Mistic Vision

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Perhaps the most telling comment in

Michael Kurtz’s 2001 biography o Soa Gubaidulinais this:

‘Religion is an essential part o Russian existence.

What we in the West would disparage as speculation or

mysticism is entirely acceptable in Russia.’

Certainly a whole dierent set o values seems to apply whenlistening to Gubaidulina’s heady, exotic, oten religiously inspiredmusic – or indeed playing it. Her works tell spiritual stories,ponder proound themes, even adopt religious symbolism intheir orms and gestures. But why is it that Gubaidulina, whocelebrates her 80th birthday this year, seems to use string musicto convey her deepest mystical messages?

Violinist Gidon Kremer has had a long and ruitul musicalrelationship with the composer, and is the dedicatee o the 1980 violin concerto Offertorium, which made the composer’s name inthe West. He agrees that her music touches on some prooundsubjects: ‘She is not an entertainer. She is not a composer whocomposes music or composers. Each piece by Soa is motivated by impulses that come rom the depths o its author. We areconnected with some mystical meaning o the sounds.’

Gubaidulina was born in the Tatar Republic during some o Stalin’s most brutal anti-Christian purges, yet religion was centralto her rom an early age – she cites pondering the wonders o thesky as her rst memory, and once she had started composingat the age o seven or eight, her two passions came together, asshe admits in Kurtz’s biography: ‘Music naturally blended withreligion, and sound, straightaway, became sacred or me.’

she’s a composer for whom religion and spirituality have the deepest o resonances. And it can’t be denied that many o her prooundest utterances involve stringed instruments.The violin concerto Offertorium uses the destruction andreassembly o a Bach theme to symbolise death and rebirth.The dark, powerul Viola Concerto (1996) seems to dealin matters o love and hate, good and evil; and her double viola concerto Two Paths (1998) has a New Testament theme.Cynthia Phelps, one o the double concerto’s original soloists,explains: ‘It’s based on the Biblical story o Mary and Martha,and how Mary chooses to ascend the heights o spirituality,and Martha stays and takes care o Lazarus, remaining very

rooted in daily chores and earthly responsibilities. You canhear the aith and purity o Mary in the very high extremes o one viola line, and the insistent, earth-bound groundednesso Martha in the second viola part, with its low, growling trills.’

Gubaidulina’s Canticle of the Sun (1997), or solo cello withchorus and percussion, is based on texts by St Francis o Assisigloriying the planets, the elements and lie itsel (althoughcritics at its premiere considered it more a glorication o Mstislav Rostropovich, the work’s dedicatee). In the recent violin concerto In tempus praesens (2007), the soloist embodiesthe spirit Sophia, a symbol o wisdom central to orthodoxChristianity, whom Gubaidulina describes as ‘the emale aspecto God – the creative principle o divine existence’.

Even in Gubaidulina’s smaller-scale religious works,strings still play a central role. Her vision o Christ’s lastpronouncements rom the cross (Seven Words, 1982) is or solo

Mystic

ofa Gubaduna has or many yarsad srngd nsrumns h ss orr powru, rgousy nsprd musc.

s h Russan composr urns 80,AviD Kettle asks adng soossha maks hr musc so manngu,oound and popuar wh prormrs

ha r a l dh of f ma n n / de u t s c he g r a m m op h o n

sofia gubaidulinafia gubaidulina

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cello, bayan (a Russian accordion) and string orchestra. And Incroce (1979), or cello and bayan, uses its musical structures andthemes to meditate on the meaning o the cross .

why does she choose stringed instruments to articulate some o her prooundest religious themes? Theanswer isn’t readily apparent. Gubaidulina isn’t a string playerhersel – she studied piano and composition in Kazan, capitalo the Tatar Republic, and at the Moscow Conservatoire. Andshe has experimented wildly with instrumentation throughouther composing career: as a student, she wrote an intermezzoor the outlandish combination o eight trumpets, sixteen harpsand percussion, and her symphony Stimmen…verstummen… (1986) dispenses with instruments entirely in a silent movementor solo conductor.

