(b. 30 September 1937, Kiev).
Ukrainian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout the world.
Mr. Silvestrov began private studies in music at age fifteen and studied at the Stetsenko Evening Music School for Adults in Kiev from 1953–55, where he graduated with a gold medal, then studied at the Institute of Construction Engineering in Kiev from 1955–58. He studied composition with Boris Lyatoshinsky and counterpoint and harmony with Levko Revutsky at the P. I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kiev from 1958–64.
Among his honours are the Koussevitzky Composition Prize (1967), First Prize in the competition of the Internationale Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Amsterdam (1970) and the Taras Shevchenko National Prize from the government of Ukraine (1995).
He taught music theory at various schools for children in Ukraine from 1964–72.
His publisher is Muzychna Ukraina, with some distribution from Schott Music.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL:
Symphony No. 1, 1963, revised 1974
Classical Overture, 1964
Spectra, small orchestra, 1965
Monodia, piano, orchestra, 1965
Symphony No. 2, flute, piano, 2 percussion, string orchestra, 1965
Symphony No. 3, 'Eschatophony', 1966
Hymne, 5 ensembles, 1967
Poem in Memory of Boris Lyatoshinsky, 1968
Meditation (symphony), cello, small orchestra (flute [+ piccolo, alto flute], 2 oboes [both + English horn], bassoon, 2 French horns, piano ad libitum, celesta [+ harpsichord], 10 violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses), 1972
Symphony No. 4, orchestra (brass, strings), 1976
Serenade, string orchestra (10 violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses), 1978
Symphony No. 5, 1980–82
Intermezzo, small orchestra, 1983
Postludium (symphonic poem), piano, orchestra, 1984
Exegi monumentum (symphony, text by Alexander Pushkin), baritone, orchestra, 1985–87
Widmung (symphony–concerto), violin, orchestra, 1990–91
Metamusik (symphony), piano, orchestra, 1992
Symphony No. 6, 1994–95, revised 2002
The Messenger, synthesizer (+ piano), string orchestra, 1996–97
Epitaph, piano, string orchestra, 1999
Autumn Serenade, small orchestra, 2000
Hymn 2001, string orchestra, 2001
Walzer, 2002
Symphony No. 7, 2003
Four Postludes, piano, orchestra, 2004
Symphony No. 8, 2012–13
Symphony No. 9, 'Oda do Radosti' – 'Ode to Joy' (texts by Friedrich von Schiller, Mykola Lukash), mixed chorus, orchestra, 2015
Symphony No. 10, 2015
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Quintet, piano, string quartet, 1961
Quartetto piccolo, string quartet, 1961
Trio, flute, trumpet, celesta, 1962
Mysterium, alto flute, 6 percussion, 1964
Projections, harpsichord, vibraphone, tubular bells, 1965
Drama, violin, cello, piano, 1970–71, revised 2002
String Quartet No. 1, 1974
Postludium, violin, 1981
Postludium, cello, piano, 1982
Sonata, cello, piano, 1983
String Quartet No. 2, 1988
Post Scriptum (sonata), violin, piano, 1990–91
Misterioso, clarinet, piano, 1996
Orfeo – Eternal Melody, synthesizer, 1997–98
Elegy, cello (+ 2 tam-tams), 1999
Epitaph (L. B.), viola/cello, piano, 1999
Lacrimosa, viola, 2003
28 July 1750...in Memory of J. S. B., cello, 2004
8 June 1810...to the Birthday of R. Sch., 2 cellos, 2004
Melodien der Augenblicke (22 pieces in 7 cycles), violin, piano, 2004–05
Five New Pieces, violin, piano, 2009
String Quartet No. 3, 2011
CHORAL:
Cantata (text by Taras Shevchenko), mixed chorus, 1977
Diptych (texts from the Pater noster, Taras Shevchenko), mixed chorus, 1995
Elegy (text by Taras Shevchenko), mixed chorus, 1996
Requiem for Larissa (texts from the Mass, Taras Shevchenko), mixed chorus, orchestra, 1997–99
Liturgical Chants, mixed chorus, 2005
Two Psalms of David (texts from Psalm 37, Psalm 150), mixed chorus, 2007
Five Sacred Songs, mixed chorus, 2009
VOCAL:
