Sofia Gubaidulina in Sortavala 1981

Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, (Russian София Асгатовна Губайдулина) (born October 24, 1931) is a Russian-Tatar composer of deeply religious music. Image File history File links Gubaidulina©photoDSmirnov81. ... Image File history File links Gubaidulina©photoDSmirnov81. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Historically, the term Tatar (or Tartar) has been ambiguously used by Europeans to refer to many different peoples of Inner Asia and Northern Asia. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ...

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. Chistopol (Russian: ) is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. ... The Republic of Tatarstan (Russian: ; Tatar: ) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). ... Kazan (Tatar Qazan, Казан; Russian Казань) is the capital city of Tatarstan and one of Russias largest cities. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: ) is the capital of Russia and the countrys principal political, economic, financial, educational and transportation center, located on the river Moskva. ... Vissarion Shebalin (June 11, 1902, Omsk–May 29, 1963) was a Russian composer. ...

During her studies in Soviet Russia, her music was labeled "irresponsible" for its exploration of alternate tunings. She was supported, however, by Dmitri Shostakovich, who in evaluating her final examination encouraged her to continue down her "mistaken path". Soviet redirects here. ... In music, there are two common meanings for tuning: Tuning practice The act of tuning an instrument or voice. ... Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich (help· info) (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Šostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ...

In the mid-1970s Gubaidulina founded Astreja, a folk-instrument improvisation group with fellow composers Victor Suslin and Vyacheslav Artyomov.

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. Gidon Kremer (born February 27, 1947) is a Latvian violinist and conductor. ... Offertorium (Russian Жертвование) is a concerto for violin and orchestra composed by Sofia Gubaidulina in 1980 and revised in 1982 and 1986. ... T.S. Eliot (by E.O. Hoppe, 1919) Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American-born poet, dramatist, and literary critic, whose works, such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Four Quartets, are considered defining achievements of twentieth... Four Quartets is the name given to four related poems by T. S. Eliot, collected and republished in book form in 1943 (ISBN 0156332256). ...

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. Tan Dun (譚盾 born August 18, 1957) is best known as the Grammy and Oscar award winning composer for the soundtracks of the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. ... Wolfgang Rihm (b. ... Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together almost all of the strands of the baroque style and brought it to its ultimate maturity. ...

She was thrilled that her work The Light at the End followed Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in the 2005 proms. Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethovens Symphony No. ...

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. Masayo Ishigure plays the koto The Koto (âµ) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan resembling a zither. ...

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...). In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers form a sequence defined recursively by: In words: you start with 0 and 1, and then produce the next Fibonacci number by adding the two previous Fibonacci numbers. ... (Russian ) is a symphony in twelve movements by Russian-Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina. ...

Later the Lucas and Evangelist series, sequences derived from that of Fibonacci, were added to her repertoire.

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. The Polar Music Prize is an international music prize and awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music. The prize was founded in 1989 following a donation from Stig Anderson and is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of...

In 2004, she was elected as a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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."

Works

• Quintet for piano, two violins, viola, and violoncello (1957)
• 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)
• 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 (Слушишь 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 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 (Фигурй 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)
• Galgenlider à 3 fifteen pieces for mezzo-soprano, percussion, and contrabass (1996)
• Galgenlider 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 orchestra (2006)

(Russian ) is a symphony in twelve movements by Russian-Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina. ... A unique type of atonal musical instrument constructed largely of a stainless steel bowl with a cylindrical neck, containing a small amount of water, and with brass rods around the rim of the bowl. ... Bayan is an accordion-like Russian musical instrument. ...

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.

The Canticle of the Sun is a song-poem by Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order, in the early 13th Century. ... Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion is a piece written by Sofia Gubaidulina in 1994 dedicated to Pierre-Yves Artaud. ... Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович Ростропо́вич) (born March 27, 1927) is Russian and a naturalized American cellist and conductor, considered to be one of the greatest living cellists. ... Emmanuel Pahud (born January 27, 1970) is a French-Swiss flute player. ... The London Symphony Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LSO) is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Classical.net: Sofia Gubaidulina
• Schirmer: Sofia Gubaidulina
• Structural Symbolism in the Music of Sofia Gubaidulina Fay Neary