Last concert

Playing Sofía Gubaidulinas’s «Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975)» in RED CAT (Walt Disney Concert Hall)

May 15, 2011 – May 17, 2011

Sofia Gubaidulina

“One of the most admired composers now working. . . . Gubaidulina is a tightrope walker. There are no guidelines in her best music, no expectations to be dutifully fulfilled, and no barriers.” —The New York Times

Four programs present a kaleidoscopic view of a career that has brought astonishing and moving additions to musical culture. Now in her 80th year and one of the great living composers, Russia’s Sofia Gubaidulina makes a rare U.S. appearance to share an intensity unrivaled in today’s contemporary music scene. Gubaidulina’s unique artistic contribution has gently but undeniably asserted itself, and her recent compositions celebrate with ever-greater vitality her expressive mastery. Each program offers a small vision of what Gubaidulina’s output can achieve: A Sunday afternoon program pairs an animated film scored by Gubaidulina, The Cat Who Walked by Herself, with concert works written for children, but enjoyable by all. Sunday evening features works which show her fascination with the mystery of percussive sound, her adaptations of ancient musical impulses to new expressive ends, and her searing, unforgettable portrait of a soul’s journey in Concerto for bassoon and low strings. Two final programs on Monday and Tuesday include hallmark contributions to the concerto form—Introitus, for piano and chamber orchestra, and Detto II, for cello and chamber ensemble.

Sunday, 5/15, 3pm

Film: The Cat Who Walked by Herself (1988)

Musical Toys (1969), fourteen piano pieces for children

Dots, Lines, & Zig Zags (1976), for bass clarinet, piano

Sunday, 5/15, 7pm

In the Beginning There Was Rhythm (1984), for 7 percussionists

Duo Sonata for 2 Bassoons (1977)

Quarternion 1996, for cello quartet

Dancer on a Tightrope (1993), violin and string piano

Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings (1975)

Monday, 5/16, 8:30pm

Quasi Hoquetus (1984), for viola, bassoon, piano

Repentence (2009), for 3 guitars, cello, and double bass

Witty Waltzing in the Style of Johann Strauss (1989), for piano and string quintet

From the Visions of Hildegard von Bingen (1994), for alto singer

Meditation über den Bach-Choral “Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit” (1993), for harpsichord, two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass

Ein Engel (1994), for alto and double bass

Impromptu (1996), for flute, violin, strings

Tuesday, 5/17, 8:30pm

Introitus, Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1978)

Detto II, for cello and 13 instruments (1972)

Offertorium, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1980, rev. 1982, 1986)