Ustvolskaya: only partial comparisons

This morning Dutch public television broadcast a documentary on Galina Ustvolskaya, coupled with a performance of her Symphony No. 2, "True and Eternal Bliss", for speaker and ensemble.

This ritualistic music seems unparalleled. But digging around, I came up with these part-comparisons. Still, Ustvolskaya's music remains unique.

• As conductor Reinbert de Leeuw mentioned: the ontology has some parallels to Bruckner's symphonies. Personal, spiritual, focused.
• Then why not throw in Mahler (and other symphonists such as Allan Pettersson and Matthijs Vermeulen) as well.
• The more spiritual instead of liturgical character, together with moments of ecstacy, can be found in several massive Olivier Messiaen compositions as well.
• A more direct comparison would be Aribert Reimann. Listen to his clustered harmonies of relentless intensity, as found in his opera Troades.
• Finally, I was reminded of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's "Ich wandte mich und sah' an alles Unrecht, das geschah unter der Sonne - Ekklesiastische Aktion" for 2 speakers, bass solo and large orchestra. Zimmermann wasn't particularly interested in writing 'beautiful' music, when he was working on this piece. It has a similar personal, emotional intensity that characterizes Ustvolskaya's music.