The Kyiv Composition School is a central phenomenon of Ukrainian musical culture. Its roots lie in the Music and Drama School founded by Mykola Lysenko in 1904. A separate root is the Kyiv Conservatory, opened in 1913 on the basis of the Russian Musical Society's music school; in 1995 it became the National Music Academy of Ukraine.
The Kyiv school has passed through several generations: Lysenko → Stetsenko, Leontovych → Lyatoshynsky, Revutsky → Silvestrov, Hrabovsky, Skoryk, Stankovych → today's generation of Oleksandr Shchetynsky and Yevhen Oryshchenko. The school is distinguished by: (1) deep roots in folklore (reimagining folk modes and melos); (2) a powerful polyphonic culture; (3) an experimental spirit (from the 1960s Ukrainian avant-garde to today's electroacoustic music).
