Categories
20th Century Contemporary Russian

GUBAIDULINA, Sofia Asgatovna

Full name also spelled Sofiya Asgatovna Gubaydulina 

Born in Chistopol′, Oct 24, 1931 

  • Gubaidulina is a Russian composer, but she has resided in Germany since 1992.1
  • Gubaidulina studied at the Kazan’ Conservatory, and went on to study composition at the Moscow Conservatory.2
  • In the 1970s, Gubaidulina was involved in electronic music and improvisational movements in Russia.3
  • During her early Soviet years, Gubaidulina earned most of her income as a film composer. Since the advent of fewer restrictions under Gorbachev, she has focused increasingly on her own musical interests, especially sacred music.4
  • Influences in Gubaidulina’s music include her Tatar heritage and her Russian Orthodox faith.5
  • Listen for: rhythmic sequences, including the importance of silence, are important in Gubaidulina’s style. She often creates rhythm governed by mathematical sequences, including the Fibonacci sequence.6

Biography from Boosey & Hawkes 

Sources

  1. Valentina Kholopova, “Gubaydulina, Sofiya Asgatovna,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 24, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000011911
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. “Sofia Gubaidulina: Biography,” Boosey & Hawkes, accessed February 24, 2022, https://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main?composerid=2710&ttype=BIOGRAPHY
  5. Ibid.
  6. Ibid.