Galina Ustvolskaya - Trio, Sonata & Octet (1995)

"I am convinced that the music of G. I. Ustvolskaya will achieve worldwide renown, to be valued by all who perceive truth in music to beofparamountimportance." Thus Dmitri Shostakovich commented on the work of his student (and, perhaps, lover) Galina Ustvolskaya, a composer of prickly independence and deep spiritual conviction, whom the late Ian MacDonald called "abrupt, anxious, explosively eccentric". Ustvolskaya lived out her life with a supreme disregard for public acclaim; her handful of passionate and bizarre works similarly do nothing to cultivate the listener. Nevertheless, Ustvolskaya’s stature as a questioning, uncompromising musical figure is growing apace. Her small catalogue of works speaks of a composer whose gestures are both carefully weighted and concentrated.

Tracklist

Trio
Alexander Shustin Violin
Adil Feodorov Clarinet
Oleg Malov Piano

Sonata for Violin and Piano
Alexander Shustin Violin
Oleg Malov Piano

Octet
Nicolay Neretin Oboe
Piotr Tosenko Oboe
Alexander Stang Violin
Olga Ribaltchenko Violin
Valentin Lukin Violin
Nikolay Tkachenko Violin
Valerii Znamenskii Timpani
Oleg Malov Piano, conductor
The St. Petersburg Soloists

Recorded at the St. Petersburg Radio House
October - November 1994
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