Two Romances (text by Alexander Blok), middle voice, piano, 1960
Cantata (texts by Fyodor Tyutchev, Alexander Blok), soprano, small orchestra, 1973
Silent Songs (song-cycle, texts by Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, John Keats, Sergei Yesenin, Taras Shevchenko, Fyodor Tyutchev, Osip Mandelstam), baritone, piano, 1974–77
Ancient Ballad, voice, piano, 1977
Forest Music (text by Gennadiy Aygi), soprano, French horn, piano, 1977–78
Simple Songs (song-cycle, texts by Osip Mandelstam, Alexander Pushkin, an anonymous source), middle voice, piano, 1974–81
Postludium D-S-C-H, soprano, violin, cello, piano, 1981
Stupeni – Steps, soprano, piano, 1982, revised 1998
Four Songs (text by Osip Mandelstam), baritone, piano, 1982
Ode to a Nightingale (cantata, text by John Keats), soprano, small orchestra, 1983
The River of Times (text by Gavrila Derzhavin), middle voice, piano, 1999
Morning Song, soprano, piano, 2000
The Final Tune of a Wayfarer (text by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz), soprano, piano, 2002
Three Songs to Poems by Gennadiy Aygi (text by Gennadiy Aygi), soprano, piano, 2003
Diptych (text by Fyodor Tyutchev), soprano, piano, 2004
Lullaby for Emily – The Cat and the Pianist (text by the composer), soprano, piano, 2004
Moments of Poetry and Music (text by Paul Celan), soprano, piano
PIANO:
Naïve Music, 1954–55, revised 1993
Musica lontana, 1956, revised 1993
Intermezzo, 1956, revised 2000
Nocturne, 1957, revised 2000
Bagatelles, 1958, revised 2000
Sonatina, 1960, revised 1965
Five Pieces, 1961
Triada (13 pieces), 1961–62
Classical Sonata, 1963
Elegy, 1967
Sonata No. 1, 1972
Music in Olden Style, 1973
Music for Children, Books 1–2, 1973
Sonata No. 2, 1975
Kitsch-Musik (5 pieces), 1977
Sonata No. 3, 1979
Der Bote, 1996–97
Ustnaya Muzyka 1 – Verbal Music 1, 1998
Ustnaya Muzyka 2, 1999
Hymn 2001, 2001
Two Dialogues with Postface, 2001–02
3 February 1857...in Memory of M. I. G., 2004
Four Pieces, Op. 2, 2006
Two Bagatelles, Op. 173, 2011
Nostalghia
Two Waltzes, Op. 153
DISCOGRAPHY
String Quartet No. 1. Lysenko String Quartet (Melodiya: S 1017117/18) (LP)
Symphony No. 5. Roman Kofman/Orchestra of the P. I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kiev (Melodiya: S 1027029) (LP)
Symphony No. 2 (excerpt). (Arts & Electronics, 1988)
Symphony No. 5; Stupeni; Elegy. Alexei Lubimov, piano; Arvo Volmer/Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester (col legno: AU 31840, 1990)
Quartetto piccolo; String Quartet No. 1; String Quartet No. 2; Postludium (violin). Lysenko String Quartet (Etcetera Records: KTC 1151, 1993)
Postludium. Elissa Stutz, piano; Virko Baley/State Symphony Capella of Russia (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga: MK 417116, 1993)
Sonata No. 1; Sonata No. 2; Sonata No. 3; Sonata (cello, piano). Iwan Monighetti, cello; Alexei Lubimov, piano (Erato Records: 2292-45631-2, 1994)
Monodia; Symphony No. 4; Postludium. Ivan Sokolov, piano; Andrey Boreyko/Ural Philharmonic Orchestra (Space/Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin: 315 222, 1994 [reissued as Megadisc Classics: MDC 7837, 1998])
Symphony No. 5; Exegi monumentum. Sergey Yakovenko, baritone; Andrey Boreyko/Ural Philharmonic Orchestra (Space/Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin: 315 223, 1994 [reissued as Megadisc Classics: MDC 7836, 1998])
Five Pieces. Tatyana Ryabchikova, piano (Sonora Productions: S022571, 1995)
Symphony No. 2; Meditation; Serenade. Oleg Hudiyakov, flute; Alexander Rudin, cello; Ivan Sokolov, piano; Mikhail Dunayev, Konstantin Smirnov, percussion; Nikolai Alexeyev, Alexander Rudin/Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra (Olympia: OCD 477, 1996)
Symphony No. 5; Postludium. Alexei Lubimov, piano; David Robertson/Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Sony Classical: SK 66825, 1996)
