Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

Valentin Vasilyevich Silvestrov (b.1937) I. Postludium DSCH 2013

Gabriella Teychenné Conductor

Anna Dennis Soprano

 

Silvestrov was a freelance composer in Kyiv from 1970 to 2022 until he fled from Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February. As a mark of respect and support, BCMG performed I. Postludium DSCH during our 2022 Birmingham Do we need a new compass concert, as Silvestrov fled a war-torn Ukraine.    

Valentin Vasylyovych Silvestrov was born on 30 September 1937 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union.

Silvestrov began private music lessons when he was 15. After first teaching himself, he studied piano at the Kyiv Evening Music School from 1955 to 1958 whilst at the same time training to become a civil engineer. He attended the Kyiv Conservatory from 1958 to 1964, where he was taught musical composition by Borys Lyatoshynsky, and harmony and counterpoint by Levko Revutsky. He then taught at a music studio in Kyiv.