Galina Ustvolskaya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Galina Ustvolskaya
Galina Ustvolskaya at the piano
Born	17 June 1919, Petrograd, Russian SFSR
Died	22 December 2006. Saint Petersburg, Russia
Notable work	Piano Sonatas

Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya (Russian: Гали́на Ива́новна Уство́льская) was a Russian composer. She created classical music. Galina was born on June 17, 1919. She passed away on December 22, 2006.

Early Life and Studies

Galina Ustvolskaya was born in Petrograd, Russia. She studied music from 1937 to 1939. This was at a special college linked to the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Later, she taught composition there from 1947 to 1977.

In 1939, she joined the composition class of Dmitri Shostakovich. She was the only female student in his class. Shostakovich was a very famous composer. He thought highly of Galina's talent. He even said:

"I am convinced that the music of G. I. Ustvolskaya will achieve world fame, and be valued by all who hold truth to be the essential element of music."

Shostakovich valued her opinion a lot. He even sent her his own unfinished music. He wanted her thoughts on his work. Some of his pieces even used parts from her music. For example, he used a theme from her clarinet trio. This shows how much he respected her musical ideas. Their close artistic connection was very special.

Ustvolskaya was Shostakovich's student for several years. But her music from the 1950s onwards sounded very different. It didn't show much of his style. For a long time, her unique music was not performed publicly. Only patriotic songs she wrote for the government were played.

In the mid-1960s, things changed. Modern music became more accepted. People started to notice Ustvolskaya's work. Music events were held in the 1970s to feature her compositions. Listeners and critics loved her music. She became a very admired composer. However, not many people outside of big cities knew her. She became widely known after 1989. That's when her music was played at the Holland Festival. Since then, her music has been performed more often around the world.

Musical Style

Ustvolskaya created her own unique style of music. She once said, "There is no link whatsoever between my music and that of any other composer, living or dead." Her music has several special features:

• She often used repeated, strong blocks of sound. A critic called her "the lady with the hammer" because of this.
• She used unusual groups of instruments. For example, her Composition No. 2 used eight double basses, a piano, and percussion.
• Her music often had extreme changes in loudness. You can hear this in her Piano Sonata No. 6.
• She used groups of instruments to create tone clusters. These are groups of notes played very close together.
• Her music often sounded very clear and simple.
• She always used a piano or percussion in her works. Often, she used both. They would play steady, unchanging rhythms.

Ustvolskaya's music was not "avant-garde" in the usual sense. This means it wasn't seen as too experimental by the Soviet government. So, it wasn't openly criticized. But she was sometimes accused of being "unwilling to communicate." People also said her music was "narrow" or "stubborn."

Today, critics realize these were not weaknesses. They were actually the special qualities of her music. Composer Boris Tishchenko compared her style to a laser beam. He said it was like a focused light that could cut through metal. This means her music was very strong and direct.

Many of Ustvolskaya's works from the 1940s to 1970s still sound modern today. Her strong beliefs and determination were clear in her music. Shostakovich even wrote to her:

"It is not you who are under my influence, it is I who am under yours."

All of Ustvolskaya's works were meant to be very powerful. This is true no matter how long they were or how many musicians played. Her music is mostly about creating strong feelings and intensity.

In the 1990s, she said her music had "tremendous power and aspiration to God." She believed her way of composing was completely new. She felt it could not be easily explained by music theory.

Religious Themes

Many of Ustvolskaya's symphonies include parts for singers. The last four symphonies use religious texts. Her "Compositions" also have religious subtitles. This might make you think her music is like that of Sofia Gubaidulina. Gubaidulina was another composer who used religious themes.

However, Ustvolskaya was not a practicing religious person. Her works are not direct statements of Christian faith. The texts she used were often prayers or calls for help. For example, her Fifth Symphony uses the Lord's Prayer. As Frans Lemaire wrote, the words often sound like a quiet complaint or a strong request. This is set against the vastness of the music.

In Literature

Galina Ustvolskaya's connection with Shostakovich is shown in a book. It's a historical novel called Europe Central. This book was written by William T. Vollmann. It even won a National Book Award for Fiction.

Legacy and Remembrance

Galina Ustvolskaya passed away in Saint Petersburg. Her husband, Konstantin Bagrenin, manages her musical works. Her original music papers are kept safe. They are stored in the Paul Sacher Stiftung archive since 1994.

Works

Ustvolskaya did not write a huge number of pieces. She created 21 main works in her unique style. This list does not include the public, Soviet-style pieces she wrote earlier.

• Concerto for piano, full string orchestra and timpani (1946)
• Piano Sonata No. 1 (1947)
• The Dream of Stepan Razin (Сон Степана Разина – Son Stepana Razina) Bylina for bass and symphony orchestra (Russian folk text, 1949)
• Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (1949)
• Piano Sonata No. 2 (1949)
• Octet for two oboes, four violins, timpani and piano (1950)
• Piano Sonata No. 3 (1952)
• Violin Sonata (1952)
• Twelve Preludes for piano (1953)
• Symphony No. 1, for two boys' voices and orchestra (Text by Gianni Rodari, 1955)
• Suite for orchestra (1955)
• Piano Sonata No. 4 (1957)
• Symphonic Poem No. 1 (1959)
• Symphonic Poem No. 2 (1957)
• Grand Duet for piano and cello (1959)
• Duet for piano and violin (1964)
• Composition No. 1 Dona Nobis Pacem, for piccolo, tuba and piano (1971)
• Composition No. 2 Dies Irae, for eight double basses, piano and wooden cube (1973)
• Composition No. 3 Benedictus, Qui Venit, for four flutes, four bassoons and piano (1975)
• Symphony No. 2 - True and Eternal Bliss!, for male reciter and small orchestra (1979)
• Symphony No. 3 - Jesus Messiah, Save Us!, for male reciter and small orchestra (1983)
• Symphony No. 4 - Prayer, for contralto, piano, trumpet and tam-tam (1985/7)
• Piano Sonata No. 5 (1986)
• Piano Sonata No. 6 (1988)
• Symphony No. 5 - Amen, for male reciter, oboe, trumpet, tuba, violin and wooden cube (1989/90)

Her music can be found from Hans Sikorski in Hamburg.

See also

In Spanish: Galina Ustvólskaya para niños