Biography
One of the most uncompromising voices in 20th-century music, Ustvolskaya studied with Shostakovich but rejected his influence to develop a language of terrifying austerity and physical violence. Her six piano sonatas — composed between 1947 and 1988 — are built from relentless hammering, extreme register contrasts, and an almost complete rejection of conventional pianistic beauty. She described her music as spiritual and rejected the term avant-garde. Shostakovich said her influence on him was greater than his on her.
Source: admin