More Composers: U

Here's a short one:

Ustvolskaya (Galina), who just died last December, was a modern Soviet composer. A pupil of Shostakovich, she developed a very personal style and pursued it single-mindedly. She wrote five symphonies, six piano sonatas, a piano concerto, three "compositions" for various chamber ensembles, and other orchestral and chamber works. The symphonies all incorporate vocal texts, and her music is known for its insistent rhythms, tone clusters, and repetition, leading one critic to dub her "the lady with the hammer."