[3] This is demonstrated best in his epic opera Taras Bulba from the novella of the same name by Nikolai Gogol, in which the grandeur, complexity and Ukrainian-language libretto prevented its staging during Lysenko's lifetime.

Lysenko had a profound influence on later Ukrainian composers, including Stanyslav Lyudkevych, Alexander Koshetz, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Yakiv Stepovy, and most importantly, Mykola Leontovych.

[1] His early compositions from this time survive, including a Polka (c. 1851) and Nocturne (1859–1860) for piano, as well as a piece for string orchestra, Moldavskaya, Russian Pizzicato (1859–1860).

[13] Lysenko then completed two years of civil service in Tarashcha county as a peace mediator [uk; ru] for disputes involving former serfs and their land-ownership claims.

[13][5] He pursued further music studies at the Leipzig Conservatory, Germany, from 1867 to 1869, where his primary teachers included Carl Reinecke for piano as well as Ernst Richter for composition and theory.

[14] From his youth, Lysenko had developed an intense enthusiasm for Ukrainian music and culture, particularly from the influence of his grandparents,[13] and his enjoyment of peasant songs.

[16] Two other factors were important to his nationalistic fervor: close relationships with his cousin, Mykhailo Starytsky, the historian Volodymyr Antonovych and the scholar Tadei Rylsky; and also his association with the hromada in Kyiv, the 'Old Society' [uk].

[5] He split his time between numerous activities: giving piano lessons, working at the Russian Musical Society (RMS) chapter in Kyiv, and composing.

[17] During this short stay in Saint Petersburg Lysenko conducted a choir[1] and wrote many piano compositions, writing more than 10 works in a variety of genres.

[18] Other acitives included organizing concerts for Veresai and giving music lessons, often at the Kyiv Institute for Daughters of the Nobility [ru; uk].

[15] The Ems Ukaz decree of 1876 that banned use of the Ukrainian language in print was one of the obstacles for Lysenko; he had to publish some of his scores abroad, while performances of his music had to be authorized by the imperial censor.

[26] His songs cover a wide variety of topics, described by the musicologist Dagmara Turchyn as an "astoundingly wide [range]—passionate dramatic monologues and meditative elegies, profound philosophical statements and colourful folk scenes, lyrical serenades and ecstatic love songs, a melancholy waltz and a heroic duma, an extensive romantic ballad and a tone poem".

[15] These included Ivan Franko, Yevhen Hrebinka, Oleksandr Oles, Stepan Rudanskyi [uk], Shchegolev, Staryts′ky and Lesya Ukrainka, but also others such as Heinrich Heine, Adam Mickiewicz and Semyon Nadson.

[29] Aside from art songs, Lysenko's vocal work includes three cantatas for choir and orchestra, all to Taras Shevchenko's texts: Raduisia nyvo nepolytaia (Rejoice, Unwatered Field), Biut’ porohy (The Rapids Roar), Na vichnu pamiat’ Kotliarevs’komu (To the Eternal Memory of Kotliarevsky).

[12] His 1885 choral setting of a patriotic poem by Oleksandr Konysky, originally intended for a children's choir, became known internationally as "Prayer for Ukraine", a spiritual hymn for the country.

Lysenko continued to research and transcribe the repertoire of other kobzars from other regions such as Opanas Slastion from Poltava and Pavlo Bratytsia from Chernihiv.

Composers such as Stanyslav Lyudkevych, Alexander Koshetz, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Yakiv Stepovy, and mostly importantly, Mykola Leontovych, have acknowledged his influence.