Symphony No. 3 (Ustvolskaya)

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Symphony No. 3 (subtitled "Jesus Messiah, Save Us!") by Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya was composed in 1983, and published in 1990. [1]

The premiere was given by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in Leningrad conducted by Vladimir Altschuler with Oleg Popkov as reciter on 1 October 1987.

It is scored for: groups of five oboes, trumpets, and double basses; a trombone; three tubas; two bass drums and tenor drums; piano; and a solo voice (reciter), which appeals in speech in Russian for salvation.

The work lasts approximately 13-15 minutes.

The symphony is based on the texts of the 11th-century German monk and musician Hermanus Contractus: the reciter repeating the invocation "Almighty, True God, Father of Eternal Life, Creator of the World, save us". [2]

Ustvolskaya noted that there was an error in the published score - an incorrect piano glissando in bar 88 - which persisted despite her request for it to be corrected. [3]

Recordings

Megadisc Classics - Oleg Malov (reciter), Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Liss (conductor)

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References

  1. Composition date from Ustvolskaya worklist at Russian Music Archive; publication date from OCLC   23437067.
  2. Lemaire, Frans C. "GALINA USTVOLSKAYA - Symphonies 2, 3, 4 & 5". megadisc-classics.com. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  3. "Precision - Glissando in Symphony No 3". ustvolskaya.org. Retrieved 9 March 2019.