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Sofia Gubaidulina
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Sofia Gubaidulina is a Russian composer who now lives in Germany. Almost unknown in the West until the Iron Curtain fell, her music is now in great demand by artists all over the world. Her music is very avant-garde, written for unusual instrumental combinations. The Canticle of the Sun is for cello, chorus, and percussion. It is a cello concerto without orchestra, and with singers. The latter sing Francis of Assisi’s words praising God, the sun, and creation, while ... acknowledging death.
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Sofia Gubaidulina is the leading name in contemporary Russian music. She is one of those composers whose works were forbidden performance in her own country for many years, and who was subjected to the severest repression. Although she has lived in Germany for some years now, Sofia Gubaidulina has remained very close to her homeland which plays such a role in her personal and musical identity. This Russian composer repeatedly emphasizes the importance of her religious beliefs in her life, as is reflected in many of her pieces: faith and religion build the basis of her compositional work. For Sofia Gubaidulina, the purpose of religion is to reunite the oneness that is lost in the "staccato of living". Ms, Gubaidulina says that the St. John Passion will reflect the "core of her life".
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For many years now Sofia Gubaidulina has promised a concerto for accordion and orchestra which has been put back in her delivery of work by other commitments. In early August this year the manuscript was at last delivered to Friedrich Lips the new work's dedicatee who spent the months of August and September learning it and discussing it with the composer as he says note by note and 'button by button'. Lips has now given two premiere performances: one in Stockholm on 10th October 2003 and one in Rotterdam on 6th November 2003. On both occasions the work was well received and in Rotterdam it received a standing ovation from a very full audience in the de Doelen Concert Hall.
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Sofia Gubaidulina's viola concerto has no extra-musical connections. While it does not inspire the questions or themes that Kancheli's work does, it is ultimately much more engaging. It begins with a questioning solo viola part that quickly scales up and down the entire range of the instrument, and is joined by a solo string quartet before the full orchestra comes in.
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To celebrate Sofia Gubaidulina's 75th birthday, Wergo ofers this new CD of the composer's chamber music. Joining Julius Berger and Stefan Hussong, two well-known interpreters of new music, are Sofia Gubaidulina and her colleague, Viktor Suslin. In Am Rande des Abgrunds Gubaidulina and Suslin play aquaphones -- instruments which resemble water-filled censers with strange decorations. Their sound is rich in overtones and quite unusual, and contrasts sharply with the shimmering sound of the strings. These unusual instruments are an expression of the composer's eagerness to experiment, actively and consciously grappling with the sound worlds of the cultures of Africa and East Asia. --Forced Exposure
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Sofia Gubaidulina belongs to the leading representatives of the new music from the former Soviet Union standing along side the late Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov and Valentin Silvestrov. Along with her esteemed contemporaries, her works were forbidden performance in her own country for many years, and was subjected to the severest repression. Although she has lived in Germany for some years now, Sofia Gubaidulina has remained very close to her homeland which plays such a role in her personal and musical identity. This Russian composer repeatedly emphasizes the importance of her religious beliefs in her life, as is reflected in many of her pieces: faith and religion build the basis of her compositional work. For Sofia Gubaidulina, the purpose of religion is to reunite the oneness that is lost in the "staccato of living". Ms. Gubaidulina says that the St. John Passion has reflected the “core of her life”.
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Sofia Gubaidulina