Even at the age of 81, composer Sofia Gubaidulina remains
one of the most captivating and enigmatic figures in today’s musical landscape,
having been sequestered by the iron curtain of the Soviet Union until her move
to Hamburg in the mid-eighties. Since then, the half-Russian, half-Tatar
composer has gained critical acclaim, with works championed by the likes of violinists
Gidon Kremer and Ann-Sophie Mutter, Sir Simon Rattle, and the symphonies of
Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
It's very rare, however, to encounter a program devoted solely
to Gubaidulina’s works; hers is an uncompromising voice that (having
continuously eschewed the standards enforced by the USSR government) mixes
simplicity with the avant-garde, microtonality with Orthodox chant.
Columbia University’s Miller Theatre rose to the
occasion Saturday night, importing the International Contemporary Ensemble and
conductor Christian Knapp to lead a program comprising two Soviet-era works, as
well as later chamber pieces that integrated the artistic sense of freedom
developed during her later period.
The newest work on the program, 1993’s Meditation on the Bach Chorale “Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit” for
string quartet and harpsichord, displayed the composer’s reverence for the
German titan, whose autumnal chorale was woven throughout the piece in several unlikely
ways: first introduced minutes into the piece by a solo bass; showing up in
middle voices while hidden by string tremolos and sustained tritones; floating
above the collective sonorities in ethereal violin harmonics.
Although representative of Bach’s time, Gubaidulina’s use of
the harpsichord was by no means traditional. Acting as an expert conjurer
awakening the string voices, Jacob Greenberg convincingly paced the work
throughout, aggressively articulating the tonal framework while the quartet
reveled in all kinds of hyperkinetic motion. Eventually the keyboard succumbs
to the frenetic activity—closing the work with a series of devilish trills and
discordant harmonies that made for an incredibly elusive and suspenseful
finish.
The highlight of the evening was the rarely heard Concerto
for Bassoon and Low Strings. Composed in 1975, the work hardly complies with
standard concerto form—pitting the minute chamber ensemble of four cellos and
three double basses against the soloist, who doesn’t always win the many
battles conducted throughout the five movements.
Bassoonist and ICE member Rebekah Heller’s musical
personality made for an engaging account of the piece, traversing both
the grumbly lower register and the nose-bleed altissimo within the same breaths.
Alternating between her role as the principal voice and the subservient slave
to the string septet, Heller keenly positioned herself as dynamic soloist and egalitarian
collaborator.
Utilizing many extended techniques, including a set of
multiphonics in the second movement, Heller kept complete control over her
instrument—bringing to mind Jimi Hendrix’s stage presence and conviction while
delivering the final movement’s fiendishly difficult, primal scream-esque final
cadenza.
Rounding out the program was a lengthy Trio for violin,
viola, and cello, as well as 1971’s Concordanza
for 10 soloists. Despite the 18 years between compositions, both were acute vehicles
for Gubaidulina’s alternations between feverish string writing and both euphonious
and dissonant chants.
Collectively, the program’s four works showed Gubaidulina’s
central voice: one that can either be criticized for minimally evolving
throughout her career, or praised for a commanding confidence developed in
youth and well maintained for decades to come.