
Kyiv Gliere Music College
This is the first university she attended for music. Her family were musicians too but she was the first one to compose.
Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine
This is the second university she attended for music. It is noted from her that both universities she did not have to pay for those years since she had become a distinguished composer in contemporary Ukrainian classical music society.
Selected Works: Planet B and Out of the Woods
Likhuta's methods in composition started out by writing short sketches of works and then presenting it to musicians of those instruments, such as sending it to a piano professor or a horn professor, and then modifying the work with the given critique and working directly with them in expanding the piece. This is what brought her close to Adam Unsworth, Peter Luff, and Denise Tryon. Her background in classical piano and jazz piano are shown in her music, especially with her first major piece, Out of the Woods. Her extensive collaberation and commissions from wind ensembles across the world have resulted in a large repertoire of pieces to choose from, but we will focus on her newer work, Planet B.
Out of the Woods?
Out of the Woods is a toccata arranged for piano, violin, and horn. It immediately starts with an explosion of energy from all three instruments. If one were to describe the atmosphere at the start, it would be like if you are escaping from somewhere. With its atonality and complex rhythms, it adds a lot of tension but is contained for a short while. She uses a lot of dissonants, mostly minor seconds that occur on the violin and the horn. The horn uses an enormous amount of hand-stopping and 'whaling' slides throughout the piece, which further add to the tension of this piece. The horn is also mostly playing in the lower register, which is a difficult register for most horn players as there are few repertoires that delve into this register for an entire piece. There are few spots in this piece where chords would resolve normally and in place the piece keeps going forward with a feeling of incompleteness on the piano. The tempo also changes frequently, with an eventual ritardando but immediately returns to the presto from the start. There are also some moments where all three instruments are playing in unison, but break apart again and the horn now plays the beginning theme that the piano had before the violin and piano start playing perfect fifths with each other. This is just one of her examples of chamber pieces, one that is very catchy to listen to as well as keeping the audience engaged in listening to what will happen next.
Planet B
Planet B is one of her newer works, which was written for the music program at Grace Lutheran College, has themes of suffering, tension, and optimism, mirroring a short history of the earth, violence done by others, and a future of greater equality and peace. Since the piece was written in 2021, she received a lot of inspiration from the ongoing pandemic and the devastating effects of pollution on the planet, as well as the countless social uprisings in the past two years. The piece opens with open fifths from the low brass and soon after from flutes and clarinets. As Likhuta describes it, it is a snapshot of the vastness and openess of space and a cry of help from Earth. It is truly a dark and mysterious introduction that perfectly encapsulates the first theme of suffering. The second theme of tension, was inspired by student-led protests that sprung out as the younger generation demands greater accountability and action taken in preserving the environment and attaining greater green energy. The final theme of optimism is meant to visualize the sky clearing from the end of a storm and nature healing. This is meant to have the message of a better earth that can be created here since there is no other planet that we can go to that can support us. Most of Likhuta's works have been for wind ensembles and this piece has been given a grade of 4+ for wind ensembles, which means that it is quite difficult but can be performed for advanced bands in high schools and in colleges. This piece also provides a glimpse of the expressive nature she has with setting themes in her pieces and providing a clear execution of how they are conveyed.
Out of the Woods? Trio for Piano, violin, and horn. Likhuta performs on piano for this performance.
Premiere of Planet B by the Queensland Conservatorium Wind Orchestra
Other Selected Pieces
I Threw a Shoe at a Cat
A light-hearted solo horn piece that has many interesting horn techniques and various funny moments and has a movement that quotes a Strauss horn concerto.
Rondo for Percussion Duo
Originally written for piano in 2001, she rearranged the piece for percussion instruments, which adds a unique timbre and tone to this piece.
Lesions for Horn and Piano
This piece was written in part because of the health problems that her mother had to go through when she was younger.