Interviews

G. Ustvolskaya gave few interviews during her lifetime. This was her own decision after falling victim to regular misinterpretations of her words and works by journalists and musicians. She was very sensitive to these issues and could not tolerate misinterpretation of her creative output. The only Russian film about her (see the Films & books section of the site) ends with her speech:

"[If] I put all of me, all of my energy, into my works, then one [should] listen to me in this manner too, putting equal energy into the effort. [They] treat [me] too much in the old-fashioned way, and incorrectly. I believe that this will change in the future. I am tired of explaining: all the forms, polyphonies etc. should be treated in [this] new way."

This is the last interview recorded on tape at G. Ustvolskaya's home in June 2000. Two others will appear here soon in German.
 

— Galina Ivanovna, how often do you meet the performers of your music? Do you consider it necessary to explain the scores?

I meet the performers rarely. I do not consider it necessary to explain the scores.

— Which of the artists you would like to mention? Whose performances seem the best to you?

Reinbert de Leeuw, Mstislav Rostropovich, Alexei Lyubimov, Frank Denyer, Marcus Hinterhäuser.

— Do you remember your first premiere? Where was it? Which work was performed?

I remember the premiere of "Dream of Stepan Razin" in the Grand Philharmonic Hall. The conductor was Yevgeny Mravinsky.

— Your music is often compared with the work of Tarkovsky, the paintings of Malevich, and the prose of Kafka. How do you feel about these parallels?

The work of Tarkovsky and Malevich is unknown to me^*.

— You have been called a student of Shostakovich, and your personal and creative sympathy with Dmitri Shostakovich is well known. Have you kept the letters from Shostakovich, and the manuscripts of his works he presented to you?

I did not keep the letters, and I passed the manuscripts in my possession to the Paul Sacher Foundation in Switzerland.

— Tell us a little about your family. Were there musical roots there?

My family had no musical roots.

— Do you consider yourself a believer?

Yes.

— Which of your works, in your opinion, would be better heard in the temple than in the concert hall?

All of them.

— The wooden cube was used in two of your works: the Second Composition and the Fifth Symphony. Tell us about how this unique instrument was created.

I gave the dimensions to the artisan, and he knocked up a cube.

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* K. Bagrenin recalls that she was indeed unaware of their works.