Remembering Sofia Gubaidulina

Sofia Gubaidulina, one of the greatest composers of our time, passed away on 13 March. For the Berliner Philharmoniker, her death means the loss of a long-standing artistic companion and impressive musical personality.

Eva-Maria Tomasi, member of the Berliner Philharmoniker's orchestra board, says: “When our orchestra became acquainted with Sofia Gubaidulina's music in 1990, it opened up a new world to us. Her impressive biography, her strong commitment to her Russian Orthodox faith, and her endless curiosity for unfamiliar sounds combined to create a fascinatingly individual, authentic musical language. Sofia Gubaidulina’s was one of most independent musical voices of our time.”

Born in Chistopol, in Tartastan, Sophia Gubaidulina’s early comositions were shaped by era of Stalin, the Cold War, and the rigid cultural policy of the Soviet regime. Her unconventional works received little attention in her country at the time, and she earned her living with film music. In 1981, the then 50-year-old achieved her international breakthrough with the violin concerto Offertorium – an exploration of Bach's Musical Offering, which she had composed for the violinist Gidon Kremer.

Music as a sacred dimension

Sofia Gubaidulina's collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker began in 1990 with the world premiere of her choral work Alleluja. Sir Simon Rattle, a great admirer of the composer, was on the podium. During Rattle’s tenure as chief conductor of the orchestra, her works became an integral part of the Philharmoniker's repertoire. In 2006, Gidon Kremer performed Offertorium with the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time. This was followed a year later at the Lucerne Festival by the world premiere of the Second Violin Concerto In tempus praesens, which Sofia Gubaidulina wrote for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. 

According to the composer, In tempus praesens is a piece “about time and the present” and about Sophia, the goddess of wisdom. A sense of spiritual connection with the divine cosmos can be found in Gubaidulina's entire oeuvre. In her Glorious Percussion, which the Berliner Philharmoniker performed in 2009 under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, intervals and harmonic shifts reflect the rhythmic pulsations that are present throughout the world and in nature. In addition to orchestral works, chamber music by Gubaidulina was frequently performed by ensembles from the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Sofia Gubaidulina was a presence in the Berliner Philharmoniker's programmes until the end, for example in 2023 with her Third Violin Concerto Dialogue: Me and You, which the orchestra performed with Andris Nelsons and Baiba Skride. Finally, in January of this year, Kirill Petrenko conducted The wrath of God, which once again showed Sofia Gubaidulina’s ability to draw powerful music from her profound faith.