Sofia Gubaidulina
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| Sofia Gubaidulina | ||
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 Sofia Gubaidulina in Sortavala, 1981
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina | |
| Born | October 24, 1931 | |
| Origin | Chistopol, Tatarstan | |
| Occupation(s) | Composer | |
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, (Russian София Асгатовна Губайдулина) (born October 24, 1931) is a Russian-Tatar composer.
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[edit] Career
Gubaidulina was born in Chistopol, in the Tatar Republic. In her youth she would spend much time praying in the fields near her home that she may one day become a composer. She studied composition and piano at the Kazan Conservatory, graduating in 1954. In Moscow she undertook further studies at the Conservatory with Nikolay Peyko until 1959, and then with Shebalin until 1963.
During her studies in Soviet Russia, her music was labeled "irresponsible" for its exploration of alternative tunings. She was supported, however, by Dmitri Shostakovich, who in evaluating her final examination encouraged her to continue down her "mistaken path".
During this time, however, she was allow to express her modernism in various scores she composed for documentary films, including the 1968 production, On Submarine Scooters, a 70mm film shot in the unique Kinopanorama widescreen format.
In the mid-1970s Gubaidulina founded Astreja, a folk-instrument improvisation group with fellow composers Viktor Suslin and Vyacheslav Artyomov. In 1979 she was blacklisted as one of the "Khrennikov's Seven" at the Sixth Congress of the Union of Soviet Composers for unapproved participation in some festivals of Soviet music in the West.
In the early 1980s Gubaidulina became better known abroad through Gidon Kremer's championing of her violin concerto Offertorium. She later composed a homage to T. S. Eliot, using the text from the poet's spiritual masterpiece Four Quartets.
In 2000 Sofia Gubaidulina, along with Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, and Wolfgang Rihm, was commissioned by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart project to write a piece for the Passion 2000 project in commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach. Her contribution was the Johannes-Passion. In 2002 she followed this by the Johannes-Ostern ("Easter according to John"), commissioned by Hannover Rundfunk. The two works together form a "diptych" on the death and resurrection of Christ, her largest work to date.
She was thrilled that her work The Light at the End preceded Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the 2005 proms.
[edit] Music
Gubaidulina's music is marked by the use of unusual instrumental combinations. In In Erwartung, she combines percussion and saxophone quartet. She has written pieces for Japanese koto and Western orchestra.
[edit] Numerical mysticism
In the early 1980s, she began to use the Fibonacci sequence as a way of structuring the form of the work. The sequence was especially appealing because it provides a basis for composition while still allowing the form to "breathe". It plays a prominent role in such pieces as Perception, Im Anfang war der Rhythmus, Quasi hoketus and the symphony Stimmen... Verstummen...).
Later the Lucas and Evangelist series, sequences derived from that of Fibonacci, were added to her repertoire.
[edit] Awards and recognition
Gubaidulina has received the Prix de Monaco (1987), the Premio Franco Abbiato (1991), the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis (1991), the Russian State Prize (1992), the SpohrPreis (1995), the Praemium Imperiale in Japan (1998), the Sonning Prize in Denmark (1999), the Polar Music Prize in Sweden (2002), the Great Distinguished Service Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002) and the Living Composer Prize of the Cannes Classical Awards in 2003.
In 2004, she was elected as a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
[edit] Quotations
- "I am a religious person...and by 'religion' I mean re-ligio, the re-tying of a bond...restoring the legato of life. Life divides man into many pieces...There is no weightier occupation than the recomposition of spiritual integrity through the composition of music."
