Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931) has been called the most important living female composer in the world, but it’s hard to tell with this disc. Her music sounds like Alfred Schnittke’s leftovers–without any of Schnittke’s charm. In this case, though, the poor studio ambience can share some of the blame. Every work here comes across as being far more clamorous than it needs to be. A good example is the 1988 String Trio. It’s mostly a meditative piece, with luxuriously spaced pizzicato passages in the first and second movement, but these lead to a frightening third movement where the violinist plays as close to the bridge as possible, pushing the fingers to the highest expressible octave. In itself this wouldn’t be bad. But the trio as a whole (members of the Moscow String Quartet), plays with such desperateness (and outright aggression) that the third movement becomes a sonic nightmare. Again, the studio ambience doesn’t help much: it’s far too airy, lending to the shrillness.
The longest work here is Hour of the Soul of 1974, for large orchestra, mezzo-soprano, and percussion. The Leningrad Philharmonic does a passable job in this piece, but maestro Timur Mynbajev doesn’t keep the more boisterous elements of the orchestra in check (mostly the brasses), and this contributes to some very sloppy playing (the trombone slides and double-tonguing are almost embarrassing). Night in Memphis (1968), reminiscent of Shostakovich’s Third Symphony, is a cantata for mezzo-soprano, male choir, and orchestra, based on Egyptian texts (delivered in Russian, not Egyptian). It’s not a very pleasant work, made less so by the “dying animal” sound of mezzo-soprano Elena Dolgova. Gubaidulina has written far better works than those represented on this disc, and over the years her music has enjoyed prominent and careful attention. Too bad she didn’t receive those benefits here.
