I have composed over forty film scores.

You've made the arrangement for the National Anthem of Ukraine, haven't you?

In a 3-series film Eighteen-Year-Olds directed by Rodion Efimenko there was a scene where the Central Rada was coming to power and raising a yellow-and-blue flag. That episode required a hymn-song “Ukraine is yet alive!”. It was 1987 and such record, certainly, could not be found. I failed to find the music, but I had, I don’t know how, my own version in my mind. Nazariy Yaremchuk, Ivan Popovich gave me their helping hands by singing the song. So, I put it all together and made the arrangement.

Please briefly about your friends.

It happened so that I met a lot of interesting people. Some of them where my collaborators, others became fiends. These are I. Kobzon, V. Bilonozhko, N. Yaremchuk, J. Tabachnik, J. Rybchinsky and now V. Zinkevich. I am working with N. Yaremchuk’s sons.

You are known to be fond of painting.

Yes, I am. I love classical paintings but put value to some modern art’s trends. When possible, I try to support the Ukrainian painters. You see, catalogue publication, exhibition activities are more than they can afford, to say nothing of arranging exhibitions outside Ukraine. But it is well known, that the artistic heritage not recognized by the contemporaries, hardly has any chance to be preserved for descendants.

I’m now searching the opportunities for sponsoring Ukraine’s Art Fund, which gets people around the world acquainted with the Ukraine’s cultural values by exhibiting masterpieces by Ukrainian painters, sculptors, photographers via the Internet.

And how do you spend your spare time if any?

Practically I have not spare time. I enjoy fishing and always have a spinning with fishing - tackle in my trunk. Bu, sorry to say, I have no time to use them. But I should say contacts with nature were critical for my success as a lyrical song composer.

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