Ustvolskaya: Octet; Composition No. 3; Symphony No. 5 / Shostakovich: Piano Quintet

Though the great Shostakovich Piano Quintet may appear to be the main bill of fare here, the lion's share of this disc is undoubtedly of chief importance for the other featured composer. Although she is still a relatively obscure figure, more has come to light in recent years about Galina Ustvolskaya, and in particular her often volatile relationship with Shostakovich. As his student and friend, Shostakovich always acknowledged Ustvolskaya's ability and influence. Yet as important as her music was to Shostakovich, and as critical as his teaching was to her development, the pieces recorded here do not clearly or convincingly illustrate the connections between them. Indeed, Ustvolskaya's Octet is strikingly unlike Shostakovich, for the language is more stringently atonal, and the layering techniques, brutal ostinati, and disjointed rhythms are more like Stravinsky or Varèse. Composition No. 3 (Benedictus qui venit) and the Symphony No. 5, "Amen," are equally avant-garde in approach, and also show a strong preoccupation with religious matters, utterly foreign to anything in Shostakovich's secular output. So when the sweet, Classically oriented Piano Quintet follows Ustvolskaya's darkly dissonant works, one may be skeptical about the composers' relationship and the depth of their influences on each other.

Galina USTVOLSKAYA (b.1919)
Octet (1950)
Composition No. 3 ("Benedictus qui venit") (1975)
Symphony No. 5 ("Amen") (1990)

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 (1940)

Kathryn Stott (piano)
Sergei Leiferkus (reciter)
London Musici String Quartet
London Musici/Mark Stephenson
Recorded at St. George’s Church, Brandon Hill, Bristol, 3-4 December 1990 (Shostakovich) and All Saints’ Church, Petersham, Surrey, 29-31 October 1993 (rest)

BMG-RCA/Catalyst 8287665454 2