Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya (St. Petersburg, 1919-2006) claimed to write only when she felt herself to be in what she called a state of grace. And this quality shines through in these complete piano works, brought together in a single volume for the Fundación BBVA-NEOS Collection.

All of Ustvolskaya’s compositions, from her symphonies to her pieces for chamber orchestra or solo instrument, conjure up something close to a religious sentiment, although her music has nothing to do with religion. For the present recording, Sabine Liebner on piano proposes a well-judged revision of the music Ustvolskaya wrote for this instrument over the four decades stretching from 1947 to 1988. While the first sonatas cleave close to tradition, as of ‘Sonata No. 4′ the author’s personality increasingly come through. The remainder of the first disc is devoted to her ’12 Preludes’; the response of a brilliant pupil to the ’24 Preludes and Fugues’ of her maestro Dmitri Shostakovich, which delve in turn into the roots of Johann Sebastian Bach. In every case, Ustvolskaya’s music distills an incomparable freshness. And this is because her writing stands apart from both that of her predecessors and that of her contemporary authors in the avant-garde, just as she herself chose to stand apart from tendencies and movements.

Performances by:
Sabine Liebner, piano

Composer:
Galina Ustvolskaya

Contents:

CD Audio

SACD 1
12 Preludes
1. No. 1 (02:31)
2. No. 2 (01:21)
3. No. 3 (02:11)
4. No. 4 (01:31)
5. No. 5 (01:30)
6. No. 6 (03:49)
7. No. 7 (01:06)
8. No. 8 (01:03)
9. No. 9 (00:54)
10. No. 10 (02:24)
11. No. 11 (01:10)
12. No. 12 (01:25)

Piano Sonata No. 1
13. I (01:15)
14. II (01:28)
15. III (02:55)
16. IV (03:35)

Piano Sonata No. 2
17. I (03:29)
18. II (06:34)

SACD 2
1. Piano Sonata No. 3 (17:20)

Piano Sonata No. 4
2. I (02:01)
3. II (02:28)
4. III (01:01)
5. IV (04:15)

Piano Sonata No. 5
6. I (01:05)
7. II (01:55)
8. III (01:09)
9. IV (00:52)
10. V (02:41)
11. VI (01:01)
12. VII (02:22)
13. VIII (01:09)
14. IX (01:57)
15. X (01:50)
16. Piano Sonata No. 6 (06:09)

Total time: 49:44