Steshko, Fedor Nikolaevich

Young years and education

Born in Kamenka , Sosnitsky district , Chernihiv province . He began studying music at the age of seven at an exemplary parish school at the Kiev Theological Seminary , where they took little Fedor to a church choir for a good voice and hearing. In the fall of 1888 he entered the Sofia Theological School, where from the first year of his studies he began to sing in the bishop's choir of the Mikhailovsky Monastery . Steshko deepened his musical knowledge in the Kiev seminary, where he entered in 1892. In addition, he studied at a private school of S. Blumenfeld, where Nikolay Lysenko also taught at that time - his signature is on the first place on the certificate that Fedor received after completing these courses. One of his comrades while studying at a musical institution was the future prominent choirmaster Alexander Kosits . Steshko devoted his main attention to studying the theory of music, studying with Lyubomirsky ^[1] . After graduating from the seminary in 1898, Fyodor Nikolaevich was appointed teacher of the parish school in Tarashche , where he also worked as a conductor of the cathedral choir.

In 1899, he dramatically changed his life path, enrolling in the Kiev Military School , after which in 1901 he was appointed the foreman in the Far East , where Steshko organized a military regimental choir.

At the beginning of the 20th century

In 1908, F. Steshko entered the Alexander Military Law Academy . While in the capital for three years, he deepened his musical education, carefully studying the history of music with a professor at the Conservatory L. Sacchetti. After graduating from the Academy in 1911, he prepared and in 1912 successfully passed the state exams at the Law Faculty of Novorossiysk University , after which he returned to his regiment in the Far East. In mid-1914, Steshko was appointed assistant military prosecutor of the Vladivostok garrison. While in the city for six years, he took an active part in musical life, was elected a member of the council of the local branch of the Imperial Musical Society .

Worker of the Ukrainian Far Eastern Republic

Subsequently, Lieutenant Colonel F. Steshko became one of the organizers of the Vladivostok Ukrainian community, which was created on March 26, 1917, was elected chairman of the music section of the Society and conductor of its choir, with whom he took part in the Shevchenko festival that same year ^[2] . In May, he organized a big concert of Ukrainian folk song, which was a great success among the local audience. From that time until his departure from Vladivostok Fedor Nikolaevich remained an active participant in the local Ukrainian cultural life, acting as a choirmaster and conductor at numerous national concerts and festivals. And later - the chairman of the military section of the Vladivostok Ukrainian community, from May 1917 - the chairman of the Vladivostok Ukrainian community.

At the end of 1917, in conditions of chaos and anarchy after the Bolshevik revolution in Petrograd , Steshko was discharged from the army and devoted himself to music. In October 1918, Fedor was deputy chairman of the IV Ukrainian Far Eastern Congress and a member of the military commission. At this congress, Steshko was elected Secretary of Military Affairs of the Ukrainian Far Eastern Secretariat. In 1917–20 he was involved in organizing Ukrainian military units in the Far East. ^[3]

In 1919 he worked as a teacher in a Ukrainian school in Vladivostok, was a member of the school commission of the Vladivostok Ukrainian society "Enlightenment." He took an active part in the musical life of the city, was elected a candidate member of the Council of the Vladivostok branch of the Russian Musical Society. He taught music at several secondary schools and a pedagogical institute in Vladivostok. He was an active participant and organizer of Ukrainian cultural life in the city, was the conductor of the choir of the local Ukrainian Community, and subsequently served as the head of Enlightenment. In the same year, Fedor became one of the founders of the Ukrainian Far Eastern regional cooperative "Chumak", a member of his board. In May 1919, he participated in the II session of the Ukrainian Far Eastern Regional Council. ^[3]

With the unfolding of the civil war and the establishment of Kolchak’s power in the Far East, Steshko, as a regular military man, was called up for service and promoted — he received the rank of colonel and the post of assistant military prosecutor of the Amur Military District . At the end of 1920, Colonel Fedor Steshko led the Ukrainian Revolutionary Headquarters in Vladivostok, under whose leadership the Ukrainian military took part in the uprising against the White Guard government of General Rozanov ^[4] .

