Silvestrov reviews
The Messenger (Hélène Grimaud)
Lechner and Vesterman perform Silvestrov
Elisaveta Blumina performs piano works by Kancheli, Silvestrov and Ustvolskaya
Elisaveta Blumina’s selection of works for piano and orchestra by the Russian Galina Ustvolskaya, the Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov and the Georgian Giya Kancheli offers the maximum contrast in expression and emotion. By far the earliest work is Ustvolskaya’s 1946 Concerto for piano, strings and timpani.
Simon Smith Performs Piano Sonatas by Valentin Silvestrov
Concertos for Orchestra 1-3: Karabits • Silvestrov
Valentin Silvestrov: Sacred Works
Silvestrov’s development parallels a number of other composers of his generation and background. He first challenged Soviet orthodoxy by embracing Western Modernism, then found a form of cultural rebellion with deeper roots in ancient melodies and Christian Orthodoxy – most evident in the Liturgical Chants, a work which initiated a new phase in Silvestrov’s development.
Silvestrov - Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Silvestrov’s music has evolved into a kind of endless keening nostalgia for the confidence, the melodic and harmonic riches, of the 19th-century symphonic tradition up to Mahler. Over the past decade or so this has come to seem a stance with limited returns. But not in the Fifth Symphony (1980-82), admired as one of his most significant works.