Demystifying Galina Ustvolskaya: Critical Examination and Performance Interpretation. Elena Nalimova 10 October 2012 Submitted in partial requirement for the Degree of PhD in Performance Practice at the Goldsmiths College, University of London 1 Declaration The work presented in this thesis is my own and has not been presented for any other degree. Where the work of others has been utilised this has been indicated and the sources acknowledged. All the translations from Russian are my own, unless indicated otherwise. Elena Nalimova 10 October 2012 2 Note on transliteration and translation The transliteration used in the thesis and bibliography follow the Library of Congress system with a few exceptions such as: endings й, ий, ый are simplified to y; я and ю transliterated as ya/yu; е is е and ё is e; soft sign is '. All quotations from the interviews and Russian publications were translated by the author of the thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis presents a performer’s view of Galina Ustvolskaya and her music with the aim of demystifying her artistic persona. The author examines the creation of ‘Ustvolskaya Myth’ by critically analysing Soviet, Russian and Western literature sources, oral history on the subject and the composer’s personal recollections, and reveals paradoxes and parochial misunderstandings of Ustvolskaya’s personality and the origins of her music. Having examined all the available sources, the author argues that the ‘Ustvolskaya Myth’ was a self-made phenomenon that persisted due to insufficient knowledge on the subject. In support of the argument, the thesis offers a performer’s interpretation of Ustvolskaya as she is revealed in her music. The author examines Ustvolskaya’s music from two viewpoints, a scholar and a performer, and draws upon inter-textual connections between Ustvolskaya’s music and Russian literature (Gogol, Dostoevsky, oberiuty) and aesthetics; analyses the influences of Russian musical traditions (Russian folklore, znamenny raspev) and some artistic individuals (Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky), and examines the nature of Ustvolskaya’s spirituality and religiosity. The performance aspects of Ustvolskaya’s music are discussed as well as the specific nature of her writing for instruments, particularly the piano, and the interpretation and perception of her music by both the performers and the audience. The thesis examines the performance history of Ustvolskaya’s works, and draws on interview materials with musicians who knew the composer and performed her music. The author’s own performance experience and that derived from the ‘Ustvolskaya at Chetham’s’ project which involved young musicians in studying and performing Ustvolskaya’s compositions, underlined the practical value of the research. While supporting the view of Ustvolskaya as a singular composer, the thesis stands to demystify and reevaluate her artistic image. 4 Recital programme in support of the thesis1 The first half of the recital (works for piano solo) entitled “Art with or without influence? One performer’s search for Ustvolskaya’s artistic forerunners and successors” aimed to demonstrate thematic and stylistic parallels between Ustvolskaya and other composers, thus supporting the author’s view that her unique language and compositional style had both predecessors and followers – a view which Ustvolskaya denied. As far as her predecessors are concerned, we identified Bach and Shostakovich, widely separated in time though they are. It is evident that Bach’s polyphonic writing as exemplified here by selected two- and three-part Inventions, and Shostakovich’s modernist treatment of polyphony and traditional genres, as seen in his early experimental compositions (Aphorisms, op.13), affected both Ustvolskaya’s understanding of linearity and polyphony, and determined the style of her piano writing in compositions such as Twelve Piano Preludes (1953). As for her successors, Ustvolskaya’s influence is immediately recognisable in the Piano Sonata No.2 by Alesha Nikolaev (1959-1977), one of Ustvolskaya’s students, and the short pieces by Alexander Knaifel, which belong to the composer’s early period (apart from Nativity, 2003). The second half of the recital presented Ustvolskaya’s chamber compositions that conversely demonstrate the essence and originality of her musical language and compositional style, and indicate the direction of Ustvolskaya’s stylistic evolution. Young performers from Chetham’s School of Music presented their interpretation of Ustvolskaya’s works that provided listeners with the invaluable opportunity to observe how this music is perceived by young musicians, who belong to a different generation and cultural milieu. 