In February 1920, he traveled with the Czechoslovak troops to Europe on behalf of the Ukrainian Far Eastern Secretariat to the government of the UPR. After his report on the situation of the Ukrainian Far Eastern Republic, the UPR government took some measures in the direction of diplomatic assistance to the claims of the Far Eastern Ukrainians. In early July 1920, Fedor arrived in Kamenetz-Podolsky. On July 6, 1920, Fyodor was appointed head of the prosecutor’s department of the Main Military-Judicial Directorate of the UNR Ministry of War. He took part in the organization at the Kamenetz-Podolsky People’s Conservatory, where he taught the elementary theory of music, was the conductor of one of the choirs. From October 16, 1920, Steshko worked as the head of the cultural and educational department of the General Staff of the UPR Army. ^[3]

He stayed in the city for about five months and left for Poland , first to Czestochowa , and then to Tarnow , where in 1920-1922 Fyodor Nikolaevich headed the cultural and educational department of the General Staff of the UPR Army .

Prague period

In 1922, learning about the creation of the Ukrainian Free University in Prague, Steshko moved there to continue his music studios. During 1923-1926 he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University . In 1923, he began teaching musicology at the recently founded Ukrainian High Pedagogical Institute. M. Drahomanova. In 1924, together with N. Nizhankovsky , P. Shchurovskaya and F. Akimenko, he became the founder of the music-pedagogical department of the UVPI and was elected its secretary. Subsequently, Steshko became the head of the department of the history of music, professor, member of the Senate of the institute.

In 1931, Fyodor Nikolaevich went on a trip to Galicia in order to collect materials for work on Czech musicians in Ukrainian church music. After the closure of UVPI in 1934, he headed the music department of the Slavic Institute and initiated the creation of the Slavic Music Archive at the Institute, in particular its Ukrainian department. The material in the collection was collected on a business trip in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia in 1935. In 1934-1937, while in Uzhgorod , he studied the history of church singing in Subcarpathian Russia , the liturgical works of ancient Greek Catholic priests - composers of Transcarpathia. In 1937, he began to collaborate with the Ukrainian Music magazine, which was just founded in Lviv , and since 1938, a member of its editorial board.

As the researcher of creativity F. Steshko T. Bednarzhova noted:

Fyodor Nikolayevich Steshko died in 1944, was buried in the Olshansky cemetery .

Edited by Steshko, the Ukrainian Musical Society published five issues of songs by German composers of the 19th century for voice in Ukrainian translations made especially for this publication. He collaborated with the Ukrainian General Encyclopedia (1930-1933, Lviv) and with Czech encyclopedic publications such as Pazdrikuv Hudebni Slovnik Naucny ( Brno , 1929-1938). After trips to Transcarpathia, he wrote the work “Church Music in Subcarpathian Rus” (Uzhgorod, 1936). F. Steshko is one of the first researchers of ancient Ukrainian music; he was engaged in transcription of musical notation from old church books. So in Croatia, he rewrote the Old Slavonic liturgical books of the Orthodox rite. Among the most famous works devoted to this topic are “The First Ukrainian Notepad” (Prague, 1929), “Sources to the History of the Initial Era of Church Singing in Ukraine” (Prague, 1929), and “The First Ukrainian Church Songs” (Lvov, 1939).

Over 20 years of work in musicology, he concluded a file of Ukrainian musical literature, collected materials for a dictionary of Ukrainian and Slavic musicians, compiled an impressive music library from books and notes in different languages, collected and systematized the works of D. Bortnyansky , was a member of the Drahomanov Commission at the Ukrainian Institute social science.

• Encyclopedia of Ukrainian studies / V. Kubіyovich . - Paris; New York: Young Life, 1954-1989. (Ukrainian)
• Bednarzhova T. “Fedir Steshko Ukrainian ideas, teacher, musicologist-theorist.” - T .; Prague, 2000.
• V.A. Chornomaz. Zeleny Klin. - Vladivostok: Publishing House of the Far Eastern Federal University, 2011. - S. 267—268. - 288 p. - 360 copies. - ISBN 978-5-7444-2636-1 .