Abstract
As one of the most performed composers of the late Soviet generation, Galina Ustvolskaya hardly qualifies for the title of ‘lost artist.’ However, what is often lost in the narratives about her work and life is her interactions with other people who formed the fabric of the Soviet musical life (apart from her infamous relationship with Dmitry Shostakovich). Often portrayed as a reclusive artist and unaccommodating person, the composer herself actively contributed to manufacturing the ‘Ustvolskaya myth’ that resisted stereotypes of Soviet female socialization and the denomination ‘female composer.’
Based on the interviews with people who were close to Ustvolskaya in different periods of her life (former students, a performer, and a critic) this paper turns the spotlight on the mark Ustvolskaya left in these people’s lives as a teacher and often a role model. Adopting a reparative perspective, it accounts for methodological challenges such material presents: what it means to study people’s memory of the personal and political aspects of their Soviet lives from the vantage point of the post-Soviet years, and to engage with the personal dimension of a female composer’s life.
Based on the interviews with people who were close to Ustvolskaya in different periods of her life (former students, a performer, and a critic) this paper turns the spotlight on the mark Ustvolskaya left in these people’s lives as a teacher and often a role model. Adopting a reparative perspective, it accounts for methodological challenges such material presents: what it means to study people’s memory of the personal and political aspects of their Soviet lives from the vantage point of the post-Soviet years, and to engage with the personal dimension of a female composer’s life.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Unpublished - 7 Oct 2017 |
Event | International conference “Found in Time: Lost Experiments in Soviet Art, 1940-1960” (University of Chicago) - Chicago, United States Duration: 5 Oct 2017 → 7 Oct 2017 |
Conference
Conference | International conference “Found in Time: Lost Experiments in Soviet Art, 1940-1960” (University of Chicago) |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Chicago |
Period | 5/10/17 → 7/10/17 |