Sasha Grynyuk and Yuri Zhislin are two of the best musicians I’ve ever seen perform live. I’ve been getting to know them – partly because they play piano trios, with which I’m obsessed; and partly because Grynyuk is originally from Ukraine and Zhislin is originally from Russia and, just before the war began, they happened to be playing as a duo. They’ve been giving concerts together ever since.
Grynyuk was born in Kyiv in the 1980s, from where he was briefly evacuated after Chernobyl. His parents lived in the capital until 24 February 2022, the day the Russians invaded. Immediately, they set off for Poland. With Ukraine under heavy aerial attack, it was a fraught and dangerous journey.
