Born in 1937, the Ukrainian composer and pianist Valentin Silvestrov is best known, among the general public, for his stylistically quiet, gentle, and often slow music, whether composed for a solo instrument, a symphony orchestra or a voice/choir. Less well known is, perhaps, the shift he made, towards the end of last century, from modern Western avant-garde to a more peaceful and metaphorical style – from strict abstract modernism to lyrical post-modernism, so to speak.
Silvestrov’s transition comes surprisingly close to what Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) went through in the mid 1970s from avant-garde to a more minimalist style and contemplative sacred music. To what extent the shift of both men reflected a change in their pure musical thinking, or also hid some extra-musical connotations, remains a somewhat open question. Did their detachment from Western serialism, atonality, and dissonance reflect a change in surrounding conditions, or was their spiritual introversion, sense of history and nostalgia purely inborn.
Either way, both moved away from experimental complexity to radically simplified, contemplative sonic environments characterized by calmness and consonant tonality, meditation over drama. Both developed a personal aesthetic idiom that prioritizes spiritual resonance over intellectual rigor, and both did it by a notable economy of means.
THE FIRST LP
Be as it may, only a very few albums have made such a shift from modern to post-modern as visible and audible as the one published by the Kyiv Dispatch label this July, and on which the pianist Evgeny Gromov performs Silvestrov’s solo piano music starting from rarely heard formal works from the 60s/70s, and then, on the second LP, proceeding to the Moments and Bagatelles from the early 2000.
The first LP begins with ‘Five Pieces’, ‘Elegy’, and ‘Triad’, all three from the 60s, and revealing Silvestrov’s full awareness of the contemporary Western compositional techniques. Notwithstanding, the pieces are far from less inspiring imitation of the said techniques, and the own voice of the composer, as well as his look for light and textural transparency, are already evident.
If the three first pieces showcase Silvestrov’s sensitivity to microstructure and expressivity, Piano Sonata No. 2 from 1975 straightforwardly anticipates the second LP with Bagatelles from the early 2000. It is here that Silvestrov’s earlier avant-garde language begins to dissolve into a more introspective, resonance-based form (fast moving chords, deceptive stasis, and the sense of colour). The change is subtle but it is there: everything sounds less inevitable.
THE SECOND LP
Enter the second LP, and you will encounter a whole new world! From Moments to the Bagatelles, now the music is lyrical, intimate post-modern meta-music, a way more accessible than anything on the first LP, almost romantic occasionally.
It is true that their, Bagatelles especially, simplicity is deceptive. Triadic tonality does not exclude fresh sonorities and varying color. Here old music is turned to new one, and it could be argued that the Bagatelles require a change in the recipient’s mindset and reception capacity. Having said that, I personally found the music on the second LP sliding into too obvious from time to time. That doesn’t diminish the music’s pleasantness at all, but it made me conclude that the more abstract music of the first album provides as relevant an offering as the music on the second.
Performance and sound
Evgeny Gromov’s performance is superb throughout, leaving no nuance or angle or level of the music unclear. He knows exactly what things to pick up and what to emphasize in order to bring to life the very essence of each piece. The sound of the piano is not exactly what would it be in a real acoustical event but the recording masterfully serves the musical message of the albums.
In 2022, with war in Ukraine raging, Silvestrov was forced, at the age of 85, to flee Kyiv, abandoning his home studio, and ending up in Berlin. In the same year, Kyiv Dispatch label was established to champion Ukrainian contemporary music, and making it available to a wider audience. In the capacity of a pianist, researcher and curator, Gromov has made remarkable work in rescuing not only Silvestrov’s music, but also more broadly in historicising and canonising Kyiv avant-garde of the late 20th century.
Artist: Valentin Silvestrov
Title: Moments of Silvertones, Evgeny Gromov
Label: Kyiv Dispatch
Release date: Friday 17th July 2026
Format: 2LP / DLCat No: KD077-05
LP 1 – IMusic of Silvertones
01Five Pieces (1961)
02 Triad (1962)
03 Elegy (1967)
04Piano Sonata No. 2 (1975)
LP 2 –II Moments and Bagatelles
01 Moments, Op. 10 (2003)
02 Bagatelles, Op. 1(2005-2006)
03 Bagatelles, Op. 2 (2005-2006)
04 Bagatelles, Op. 3 (2005-2006)
05 Bagatelles, Op. 4, Postludium, Op.5 (2006)
