St. George’s Cathedral, Lviv
“If you wish to know the real Lviv, the very Ukrainian Lviv, that has always fought for its identity with the native land, the Lviv that has never given up – you should see the Lviv St. George's Cathedral”, wrote Hryhoriy Luzhnytskyi, the outstanding academician.
The Greek Catholic Archbishop's Cathedral of St. George is indeed one of the architectural landmarks of Lviv, the refined city in the west of Ukraine. According to researchers, the first church on the hill towering before the city was erected in the middle ages. However, this building, which is still visible from almost any point in Lviv, was built in the 17th century. The architect Bernard Meretyn was educated under western European architectural standards, but when building the church in the Rococo style, he also used the traditions of Ukrainian sacred art.
The main facade is decorated with figures of Saints Athanasius and Leo. These, as well as the perfect equestrian statue of St. George the Dragon Slayer crowning the attic, were crafted by the mysterious master Johann-Georg Pinsel. He is deemed mysterious as there is really only one thing known about him: he was a brilliant sculptor. His origin, along with places and dates of birth and death, are unknown. Still, Pinsel left several dozen sculptures, which are a real jewel of world architecture.
St. George's Cathedral and its masterpieces became the centuries-old residence of Greek-Catholic archbishops and patriarchs. For many years, the sacred building has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and Pope John Paul II once stayed here.
Ostap Manulyak
Ostap Manulyak – Ukrainian composer, performer, lector, curator and organizer of different artistic initiatives. Ph.D., docent (assist. prof.) of the composition department of the Lviv National Music Academy.
He was born in Lviv in 1983. Studied composition at the Lviv Music Academy and also took part in many master classes of new music. Twice was a fellow of Gaude Polonia Scholarship Program. In 2006 he studied composition and in 2011 studied electroacoustic music at the Studio of Electroacoustic Music (SME) at Krakow Music Academy.
During the 2018-19 academic year he was visiting researcher at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) of Stanford University (California) as a Fulbright fellow.
Ostap Manulyak is a co-founder of Art Association NURT, director of the Festival of electroacoustic music VOX ELECTRONICA and Experimental Educational Studio of Electroacoustic Music (EESEM) of Lviv Music Academy, and co-curator of the Festival of audiovisual art TETRAMATYKA.
