Socio-cultural chronology of eastern Galicia in the little-known press materials by Nestor Nyzhankivskyi in the “Dilo” periodical

Abstract

The paper analyzes socio-cultural events recorded in the press materials by Nestor Nyzhankivskyi. His newspaper reports were published in the Dilo periodical in 1927–1936 under the two-letter cryptonym N. N. The analysis of the themes and content of the press materials and professional assessment pieces of performances of both individual artists and performance ensembles proves that they were written by a composer, pianist and concertmaster, teacher, and music critic Nestor Nyzhankivskyi. Little-known press materials by the artist, which covered cultural and educational events in the spiritual capital of Eastern Galicia, Lviv, and in the regions, are analyzed. The fact- and value-based significance of the artistic and spiritual content of the Lviv music critic’s newspaper reports, which recorded the events of opera and theater life, and performances honoring such outstanding Ukrainian cultural figures as Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, and Olha Kobylianska, is considered. The creative achievements of artistic personalities through the lens of Nestor Nyzhankivskyi’s critical reviews are described. The author professionally analyzes their repertoire and execution and substantiates the high professional level of artistic events in the social environment of the time. Nestor Nyzhankivskyi presents the socio-cultural events of Eastern Galicia employing a rich palette of journalistic genres, namely a report, a news coverage, and a review. It is through these types of journalistic writing that effective communication with the artistic sphere was carried out. The national and cultural issues raised shaped aesthetic values and the awareness of the importance of Ukrainian culture during the period of statelessness. It is established that the press materials published under the cryptonym N. N., used by Nestor Nyzhankivskyi, complement the journalistic heritage of the music critic and constitute a valuable source study material for interpretation of the cultural processes in Eastern Galicia in the early twentieth century.