Position: Professor of the Department of Composition
Academic title: Professor (2009)
Honorary title: Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus (2004)
Education: Belarusian State Conservatory (1977, composition class of D.Smolskyi); internship (1979)
Disciplines taught: Composition, Polyphony, Analysis of musical works, Methods of teaching special disciplines
Galina Gorelova was born on March 5, 1951 in Minsk, Belarus. He father was economist, mother was engineer. She has two twins sisters. Childern grew up in the atmosphere of ;ove to music, reading and culture. Galina learnt how to play piano when she was a child.
Galina entered Belarusian State Conservatory named after A.Luncharskyi in composition class of D.Smolskyi and finished it in 1977 with honors. Then after two years of classes under leading of A.Bogatyrev she finished internship with honors in 1979 and became a teacher in Baranovichi School of Music. At that time she also attended master classes of professor Fortunatov from Moscow State Conservatory.
G.Gorelova has been working as a teacher in Belarusian State Conservatory and since 2013 till 2023 – head of the Department of Composition. She has a lot of talented students who are laureates of international competitions and festivals.
G.Gorelova is a winner of the Prize of the Leniniskyi Komsomol of Belarus (1986), a laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus (1992), a laureate of the Special Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus in the field of music (2001), she was awarded the breastmark of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus “For the contribution of development of Belarusian culture” (2006), the Certificate of Honor of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus” (2012).
She was the author and presenter of weekly music programs “Music XX” and “Terra harmonia” on Belarusian radio (1990-1999).
Among the most significant works of G.Gorelova is a cantata based on the poems of poets of XX century “Anno mundi ardentis” which brought the authot the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus (1992), the cantata “A Thousand Years of Hope” based on the works of oriental lyric poetry of the 10th-20th centuries, the symphonic poem “Bandarouna” based on the poem by Yanka Kupala, “Angustina” for the guitar and chamber orchestra.
Her creative work includes concertos for violin and orchestra (1979), for balalaika and orchestra (1991), for trumpet and orchestra (1992), for trombone and orchestra (1996),for oboe and string orchestra (1984), for percussion instruments and string orchestra (2008/2009), “Allegresse” for large symphony orchestra (2002). And concertos for unusual performing compositions: for guitar, string orchestra and bells (1994), for viola, strings and bells (2000).
A special place in the work of G.Gorelova is occupied by concerto “Trinity Frescoes” for two trumpets, strings and percussion (1998) for which the composer was awarded the Special Prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus (2001).
Another landmark work is the concert fantasy “Ingemisco” for viola and string orchestra written for Yuri Bashmet and performed by him in one of the concerts of the II International festival of Yuri Bashmet (2007).
Among the works of chamber music by G.Gorelova those were music is combined with words were the first to receive recognition. addressing poets of different times and peoples the composer created vocal cycles based on poems by the Polish poet Leopold Staff and the French poet Pierre-Jean de Beranger, the Columbian Luis Carlos Lopez and the Peruvian Cesar Vallejo, the Belgian Emil Verhaeren and the Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova, the Belarusian poets Maxim Bogdanovich, Larisa Geniyush, Evdokia Los.
Among the numeral works of chamber-instrumental music works with “ecological” idea occupy a special place. Those are sonatas for piano “To a Flying Bird”, for double bass “Al Fresco”, for clarinet “Touches”. In the same row there are several piano suites, as well as suites for guitar and cello for guitar and drums, for guitar and harpsichord, for guitar and dulcimers, “Dialogue with the sunset” for Celtic harp and 22 glasses filled with rainwater. This area includes fantasies for the ensembleos soloists “Classic-avant-Garde:”Rime on the Bells”, “A Day in Early November”, “Notturno degli incurabili”.
G.Gorelova’s music has been performed in Poland, Switzerland, Russia, France, Austria, Italy, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, the USA, Mexico, New Zealand and other countries.
“A characteristic feature of Gorelova’s style is the combination of tradition and modernity and she succeeds in it extremely successfully. The fusion of styles and variety of techniques, the ability to combine tonality and atonality, variety of ideas and many colorful effects do not, however, produce the impression of a random conglomerate, but create an extremely interesting composition. And, taking into account the excellent skill of the author, we can safely declare that all that Galina Gorelova creates have original and interesting musical language. A language free from both tradition and the avant-garde although consciously and not without reason can be attributed to both directions. In this breathing life music we can feel spontaneity, youth and joy”.
Martin Tadeusz Lukashewski (Poland)
She has many collection, publications and electronic recordings.