Widmung; Post Scriptum. Gidon Kremer, violin; Vadim Sacharov, piano; Roman Kofman/Münchner Philharmoniker (Teldec: 99206, 1996)
Symphony No. 5; String Quartet No. 1; Kitsch-Musik (2 excerpts). Irina Plotnikova, piano; Lysenko String Quartet; Roman Kofman/Orchestra of the P. I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kiev (BMG/Melodiya: 74321-49959-2, 1997)
Elegy. Ingrid Karlen, piano (ECM New Series: 1606, 1997)
Cantata (1973); Ode to the Nightingale; Cantata (1977); Diptych (1995). Lidia Stovbun, soprano; Yevhen Savchuk/Dumka; Virko Baley/Kiev Camerata (Megadisc Classics: MDC 7842, 1997)
Silent Songs. Alexei Martinov, baritone; Alexei Lubimov, piano (Megadisc Classics: MDC 7840–41, 1998)
Stupeni; Ustnaya Muzyka 1; Ustnaya Muzyka 2. Jana Ivanilova, soprano; Alexei Lubimov, Valentin Silvestrov, pianos (Megadisc Classics: MDC 7832, 1999)
The Messenger. Gidon Kremer/Kremerata Baltica (Nonesuch Records: 7559-79633-2, 2001)
Elegy; Der Bote. Alexei Lubimov, piano (ECM New Series: 1771, 2001)
Sonata (cello, piano); String Quartet No. 1; Postludium D-S-C-H; Postludium (violin; cello, piano); Hymn 2001 (piano). Maacha Deubner, soprano; Simon Fordham, violin; Anja Lechner, cello; Silke Avenhaus, Valentin Silvestrov, pianos; Rosamunde Quartett (ECM New Series: 1776, 2002)
Requiem for Larissa. Volodymyr Sirenko/Dumka, Natsionalny Simfonichny Orkestr Ukraini (ECM New Series: 1778, 2002)
Metamusik; Postludium. Alexei Lubimov, piano; Dennis Russell Davies/ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien (ECM New Series: 1790, 2003)
Silent Songs; Four Songs. Sergey Yakovenko, baritone; Ilya Scheps, Valentin Silvestrov, pianos (ECM New Series: 1898/99, 2004)
Sonata No. 2. Alexei Lubimov, piano (Solyd Records: SLR 0361, 2004)
Post Scriptum; Misterioso. Kyrill Rybakov, clarinet; Alexander Trostyansky, violin; Alexei Lubimov, piano (ECM New Series: 1959, 2006)
Two Dialogues with Postface; Moments of Poetry and Music; Three Songs to Poems by Gennadiy Aygi; Lacrimosa; Epitaph; Post Scriptum; Sonata No. 2; 28 July 1750...in Memory of J. S. B., cello, 2004; 8 June 1810...to the Birthday of R. Sch.; Diptych (2004); 3 February 1857...in Memory of M. I. G.; The Final Tune of a Wayfarer; Lullaby for Emily – The Cat and the Pianist. Svetlana Savenko, soprano; Alexander Trostyansky, violin; Ilya Gofman, viola; Aleksandr Grashenkov, Alexander Rudin, cellos; Alexei Lubimov, Yury Polubelov, pianos (Solyd Records: SLR 0370/71, 2006)
Symphony No. 6. Andrey Boreyko/Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR (ECM New Series: 1935, 2007)
Der Bote. Alexei Lubimov, piano; Christoph Poppen/Münchener Kammerorchester (ECM New Series, 2007)
Nostalghia; Two Pieces; Two Dialogues with an Epilogue; Three Postludes; Three Pieces; Two Pieces; Three Waltzes; Sonata No. 1; Der Bote. Jenny Lin, piano (hänssler CLASSIC: CD 98.229, 2007)
Post Scriptum; Epitaph (L. B.); Drama. Cornelius Dufallo, violin; Yves Dharamraj, cello; Jenny Lin, piano (Koch International Classics: KIC-CD-3-7740-2, 2007)
Symphony No. 6. Roman Kofman/Beethoven Orchester Bonn (Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm: MDG 337 1478-2, 2007)
Symphony No. 4; Symphony No. 5. Jukka-Pekka Saraste/Sinfonia Lahti (BIS Records: BIS-CD-1703, 2009)
Naïve Music; Der Bote; Two Waltzes, Op. 153; Four Pieces, Op. 2; Two Bagatelles, Op. 173; Kitsch-Musik. Elisaveta Blumina, piano (Grand Piano: GP639, 2013)
Sonata No. 1; Classical Sonata; Sonata No. 2; Music for Children, Book 1; Sonata No. 3; Nostalghia. Simon Smith, piano (Delphian Records: DCD34151, 2015)
Four Postludes; Hymn 2001 (version for string orchestra). Elisaveta Blumina, piano; Thomas Sanderling/Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Grand Piano: GP678, 2016)
Naïve Music (excerpts). Mykola Suk, piano (Cambria: 1401)