Shtokalko, Zinovii

Shtokalko, Zinovii [Штокалко, Зіновій; Štokalko, Zinovij], b 25 May 1920 in Berezhany, Galicia, d 28 June 1968 in New York. (Photo: Zinovii Shtokalko.) Bandura virtuoso, composer, and writer. A medical doctor by profession, he studied music with the bandurysts B. Klevchutsky and Yu. Singalevych (Lviv). He improved bandura playing techniques and developed his own distinct style of interpretation. He also acquired one of the most valuable collections of dumas outside Ukraine. Shtokalko's legacy includes independent works for bandura (‘Atonal Etude’ and others); a large methodological study of the instrument, published posthumously as A Kobzar Handbook (1989); and a definitive recording of dumas and other Ukrainian songs (recorded for Myron Surmach in New York, 1952). His literary works, collected and edited by Ihor Kostetsky, appeared under the pen name Zinovii Berezhan in the posthumous collection Na okraïnakh nochi (On the Edges of Night, 1977).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]