Sofia Gubaidulina A Biography [Hardcover]

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.

Kurtzs 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 Gubaidulinas life and a complete list of her works have been added.

Michael Kurtz is currently working on a retrospective view of 20th-century music presented in biographical portraits of selected composers.

With this thorough and well-researched biography of the eminent Russian composer Sophia Gubaidulina, author and scholar Michael Kurtz has made a landmark contribution to the growing body of literature on that emergent group of post-WWII composers. Vol. 54.2, Summer 2010. . . Taking a thoroughly biographical tack, Kurtz explains the origins of many of Gubaidulina's compositions . . . He . . . offer[s] accounts of Gubaidulina by colleagues and performers, and these are a rich source of new material on the composer. Including a handful of photographs, notes, a chronological summary, and a list of Gubaidulina's compositions, this book will be useful to those interested in musical culture and religious life in the Soviet Union. . . . Recommended.July 2008Kurtzs biography gives a good, thorough account of Gubaidulinas life that is more immediately accessible and less vexing for general readers than for specialists. Yet specialists will find it necessary reading due to the many significant details uncovered thanks to Kurtzs interviews with Gubaidulina and her associates65.1 Sept. 2008

Preface by Mstislav Rostropovich
Preface to thelS8