1 The programme notes that accompanied the recital can be found in Appendix C. 5 Sonata for violin and piano (1952) Galina Ustvolskaya Fiona Robertson, violin, Elena Nalimova, piano (1919-2006) Two-part Invention in C minor, BWV 773 J. S. Bach (1685-1750) Aphorisms, op.13 (1927) Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) I. Recitative II. Serenade III. Nocturne IV. Elegy V. Funeral March VI. Etude VII. Dance of Death VIII. Canon IX. Legend Two-part Invention in D minor, BWV 775 J. S. Bach Piano Sonata No.2 in C Minor Alesha Nikolaev (1959-1977) I. Allegretto II. Adagio III. Allegro IV. Allegro non troppo Two-part Invention in G major, BWV 781 J. S. Bach Two short pieces (1968) Alexander Knaifel ( 1943 - ) Short White Piece; Short Black Piece Two pieces (1963) Marching Two-part Piece; Dancing Two-part Piece From Twelve Preludes for piano (1953) Galina Ustvolskaya Preludes No.4, 5 Interval Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (1949) Galina Ustvolskaya Stephanie Yim, clarinet, Fiona Robertson, violin, Elena Nalimova, piano 6 Three-part Invention in G minor, BWV 797 J. S. Bach Grand Duet for violoncello and piano (1959) Galina Ustvolskaya Joseph Davies, violoncello, Elena Nalimova, piano Nativity for piano solo and bells (2003) Alexander Knaifel 7 Table of contents Note on transliteration and translation 3 Abstract 4 Recital programme in support of the thesis 5 Table of contents 8 Acknowledgements 11 Introduction 12 1. An introduction to Galina Ustvolskaya: the definition of the 12 topic and the main research puzzle 2: Critical review of literature 14 2.1: Ustvolskaya as presented by her official publisher 14 (Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski) 2.2: Ustvolskaya as seen by Westerners 16 2.2.1: Ustvolskaya’s music in the West: performance history and 18 critics’ perception 2.2.2: Ustvolskaya and her music in contemporary Western 23 scholarship 2.3: Russian perception of Ustvolskaya and her music 27 2.3.1: Olga Gladkova and “Music as an Obsession” 27 2.3.2: Ustvolskaya in Soviet musicology 28 2.3.3: New trends in the Russian perception of Ustvolskaya: the 40 1990s and early 2000s 2.3.4: A summary of Russian views on Ustvolskaya: apologists 48 and critics 3: The Ustvolskaya phenomenon: main research questions 50 3.1: The author’s analytical approach, methods and propositions 50 3.2: Outline of the overall chapter structure 52 8 Chapter One: Ustvolskaya in her own words: childhood 54 recollections, artistic views, and thoughts on the creative process Chapter Two: Ustvolskaya as seen by her contemporaries and 67 performers of her music: personal interviews Chapter Three: Ustvolskaya and the ‘Ustvolskaya Myth’: a 87 critical examination Chapter Four: Ustvolskaya and her music: religious or spiritual? 102 Chapter Five: The aesthetic roots of Ustvolskaya’s language as 113 found in the St. Petersburg literary tradition 5.1: Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852) and the impact of the Gogolian 115 tradition on the Russian artistic aesthetic 5.2: Gogol and Ustvolskaya: specific characteristics and 119 similarities of language 5.3: Ustvolskaya’s ‘sunless’ aesthetic and the literary influence of 122 Dostoevsky 5.4: The Association of Real Art (OBERIU), and Ustvolskaya: 125 language connections and aesthetic parallels 5.5: Ustvolskaya and St. Petersburg: the city and its influence 128 Chapter Six: The origins of Ustvolskaya’s musical language: 133 znamenny raspev, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky and Eurasianism, and Shostakovich 6.1: The tradition of Old Russian Chant 133 6.2: The speech-orientated musical language of Mussorgsky 136 6.3: The Eurasian Heritage and Stravinsky: the aesthetic and 141 musical influence 9 6.4: Ustvolskaya and the Western musical tradition 148 6.5: Shostakovich and Leningrad’s modernists: compositional 149 style of the 1920s-1930s Chapter Seven: A performer’s view on the interpretation and 154 perception of Ustvolskaya’s music 7.1: The role of the performer in the execution of Ustvolskaya’s 154 works 7.2: Ustvolskaya and her piano 156 7.3: Challenges of performing Ustvolskaya 157 7.4: Performer’s observations on playing Ustvolskaya’s music 160 7.5: Ustvolskaya’s music as perceived by the audience 162 7.6: Programming Ustvolskaya’s compositions 167 Conclusion 169 Appendix: 172 A. A case study report. “Bringing Ustvolskaya’s music to the new 172 generation: performance interpretation and presentation.” B. List of misreadings as they occurred in different editions of the 190 Violin Sonata (1952) and Grand Duet (1959) C: Programme notes for the PhD recital 194 D: List of research trips 203 E: List of interviews and the interview transcripts 204 F: CD from the PhD recital 236 Bibliography 237 Publications in Russian Language 247 10 Acknowledgements My thanks are due to the following people: Nicola and Michael Sacher, David Rocksavage, Gill and Julian Simmonds, John Blakely, Martin and Hilary Suckling, Dr. Sam King,