The violin has a double destiny in Ukraine: on one hand, a world-class academic concert instrument; on the other, the soul of wedding troïsta music. Crafted by the Cremona masters (Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri) in the 16th–18th centuries, the violin became the language of European Romanticism.
In the Hutsul and Bukovyna regions a unique school of the Hutsul violin took shape: held differently (on the shoulder, not under the chin), with specific bowing, and ornaments that imitate the song of the trembita. Outstanding Ukrainian violinists of the 20th–21st centuries include David Oistrakh, Valeriy Sokolov, and Ostap Shutko. The violin is most richly represented in Hutsul, Podillia, and Transcarpathian musical traditions.
