In their interpretation, the performers associate the col legno (tapping with the wood of the bow) in the Sonata's Coda with the terrifying "knocking on the door" by the secret police during Stalin's era.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Galina Ustvolskaya once stated, "My music is certainly not chamber music…" and as a child, she declared, "I want to be an orchestra!"
Performer Biography
Natalia Andreeva, the pianist, completed her PhD in Piano Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and previously recorded Ustvolskaya's complete piano works.
Interpretation
The performers, Natalia Andreeva and Evgeny Sorkin, consulted Ustvolskaya's original manuscripts at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel to clarify notation for this recording.
Composer Biography
Galina Ustvolskaya, the composer, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and is being celebrated on the 100th anniversary of her birth with this recording.
Performer Biography
Evgeny Sorkin, the violinist on this recording, was chosen by Isaac Stern at age 10 for a US concert tour, and Sir Yehudi Menuhin likened his playing to a young David Oistrakh at age 16.
Historical Context
The Sonata for Violin and Piano was composed in 1952, one year before Stalin's death, a period marked by widespread state terror in the USSR.
