On the occasion of Sofia Gubaidulina’s eightieth birthday, Asko|Schönberg pays tribute to the composer in the Concertgebouw. The programme includes Perception (1986), a cantata for soprano, baritone, seven strings and tape. For the texts the Russian composer turned to theBook of Psalms and the poetry of Francisco Tanzer, a poet friend. His compilation ‘Stimmen’ [Voices] was a particularly significant source. Throughout the thirteen movements Tanzer’s ‘voices’ speak, sing and murmur, both live and from the speakers. For the unearthly instrumental background Gubaidulina exploited the richly diverse colour palette of stringed instruments. The tranquil explorations of sound in Silenzio (1991) display the same magical beauty. Violin and cello pass the baton in timbre relays with the bayan, a Russian accordion, and interweave melodic fragments of East European allure with smouldering clusters and whispering harmonics.

Artists

SOFIA GOEBAIDOELINA
Perception
Silenzio

ASKO|SCHÖNBERG
conductor
Reinbert de Leeuw
sopraan
Marijje van Stralen 
bariton
Karel Ludvik