Valentin Silvestrov

Composer from Ukraine
1937, September 30th in Kyiv, Ukraine -

Valentin Silvestrov is a Ukrainian composer, born in Kyiv on 30 September 1937, and widely regarded as the most significant Ukrainian composer of his generation. He studied piano at the Kyiv Evening Music School (1955-1958) before entering the Kyiv Conservatory (1958-1964), where he studied composition with Borys Lyatoshynsky and harmony and counterpoint with Levko Revutsky. In the 1960s he was a leading figure of the so-called Kyiv avant-garde, writing serial and aleatoric works that drew official Soviet criticism. Around 1974 he turned away from modernism toward what he called a metaphorical, post-modern style: quiet, slow, nostalgic music built on echoes of earlier tonal idioms, exemplified by the vocal cycle Silent Songs (1974-1977). His later output increasingly turned to spiritual and choral music inspired by Orthodox liturgical tradition. His catalogue includes nine symphonies, three string quartets, a piano quintet, three piano sonatas, numerous piano miniatures and Bagatelles, Melodies of the Moments for violin and piano, the choral Diptychon and the choral cycle Maidan 2014, a response to the Revolution of Dignity. He often performs his own piano works, notably on recordings for ECM. After living and working as a freelance composer in Kyiv from 1970, he left Ukraine for Berlin following the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022. He has received the Shevchenko National Prize, among other distinctions. Source: Rondo DB

Usual Name Valentin Silvestrov
Alternative Spellings Valentyn Silvestrov; Valentin Vasylyovych Silvestrov; Valentin Sylvestrov; Валентин Васильович Сильвестров
On Wikipedia Valentin_Silvestrov
Relationships is the pupil of Boris Lyatoshinsky
Links Wikipedia

Images

Title Subname Catalogue Key Year Type

Born in Ukraine – 150 Years of Ukrainian Music

2026-11-06

Deutsche Grammophon (DG)