[edit] Works
- Quintet for piano, two violins, viola, and violoncello (1957)
- Piano Sonata (1965)
- Night in Memphis cantata (1968)
- Musical Toys fourteen piano pieces for children (1969)
- Vivente - Non Vivente for electronics (1970)
- Concordanza for chamber ensemble (1971)
- String Quartet No. 1 (1971)
- Ten Preludes for solo cello (1974)
- Rumore e silenzio for percussion and harpsichord (1974)
- Hour of the Soul poem by Marina Tsvetaeva for large wind orchestra and mezzo-soprano/contralto (1974), for percussion, mezzo-soprano, and large orchestra (1976)
- Sonata for double bass and piano (1975)
- Concerto for bassoon and low strings (1975)
- Hell und Dunkel for organ (1976)
- Two Ballads for two trumpets and piano (1976)
- Trio for three trumpets (1976)
- Lied ohne Worte for trumpet and piano (1977)
- Duo sonata for two bassoons (1977)
- Lamento for tuba and piano (1977)
- Misterioso for 7 percussionists (1977)
- Introitus concerto for piano and chamber orchestra (1978)
- In Croce for cello and organ (1979), for bayan and cello (1991)
- Jubilatio for 4 percussionists (1979)
- Offertorium (Жертвоприношение) (1980, rev. 1982, 1986)
- Garten von freuden und traurigkeiten for flute, viola, harp and narrator (1980)
- Perception for soprano, baritone (speaking voices) and 7 string instruments (1981, rev. 1983, 1986)
- Descensio for 3 trombones, 3 percussionists, harp, harpsichord and piano (1981)
- Sieben Worte for cello, bayan, and strings (1982)
- Quasi hoquetus for viola, bassoon, and piano (1984)
- Hommage à T.S. Eliot
- Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva for a capella choir
- Stimmen... Verstummen... symphony in twelve movements (1986)
- Rejoice! (Sonata for violin and cello)
- String Trio (1988)
- Jauchzt vor Gott for mixed choir and organ (1989)
- The Unasked Answer (Antwort ohne Frage) collage for three orchestras (1989)
- Alleluja for mixed chorus, boy soprano, organ and large orchestra (1990)
- Hörst Du uns, Luigi? Schau mal, welchen Tanz eine einfache Holzrassel für Dich vollführt (Слышишь ты нас, Луиджи? Вот танец, который танцует для тебя обыкновенная деревянная трещотка) for six percussionists (1991)
- Aus dem Studenbuch on a text of Rainer Maria Rilke for cello, orchestra, male choir, and a woman speaker (1991)
- Gerade und ungerade (Чет и нечет) for seven percussionists, including cymbalom (1991)
- Silenzio for bayan, violin, and cello (1991)
- Lauda for alto, tenor, baritone, narrator, mixed choir, and large orchestra (1991)
- Stufen for orchestra (1992)
- Tartarische Tanz for bayan and two contrabass (1992)
- Dancer on a Tightrope (Der Seiltänzer) for violin and string piano (1993)
- Jetzt immer Schnee (Теперь всегда снега) on verses of Gennadi Aigi for chamber ensemble and chamber choir (1993)
- Meditation über den Bach-Choral "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit" for cymbalom, two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass (1993)
- Рано утром перед пробуждением for three 17-string Japanese bass kotos and four 13-string Japanese kotos (1993)
- Allegro Rustico: Klänge des Waldes for flute and piano (1993)
- And: The Feast is in Full Procession (И: Празднество в разгаре) for viola and orchestra (1993)
- String Quartet No. 4 with tape (1993)
- In Erwartung (В ожидании) for saxophone quartet and six percussionists (1994)
- Ein Engel for alto and double bass (1994)
- Figures of Time (Фигуры времени) for large orchestra (1994)
- Aus der Visionen der Hildegard von Bingen for alto (1994)
- Music for flute, strings, and percussion (1994)
- Impromptu for flute (flute and alto flute), violin, and strings (1996)
- Quaternion for cello quartet (1996)
- Galgenlieder à 3 fifteen pieces for mezzo-soprano, percussion, and contrabass (1996)
- Galgenlieder à 5 fourteen pieces for mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion, bayan, and contrabass (1996)
- Concerto for viola and orchestra (1996)
- Ritorno perpetuo for cymbalom (1997)
- The Canticle of the Sun of St Francis of Assisi for cello, chamber choir, and orcestra (1997)
- Im Schatten des Baumes (В тени под деревом) for koto, bass koto, zheng, and orchestra (1998)
- Two Paths: A Dedication to Mary and Martha for two viola solo and orchestra (1998)
- Johannes-Passion for soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, two mixed choirs, organ, and large orchestra (2000)
- Risonanza for three trumpets, four trombones, organ, and six strings (2001)
- Johannes-Ostern for soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, two mixed choirs, organ, and large orchestra (2001)
- The Rider on the White Horse for large orchestra and organ (2002)
- Reflections on the theme B-A-C-H for string quartet (2002)
- Mirage: The Dancing Sun for eight violoncelli (2002)
- On the Edge of Abyss for seven violoncelli and two waterphones (2002)
- The Light of the End (Свет конца) for large orchestra (2003)
- Under the Sign of Scorpio variants on six hexachords for bayan and large orchestra (2003)
- Verwandlung (Transformation) for trombone, saxophone quartet, violoncello, double bass, and tam-tam (2004)
- ...The Deceitful Face of Hope and Despair for flute and orchestra (2005)
- Feast During a Plague for large orchestra (2006)
- The Lyre of Orpheus for violin, percussion, and strings (2006)
[edit] Discography
- The Canticle of the Sun (1997) and Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion (1994). The first performed by cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and London Voices conducted by Ryusuke Numajiri, the second by flutist Emmanuel Pahud and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rostropovich. Gubaidulina attended the recording of both pieces.
- St. John Passion (2000). Performed by Natalia Korneva, Soprano; Viktor Lutsiuk, Tenor; Fedor Mozhaev, Baritone; Genady Bezzubenkov, Bass; St. Petersburg Chamber Choir (dir. Nikolai Kornev); Choir of the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg (dir. Andrei Petrenko); Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg conducted by Valery Gergiev. World premiere recorded live at the European Music Festival in Stuttgart, 01.09.2000.
