Sofia Gubaidulina
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA (1931 in Chistopol) studied piano and composition at the Kazan Conservatoire and in 1959 she finished her graduate studies at the Moscow Conservatoire with Nikolai Peiko and Vissarion Shebalin. Since 1963 she lived in Moscow as a free-lance artist. Together with Vyacheslav Artymov and Victor Suslin she founded the ensemble Astraea in 1975, which focused on improvisation on rarely used Russian, Caucasian and Central-Asian folk instruments, whose strange sound character influenced the composer's musical experiments. Sofia Gubaidulina was awarded several prestigious prizes at international composition competitions, a.o. in Rome (1975; for Degrees), Monaco (1987), and other rewards – International Record Award of Serge Koussevitzky (1989), Premio Franco Abbiato for the recording of Offertorium (1991), Russian State Award (1992). In her work, Western artistic ideas (principle of dualism, polarization: man – the world, Christian mysticism, symbolism, dramatic tension) are organically and exceptionally juxtaposed with Eastern approaches (monistic principle, meditativeness, timbre).
Works (selection): Fatselya for soprano and orchestra (1956), Piano Quintet (1957), Chaconne for Piano (1962), Allegro rustico for flute and piano (1963), Five Etudes for Harp, Double Bass and Percussion (1965), Sonata for Piano (1965), Pantomime for double bass and piano (1966), Rubayat, cantata for baritone and instrumental ensemble (1969), Musical Toys, piano pieces for children (1969), Concordanza for 10 instrumentalists (1971), Degrees for orchestra (1972), Detto 2 for cello and 13 instruments (1972), Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975), Quartet for Four Flutes (1977), Introitus, concerto for piano and chamber orchestra (1978), Misterioso for 7 percussionists (1977), Sonata for Organ and Percussion (1978), De profundis for bayan (1978), In croce for cello and organ (1979), The Garden of Joy and Sorrow for flute, alto and harp (1980), Offertorium, concerto for violin and orchestra (1980), Freut euch, sonata for violin and cello (1981), Seven Words for cello, accordion and strings (1982), Perception for baritone, soprano and seven string instruments (1983), Stimmen... Verstummen..., symphony in 12 movements (1986), String Quartet No. 2 (1987), String Quartet No. 3 (1987), Hour of the Soul, concerto for percussion, mezzo-soprano and large orchestra on Tsvetayeva lyrics (1974/1976/1988), String Trio (1988), Pro et contra for orchestra (1988), Alleluja for large orchestra, mixed choir and boys’ voices (1990), Aus dem Stundenbuch for cello and orchestra (1991), Hommage à T. S. Eliot for soprano and octet (1987/91), ...Early in the Morning, Right before Waking... for Japanese koto ensemble (1993), Night in Memphis, cantata for mezzo-soprano, male choir and chamber orchestra (1968/88/92), And: The Festivities at their Height for cello and orchestra (1993), In Anticipation for saxophone quartet and 6 percussionists (1993), Meditation on Bach’s chorale BWV 668 (1993), String Quartet No. 4 (1993), Now Always Snow for chamber ensemble and chamber choir (1993), Dancer on a Tightrope for violin and piano (1993), Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1994), Angel for alto and double bass (1994), Figures of Time for orchestra (l994), Aus den Visionen von Hildegard von Bingen for alto (1994), Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1996), Impromptu for Violin and Flute (1996), Canticle of the Sun for mixed choir (1997), In the Shadow of the Tree for koto, bass koto, zheng and ensemble (1998), Two Paths (A Dedication to Mary and Martha) for 2 violas (1999), St. John Passion for chamber chorus, large chorus, soloists and orchestra (1999–2000), St. John Easter for double chorus and orchestra (2001), The Light of the End for orchestra (2003).