Music and Time Annotation << Back The works of Galina Ustvolskaya in the Context of the Orthodox Yurodivy Tradition P.A. Bielajewa This article is devoted to the life and works of composer Galina Ustvolskaya from the perspective of the Orthodox long standing tradition of yurodivy behavior that had been observed in Russia in the period from the XIV to the XIX century. This spiritual search, the yearning for truth and for the purification of the soul by means of austere asceticism, renunciation of worldly traditional values characteristic of Russian yurodivy, astonishingly reflected in the compositional and life credo of Ustvolskaya. The article attempts a brief analysis of the most important (in the opinion of the author) works of the Leningrad composer comprised of three Compositions and five Symphonies in the context of the main distinctive features of the religious and moral phenomenon of the yurodivy tradition that has since been uprooted, but not forgotten. This article also tries to exemplify how the yurodivy tradition penetrated not only the Russian mentality, but also Russian culture and the indelible mark it has left there. Keywords: Galina Ustvolskaya, yurodivy, spiritual search, asceticism, three Compositions, the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Symphony. Contacts: E-mail: jbielajewa2010@yandex.ru Pp. 17-21.