Why string music is so central to her output is perhaps more

to do with her close relationships with string perormers. GidonKremer has been one o her longest-standing musical riends, ashe explains: ‘I have been privileged to know Soa or more than

35 years. Each perormance o her music hasenriched my lie as an artist and as a human

being.’ It was a chance meeting in a taxi in1977 that led to Kremer asking Gubaidulinaor the concerto that has become probably her best-known work, but his deection tothe West in 1980 jeopardised the premiere

o Offertorium, meaning that the score had to be smuggled outo the Soviet Union by her publisher or its 1981 premiere inVienna. Since then Kremer has perormed the work hundredso times around the world, and the pair have remained close. ‘I

am always taken by Soa’s honesty and warmth,’ he explains.‘She has always been radiant, enthusiastic, open-minded andenchanting. Most o all Soa cherishes silence – it’s no secretthat her phone line is mostly disconnected.’

Like Kremer and Offertorium, it was Yuri Bashmet whoasked Gubaidulina or a viola concerto, and Rostropovich whorequested the cello work that later became Canticle of the Sun. Andnew-music patron Paul Sacher commissioned a violin concertorom her specically or Anne-Sophie Mutter, which in 2007resulted in In tempus praesens. Indeed, it was the two women’sshared name – Soa – that inspired the work’s subject matter.

in Kurtz’s biography, gubaidulina refers to composing as ‘a kind o worship’, so it’s no surprise that she

views perorming in spiritual terms as well. Describing Kremer’s

Offertorium dedicatee GidonKremer withGubaidulina andmusic journalistAnna Genina

New York Philharmonic violistsCynthia Phelps andRebecca Young(above) gavethe premiereo Two Paths

‘When a fnger touches a string, atransormation occurs; a spiritualorce is transormed into sound’Soia Gubaidulina

s u s a n J oha n n

c hr i s t i a n s t e i ne r

sofia gubaidulina

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playing in Jan Schmidt-Garre’s lmSophia: Biography of a Violin Concerto, shesays, ‘I was impressed by how he devotedhimsel to his music, that intimate eeling

between his ngers and the strings, as i the entire strength o his sound crossedover to the strings. The point where the

strings and ngers meet is the place o oering.’ She goes urther in the Kurtz

biography, stating, ‘An instrument isa living being. When a nger touchesa string or a bow touches a bridge, atransormation occurs; a spiritual orceis transormed into sound.’

So it wouldn’t be going too ar to say that Gubaidulina’s string soloists andtheir instruments are the spiritual centreso her religious dramas, and indeed thatthey convey the mystical messages o her works. That’s refected in the music

she writes or them. Gubaidulina’s solostring lines themselves sometimes dwellobsessively on single notes, and at othertimes explore the heights and depths o the instrument’s register (Offertorium ends on a stratospherically high D thatthe soloist holds or 20 bars). But they always oer a huge amount o reedomor individual interpretation. There aremany passages marked using only the

vaguest o rhythms, or cells that are to be repeated according to the soloist’s will – the composer seems to be askingher soloists to use their own intuition inconveying her message.

For violinist Irvine Arditti, whosequartet premiered Gubaidulina’s StringQuartet no.3 (1987) and who has alsoperormed Offertorium, her gender is key.‘Gubaidulina’s world is very emale, Ithink,’ he says. ‘You can detect a emalehand in the writing – there’s a certaindelicacy in her music that you don’t ndin many other composers. Sometimesemale composers don’t write with

such orce, and she calls or some very interesting eects, such as tapping thengers on the strings.’ (Putting any stylistic traits down to a composer’s sexmight be a controversial view, but it’s worth bearing in mindthat Gubaidulina hersel explored dierences between maleand emale creativity in her 1983 vocal work Perception.)

gubaidulina uses the full panoply of avant-garde techniques in her music, but instead o producing an arid,abstract sound world concerned only with itsel, her creations – however dense or dissonant – always seem to point to a greater

truth, oten a religious or spiritual message. As Rebecca Young,Phelps’s partner in Two Paths, says, ‘It’s like there’s a narrativegoing on, and you can see meanings behind the gestures.’

And that’s something that makes her music immediately attractive to perormers. Yes, it’s modern, challenging,demanding o players and listeners alike, but there’s a real senseo meaning behind the music. As Kremer notes, ‘The challengeis not to miss the message behind the technical diculties, notto miss the overtones behind the notes.’ Phelps explains: ‘She’s

working with a storyline, and there’s a lot o emotional energy that she translates into physical notes.’

What are the challenges o bringing this kind o music to lie?

It seems that, i anything, having a story makes things easier. AsYoung explains, ‘ I like to eel like I’m playing a role anyway. I tellmy students, “When you’re playing something, don’t just play

‘Each piece is motivated by impulsesthat come rom the depths o its author.We are connected with some mysticalmeaning o the sounds’Gidon Kremer

Mutter, Gubaidulina andGergiev during the recording

o In tempus praesens

©ha r a l dh of f ma n n

d g

sofia gubaidulina

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the notes – make up a story orit.” Here somebody else pretty much did that or us.’ Kremeralso nds that having a themeaids his perormance: ‘Soa’smusic doesn’t have empty places where you stumble over

the meaning. Its fow is very genuine and very expressive.’

Given her proound subjects,perormers preparing orthe premieres o her worksmight expect the composerhersel to be otherworldly andhard to pin down. Not a bito it. ‘She’s so sweet, and shecouldn’t have been kinder,’says Phelps o preparations or thepremiere o Two Paths. ‘But boy,that woman really knows what

she wants! She’s very gentle, butunderneath quite determined,and very committed to her belies.’ Arditti agrees: ‘She’s wonderulas a person – it was very interesting to be with her. But she knew precisely what she wanted, and she was very articulate.’

so profound themes, a story to tell, lots of

reedom o expression, and clear guidance rom the composer – all good reasons why Gubaidulina’s string music has becomeso popular with perormers. Given that she’s not a string playerhersel, how well does she write or the instruments? ‘I eelthat Soa is very well inormed about the capabilities o any instrument she composes or,’ says Kremer. Phelps admires the

viola writing in Two Paths: ‘She is able to get a lot o colour in hermusic, and the viola is a colour instrument, so this is good.’ Young

is more direct: ‘With some new pieces you play, you think, boy,this guy is obviously not a stringplayer. But it’s not like that atall – some o it is technically dicult, but that doesn’t meanit’s unplayable. I wouldn’t say it

was very challenging.’Arditti takes things even

urther, and suggests anotherreason why Gubaidulina’s musicis so popular with perormers:‘She knows very well how to

write or the instruments, butshe’s not really extending things.It’s well within the capabilitieso most classical players. That’s

why a lot o people play hermusic. It’s user-riendly, soto speak.’ Which is no bad

thing, according to Arditti: ‘I’dsay you approach her music

like you would other classical music rather than like othercontemporary music. There’s a eeling o great musicality inthe traditional sense. There’s too much alienation with somecontemporary composers. I some composers are writingthe sort o music that is understood by audiences who don’tspecialise in contemporary music, that’s good. It’s not goodonly to live in a ghetto.’

Is this the key element? It certainly plays a signicant part.But in combining a musical message with solo lines that allow reedom and individuality but don’t place overly strenuousdemands on the perormer, Gubaidulina has created someradiant, transcendent string music that is equally valued

by listeners and perormers . And as she reaches the age o 80,her creativity shows no signs o diminishing.

gubaidulina’s string music: where to start listening

i crce (1979)

G’s sys s w

s ss

y ( vs

g s ss). t w s ss v , fy g

g s.

Julius Berger (cello)

Stean Hussong (bayan)WerGo Wer 6684 2

oertrm (1980)

G’s kg , v

ss

b’s Musical Offering sss

gwg, s .

Gidon Kremer (violin) Boston

Symphony Orchestra/Charles DutoitdeutSche Grammophon 471 625-2

seve Wr (1982)

a cs’s f ws

ss, w s sg

cs, y s G,

sg s vg y.Maria Kliegel (cello) Elsbeth Moser

(bayan) Camerata Transsylvanica/

György SelmeczinaxoS 8.553557

dcer Thtrpe (1993)

ts s v

sws g s G’s

s s g ys.

Gidon Kremer (violin)

Vadim Sakharov (piano)biS cd-898

V Ccert (1996)

d Y bs, s k,

g y s

v’s s. G’s

s sg q q w s

s y sss wk’s

s s w.

Yuri Bashmet (viola) Orchestra o the

Mariinsky Theatre/Valery GergievdeutSche Grammophon 471 494-2

i temp pree (2007)

G’s s sg

s sy wk a-S m

s v s.

Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) London

Symphony Orchestra/Valery GergievdeutSche Grammophon 477 7450

c h r i s l e e / n e w y

o r k p h i l h a r m o n i c

Phelps andYoung in a recentperormanceo Two Paths in New York

sofia gubaidulina

78 THE sTRad october 2011 www.thestrad.com

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