What began in December 2023 with a solidarity concert in Kyiv (Kiev) during the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine will continue with the release of a joint album: cellist and OPUS Klassik winner Raphaela Gromes meets the Ukrainian National Orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Volodymyr Sirenko. The album, which will be released by Sony Classical in 2024, focuses on Antonín Dvořák's famous Cello Concerto, framed by works by contemporary Ukrainian composers Hanna Hawrylets, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Yuri Shevchenko and Stepan Charnetsky. The selection of pieces alone impressively reflects the two main impulses for this special album: artistic passion and a deep connection with Ukraine. Raphaela Gromes' relationship with Dvořák's cello concerto has long been a very personal one: "It is considered THE cello concerto par excellence, and it is for me too. Even as a child, I listened to the work on an endless loop. It was my father's favorite concerto, who played it a lot in my childhood and for whom this music was always associated with home. After his death, we had the secondary theme of the first movement engraved on his gravestone." Now the cellist, world-renowned for her emotional depth and richly nuanced tonal palette, is presenting her first recording of the great Dvořák concerto and, by incorporating Ukrainian music, is also sending a strong signal of solidarity and compassion - for example in Valentyn Sylvestrov's "Prayer for Ukraine", the effect of which Raphaela Gromes was able to experience first-hand during her concert in Kyiv: "It was a prayer for the future of Ukraine that was felt throughout the hall! Everyone held their breath while we played, many cried, including the musicians on stage. Afterwards, we experienced overwhelming reactions from the audience: people showered me with gifts. One soldier gave me his badge and said: 'This is to protect you The subsequent recording of the piece was one of the most emotional musical moments of my life. Hanna Hawrylets ("Tropar, prayer to the holy mother of God"), who died on February 27, 2022, is a composer on the album who always attached great importance to passing on and preserving Ukrainian heritage, which was endangered by the war, and who left behind many unfinished works. Raphaela Gromes also chose "We are", Yuri Shevchenko's emotional version of the Ukrainian national anthem, for the album. The composer, who also died shortly after the start of the war, wanted his anthem to resound around the world as a silent prayer for Ukraine. The inclusion of the song "Chervona Kalyna" by Stepan Charnetsky as a symbol of hope and victory rounds off the emotional and powerful program of the album. "My heart will always remain open to Ukraine," Raphaela Gromes recently said in an interview - and you can feel and hear that in every single note.