Young Ukrainian classical music star hopes to reach the whole world from Estonia
Havryil Sydoryk, a young pianist from Ukraine who recently won the Estonian classical music reality show "Klassikatähed 2025," told ERR he hopes that from Estonia he will be able to reach the whole world with his music.
Sydoryk, 16, is currently studying at the Tallinn Music and Ballet School (MUBA). His days are spent practicing and writing music, while at night, melodies accompany him in his dreams.
The pianist splits his days between MUBA and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater. He has already performed in concerts and competitions in Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia. Music, he says, gives him strength, but people tend to tire him out.
"Interacting with people can be a bit draining, especially if you don't know them very well. Otherwise, when you interact with your friends or relatives, it's completely different. But music always gives me energy," Sydoryk told ERR.
While the young pianist has previously written music for his friend Uku Kross, his piece "Unenägu" ("Dream") is dedicated to a mysterious person.
"I had a dream about someone who is very close to me. They were playing the piano with a bow. This person doesn't know how to play the piano, but [in the dream] they played with incredible virtuosity and delicacy. I remembered some motifs from that piece and wrote this work based on them," he recalled.
Sydoryk started learning to play the piano at the age of six.
"At first, I didn't want to play, but then I was forced to and I cried,. However, after a week I started to like it. I understood that I could also learn songs I heard in cartoons or famous melodies in general," he said.
When he was just 12 years old, Russia's war in Ukraine forced Sydoryk and his mother to move to France. His brothers, however, still live in Kyiv – one is studying to be an architect and the other a programmer. Sydoryk admits he has no idea when he will see them again.
When he is not performing, Sydoryk is just a regular schoolboy. In addition to playing piano, he also has to complete the entire school curriculum. But before he was able to do that, he needed to learn Estonian.
Sydoryk explained that he had already begun studying Estonian while living in in France, but it was only when he moved to Estonia that he really started speaking the language. "It was a little difficult, I didn't have any friends, and people immediately started speaking to me in Russian or English," he said.
When asked where he wants to live in the future, Sydoryk simply replied "in the world."
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Editor: Michael Cole, Valner Väino
Source: "AK Nädal"
