PlanetWoman - An International Artistic Project of Poetry and Choral Music.
PlanetWoman is an international artistic project that unites poetry and choral music. It brings together, above all, women composers and mixed choirs in the creation of new choral works of our time.The mission of the project is to give voice to vital global themes: unity, solidarity, and the inner strength of the human spirit.
Premieres of PlanetWoman compositions have taken place across the world — in New York, Los Angeles, North Carolina, Edmonton, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, and Kyiv.
The poetry for PlanetWoman was written by Zsuzsanna Ardó, an award-winning European artist and writer, who also serves as the project's artistic director.
One of her poems, The Ogre, was written on February 24, 2022 — the day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — as a poetic response to the horrors of war and its impact on people.
The central idea of the poem focuses on two contrasting reactions to catastrophe. On the one hand, there is a refusal to acknowledge the horror, a desire to carry on as if nothing is happening — symbolized by the line “we’re having a picnic.” On the other hand, this line alludes to a real historical event — the Pan-European Picnic on the Austrian-Hungarian border on August 19, 1989, which became a symbolic opening of the Iron Curtain and marked the beginning of Europe's reunification. In this sense, the picnic becomes a metaphor for unity in resistance.
Three women composers from three different countries have created musical works inspired by Zsuzsanna Ardó’s poem The Ogre.
The American composer Jamie Klenetsky Fay premiered her interpretation in March 2024 in New York. A British version, composed by Karen Wimhurst, is set to premiere in 2025.
On May 10, the PlanetWoman concert in Edmonton, Canada, will feature works by Canadian composers as well as the North American premiere of The Ogre, with music by Victoria Poleva.
The Ukrainian premiere of Zsuzsanna Ardó’s poem set to music by renowned Ukrainian composer Victoria Poleva — will take place at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kyiv on May 20, at 7 p.m..
In addition to Victoria Poleva’s piece, the Kyiv PlanetWoman concert will include choral works by distinguished Ukrainian composers Hanna Havrylets and Lesia Dychko.
The programme will be performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir, conducted by Maestro Mykola Hobdych.
Event partners: Dom Master Klass, PlanetWomen, Ukrainian Institute, National Philharmonic of Ukraine.