Lyzohub, Illia

Lyzohub, Illia [Лизогуб, Ілля], b 23 October 1787 in Kulykivka, Chernihiv gubernia, d 1867 in Sedniv, Chernihiv county. Ukrainian nobleman and philanthropist, military officer, composer, cellist and pianist; Freemason, active member of the United Slavs Masonic Lodge in Kyiv; descendant of the Lyzohub Cossack starshyna family; brother of Oleksander Lyzohub and Andrii Lyzohub. An officer during the Napoleonic Wars and later aide de camp to Prince Nikolai Repnin, Lyzohub resigned from his military career in 1821 and settled at his estate in Sedniv in the Chernihiv region, which he transformed into an important cultural center. A very talented musician and composer, Lyzohub is best known at the author of his cello sonata in G minor, the first work of this genre in the history of Ukrainian music. He was a close friend and supporter of Taras Shevchenko, whom he at times helped financially and whom, together with his brother Andrii, he tried to free from his military exile.

Marko Robert Stech

[This article was written in 2023.]