As bombs fall, Ukraine’s ‘cellar violinist’ Vera Lytovchenko plays on
- The musician has become an internet icon of resilience as images of her performing in a bomb shelter have inspired an international audience via social media
- After a week of huddling underground, Lytovchenko decided to try to lift the spirits of her cellar mates by holding small concerts
A gentle tune from a violin played by a musician who has been dubbed Ukraine’s “cellar violinist” is a lullaby for a child sheltered in the dark basement of an apartment building in the besieged Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Vera Lytovchenko has become an internet icon of resilience as images of the concert violinist playing in the basement bomb shelter have inspired an international audience via social media.
When heavy Russian bombing of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv started two weeks ago, Lytovchenko, her professor father and neighbours sought safety in their building’s basement.
“Bombs can fall everywhere in our city, so we decided to go down in the cellar,” the 39-year-old violinist told said via Skype on Wednesday during a brief respite from the bombing during a temporary ceasefire. “We’re about 12 people now. We have little boys. We have teenagers. We have old women.”
A week into their basement huddle, Lytovchenko decided to try to lift the spirits of her cellar mates by holding small concerts.