Simovych, Roman

Simovych, Roman [Сімович, Роман; Simovyč], b 28 February 1901 in Sniatyn, Galicia, d 30 July 1984 in Lviv. Composer and teacher. He graduated in composition and piano from the Prague Conservatory in 1933 and completed its Master School in 1936 in the composition class of V. Novák. From 1936 he taught at the Lysenko Higher Institute of Music in Drohobych and Stanyslaviv. From 1951 he lectured at the Lviv Conservatory (professor in 1963). His compositions include the ballet Dovbush's Sopilka (1948), seven symphonies (including the Hutsul [no. 1] and the Lemko [no. 2]); the symphonic poems Maksym Kryvonis (1954), Dovbush (1955), and In Memory of Ivan Franko (1956); overtures for symphony orchestra; a string quartet; numerous works for piano (two trios and two sonatas, three suites, a sonatina, and a fantasia); and works for choir with orchestra and for choir a cappella.

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