大象传媒

Violinist Ilya Gringolts and pianist Fali Pavri contrast the violin sonata by Shostakovich with the gritty modernist soundworld of his pupil Galina Ustvolskaya in a concert recorded at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

This sonata was written by Shostakovich in Moscow during the autumn of 1968, as a 60th birthday present to the renowned violinist David Oistrakh. It was warmly received by the public and the official stamp of approval was given when the 3rd movement of the Sonata was chosen as one of the set pieces in the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition in 1970. The work opens with a soft unison piano line in octaves and is joined by the violin in a hushed counter melody. The second movement is an energetic contrast to the first, and the last movement, a theme and variations, contains cadenzas for both piano and violin, before a final statement of the opening theme.

Much of Galina Ustvolskaya's work was relatively unknown until recently. She wrote that her music was 'spiritual in nature and best suited to performance in a church'. Ustvolskaya was a student and close friend of Shostakovich and he regarded her as a promising student and one with a unique voice. In one private letter he wrote 'It is not you who are influenced by me; rather it is I who am influenced by you'.
Ustvolskaya lived alone in St Petersburg and declined most requests for photographs and interviews. Her output consists of just 21 pieces of music, all written between 1946 and 1990. Many weren't performed in her homeland until the 1990s because of their modernist tendencies

Shostakovich - Violin Sonata Op 134

Ustvolskaya - Duet for Violin and Piano

Ilya Gringolts, violin
Fali Pavri, piano.