28th July marks the Day of Ukrainian Statehood. The state holiday has been established on
the anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus in 988 – the baptism in the Dnipro River of Volodymyr I the Great and residents of numerous towns initiated the process of Christianisation of the country. The Ukrainian Statehood Day was enacted by President Volodymyr Zelenski on 24th August 2021, on the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day. The new holiday is intended to highlight the traditions of more than a thousand years of Ukrainian statehood. It will be observed despite the ongoing Russian aggression on Ukrainian territory.
On the same day, the tour of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra – a joint initiative of the New York Metropolitan Orchestra, and the Polish National Opera – will begin in Warsaw. Leading Ukrainian and Polish musicians will perform Symphony No. 7 by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2, and Brahms Symphony No. 4, among others, at concerts in major cities worldwide.
The inaugural tour of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will be available free of charge on the streaming platform ARTE.tv: https://www.arte.tv/…/1100…/ukrainian-freedom-orchestra/