The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and American Composers Orchestra partnered to share the world premiere performance of Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polevá (b. 1962)’s The Bell: Symphony No. 4 for cello and orchestra. Performed in November 2023 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Israeli cellist Inbal Segev, the full video is available to stream for free via DSO’s YouTube channel and on a dedicated giving page hosted on humanitarian organization Direct Relief’s website, encouraging donations to the nonprofit to support its efforts to provide emergency medical supplies to people in Ukraine.
The daughter of composer Valery Polevoy (1927-1986), composer Victoria Vita Polevá was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and her work has been performed all over the world. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Polevá has been displaced from her home and living abroad with friends. Polevá was moved to create The Bell by the urgency of the present moment. She says, “For me, the idea of this music comes from the Latin bellum, which means ‘war.'” A work written during the war and by the war. A bell announcing war, a funeral bell, a victory bell…It is also associated with the name of the cellist who will be the first performer (the name Inbal Segev means “tongue of the bell”).
“But the most important thing I wanted was to reflect what happens in space after the most powerful bell chime. This is the phenomenon of the subtlest echo, an angelic choir that sounds either in the air or in the subconscious when the bell sound ends. The sound space that I wanted to recreate was the area of operation of Bat-Kol (Hebrew Bath-Kol, which literally means “daughter of the voice”). ‘Some argue that the bat-kol is an echo, others that it is a hum echoing in the air from the movement of the universe. Bat-kol absorbs human voices and all other sounds of the world, even those that our ears are not able to hear…’
“This most tender sound carries meanings that everyone needs in the most difficult times. The only thing a person can do is trust them. The symphony is dedicated to musicologist and LPO Artistic Director Elena Dubinets, thanks to whom I felt real creative support over the last terrible year.”
Cellist Inbal Segev shares, “I was moved to commission this new work from Victoria Polevá when I first encountered her music and her fortitude in facing the conflict in Ukraine. These are troubled times for so many of us. I hope that our performance will help bring relief to some of those who need it most in Ukraine.”
Non-governmental, nonsectarian, and not-for-profit Direct Relief relies entirely on private contributions to advance its mission and perform a wide range of functions. Included among them are identifying key local providers of health services; working to identify the unmet needs of people in the low-resource areas; mobilizing essential medicines, supplies, and equipment that are requested and appropriate for the circumstances; and managing the many details inherent in storing, transporting, and distributing such resources to organizations in the most efficient manner possible.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention