Legendary Russian composer, RIP – Slipped Disc
Alastair MacaulayRuth Leon recommendsballetUncategorizedaboutmainNewsAlbum Of The WeekEditors ChoiceRIPWhy BeethovenWhy MahlerPremiumDaily Comfort ZoneOrchestrasOperaTop ArtistComment Of The DayShare this article: norman lebrechtMarch 13, 2025The authorities in Kazan have reported the death of Sofia Gubaidulina, a leader of her generation, at the age of 93. Friends tell us she died early this morningA contemplative, spiritual modernist, she was born in Christopol of Tatar-Muslim and Russian-Polish-Jewish parents. She studied in Moscow and worked intensively with electronics while attending church and leading, in some senses, a double life in the USSR. Dmitri Shostakovich gave her quiet encouragement. In 1979, she was blacklisted with six others by the Composers Union boss, Tikhon Khrennikov. She was further harrassed by the KGB over the writings of her second husband Nikolai Bokov.In 1992, she left Russia with her theoretician third husband Pyotr Meshchaninov and settled near Hamburg, where her contemporary Alfred Schnittke lived. Unlike Schnittke, she sought neither fame nor peer approval. Her last major premiere was with the Boston Symphony and Andris Nelsons in 2017. She leaves more than 100 published works. (Photo by Winslow Townson)Constantly experimental, she employed a mathematical Fibonacci sequence in her symphony Stimmen… Verstummen… Her violini concerto Offerotrium, widely performed by Gidon Kremer, opens with a snatch of Bach which is deconstrucxted and re-envisioned in ways that she described enigmatically as ‘like church music. Hommage a T. S. Eliot employs the poet’s English words in three of its movements. Her music requires total concentration and delivers rich intellectual rewards. Previous postNext post “Stimmen…Verstummen”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnFDJpJ6s8gSad news, but a life well-lived.I remember the first time my ex-wife and I clicked on the radio in Madison, missing the announcement and very beginning of Offertorium. Yet we were both so completely enchanted with the performance, that we remained outside in the car in sub-zero temperatures to finish listening! IMHO, one of the truly luminary composers from the later 20th century. Thank you for your music!Don’t know about the KGB harrassment but I bought her LP on Melodia sometime in the 1980s. She was conducting Rhapsody in Blue and some of her own compositions. R.I.P.An extraordinary original compositional voice and a strong soul. RIPnorman lebrechtMarch 13, 2025Message from Andrew Balfour, a Cree composer from…norman lebrechtMarch 14, 2025Several audience members have told us that US…norman lebrechtMarch 13, 2025The authorities in Kazan have reported the death…norman lebrechtMarch 14, 2025Deborah Rutter, sacked as president of the Kennedy…We are doing our best to ensure that Slipped Disc is free to all readers. However, like every other news site, we have costs to bear and are urging readers to help share them.As a first step we encourage you to take membership at US$79/£59 a year, or $165/£125 for three years.Membership benefits will include a daily digest of stories delivered to your email, and occasional exclusive offers from our partners.Select your subscription length below and head to the checkout:Session expiredPlease log in again.
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Source: https://slippedisc.com/2025/03/legendary-russian-composer-rip/
