Sofia Gubaidulina: A Biography

by Michael Kurtz, Christoph K. Lohmann (Translator), Malcolm Hamrick Brown (Editor)

Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina (1931- ) has achieved international acclaim for her unique musical oeuvre which draws on Eastern and Western musical traditions and reflects a deep-rooted belief in the mystical and religious qualities of music.

Kurtz's biography of Gubaidulina is the first in any language. Based on her papers and extensive interviews with Gubaidulina, her colleagues, and family, the book places her life and the evolution of her work within the broader cultural and political context of the post-Stalin Soviet Union. For the English edition, the text has been revised and updated and a chronology of Gubaidulina's life and a complete list of her works have been added.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Kurtz wrote his biography of Sofia Gubaidulina in German in 2001, ending with the premiere of the Johannes-Passion. It is this original edition which this listing describes. However, an English translation by by Christoph K. Lohmann appeared at the end of 2007, published by Indiana University Press. It has been updated to include Gubaidulina's life and work up the premiere of "The Light of the End" in 2004.

Kurtz based his biography of Gubaidulina on long discussions with the composer, press clippings, and interviews with Gubaidulina's friends and colleagues, including such obscure figures as Gennady Aigi. While much of the material here will be already known to passionate fans of the composer, I found much new information. I was surprised, for instance, to notice that in spite of the Orthodox references in her works, Gubaidulina actually stands quite a distance from the Church in theology and uses it for convenient symbolism. Also, Gubaidulina's three marriages are discussed, and the precise reasons for her move to Germany.

Unfortunately, there were a few aspects of the biography that I was unhappy with. Unlike Richard Steinitz in his excellent critical biography Gyorgy Ligeti: Music of the Imagination, Kurtz discusses only Gubaidulina's life and does not talk about the works much at all--you'll find not a single sample from a score here.

Also, the second half of the book gets highly repetitive, where it is basically just travelogues: Gubaidulina goes to city A and premieres a work, then she flies to city B and premieres another work, then she takes a 2-week vacation, then she flies to city C. And attention is given only to concerts of her works when I daresay most Gubaidulina fans (due to the high price of tickets) must now be content with CD releases, and Kurtz doesn't list them or talk about Gubaidulina's feelings about them.

Besides the fact that the translation was updated, the only real difference between the two editions is that a beautiful full-colour reproduction of Gubaidulina's Zahlenmystik sketch from the Johannes-Passion is present only in the German edition.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Kurtz wrote his biography of Sofia Gubaidulina in German in 2001, ending with the premiere of the Johannes-Passion. This English translation by by Christoph K. Lohmann appeared at the end of 2007. It has been updated to include Gubaidulina's life and work up the premiere of "The Light of the End" in 2004.

Kurtz based his biography of Gubaidulina on long discussions with the composer, press clippings, and interviews with Gubaidulina's friends and colleagues, including such obscure figures as Gennady Aigi. While much of the material here will be already known to passionate fans of the composer, I found much new information. I was surprised, for instance, to notice that in spite of the Orthodox references in her works, Gubaidulina actually stands quite a distance from the Church in theology and uses it for convenient symbolism. Also, Gubaidulina's three marriages are discussed, and the precise reasons for her move to Germany.

Unfortunately, there were a few aspects of the biography that I was unhappy with. Unlike Richard Steinitz in his excellent critical biography GYORGY LIGETI: Music of the Imagination, Kurtz discusses only Gubaidulina's life and does not talk about the works much at all--you'll find not a single sample from a score here. And needless to say, Kurtz isn't critical of Gubaidulina's output at all.

Also, the second half of the book gets highly repetitive, where it is basically just travelogues: Gubaidulina goes to city A and premieres a work, then she flies to city B and premieres another work, then she takes a 2-week vacation, then she flies to city C. And attention is given only to concerts of her works when I daresay most Gubaidulina fans (due to the high price of tickets) must now be content with CD releases, and Kurtz doesn't list them or talk about Gubaidulina's feelings about them.

Finally, the beautiful reproduction of Gubaidulina's Zahlenmystik sketch from the Johannes-Passion, present in full color in the German edition, is missing here.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long found Sofia Gubaidulina's music fascinating, so I was glad that the music library has this book, which is the only major one on her that I could find in English. It's a fairly straightforward biography, covering Gubaidulina's life from her birth in 1931 up through about 2004. Kurtz draws primarily on his own interviews with the composer as well as interviews and communications with many of her friends and colleagues, and this emphasis on primary sources makes for an authoritative and detailed narrative with many great moments of insight and intimacy. Gubaidulina's life is very interesting in its combination of suffering and triumph, and also for the way it illuminates artistic, intellectual, and musical life under the Soviet regime.
The only real drawback to the book is that it very much lacks discussion of Gubaidulina's music. There is minimal coverage of her development as a composer, only brief descriptions of pieces, and no analysis. Kurtz clearly chose to concentrate on biography, but I think the reader's understanding of Gubaidulina and her life would have been significantly enhanced by even brief analysis of one or two representative works. Some discussion of recordings in addition to the coverage of performances would also have been nice.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

she bears an uncanny resemblance to my mother...