Search - Sofia Gubaidulina, Mario Venzago, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra :: Sofia Gubaidulina: The Deceitful Face of Hope and of Despair; Sieben Worte [Hybrid SACD]

An overly grim new concerto with an okay performance of a cl

Christopher Culver | 10/23/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This BIS release, a hybrid SACD disc with a smartly designed package, pairs Gubaidulina's recent flute concerto with one of her most widely known works. The Göteborgs Symfoniker is led by Mario Venzago. The soloists are flautist Sharon Bezaly on the concerto, and cellist Torleif Thedeen and accordianist Mie Miki on the second piece.



"...the deceitful face of hope and of despair" for flute and orchestra (2005) takes its title from "Ash Wednesday" by T.S. Eliot, a poet who has given Gubaidulina much inspiration. The work begins from nothingness, pianissimo beats on percussion, ultimately building to a only mid-range dynamic for most of the work. The liner notes claim that Gubaidulina explored the possibilities of interference tones with the concerto, but these sounds rarely work on disc and I hear nothing special here. As far as flute concertos go, this isn't anything too impressive. Bezaly plays several different types of flutes, but the writing includes little in the way of virtuoso exhuberence. Kaija Saariaho's 2001 work "L'Aile du songe", which I heard recently, now *there* is a fine example of a contemporary flute concerto.



In spite of its subdued nature, "...the deceitful face of hope and of despair" is often elegantly made music and entertaining enough on the first listens. But what I find grating is Gubaidulina's apocalyptic soundworld. The Russian Orthodox composer has often portrayed a spiritual battle between light and darkness, notably in such works as "Zeitgestalten", the JOHANNES-PASSION, and "Alleluia", but there was always a sense that good will triumph. After the religious doubt that pervades most of "Alleluia", for instance, we find a final sense of peace in the religious confession of the last movement. In this flute concerto, on the other hand, the soloist is just beaten down by percussion, and the listener is left feeling quite depressed. I'd compare the dramatic arc to Elliott Carter's piano concerto (though Gubaidulina's harmonies are much less "dissonant"), but at least in that work the soloist got to play on for a bit after his orchestral thrashing.



"Seven Words" for bayan/accordion, cello, and strings (1980), the "...of Christ on the Cross" left out of the title to avoid problems from Soviet music bureacrats, is one of Gubaidulina's most grippingly spiritual works. It has gained a wide audience leading to frequent performance and recording. Each of its seven movements consists of variations and mutations on the same several motives. There is a "crucifiction" motive where a pitch sounds on the violin with the simultaneous sounding of a glissando between a semitone above and below that pitch, clear cruciform symbolism. The music Schuetz used to set Christ's words "I Thirst" appears as another motive throughout the work. In spite of the sadness of its theme, it is a moving and uplifting piece for the believer. However, I find the tempos in this performance a bit too quick. I prefer to hear the piece on the Naxos disc with Elsbeth Moser on bayan, Maria Kliegel on cello and the Camerata Transsylvanica led by Gyorgy Selmeczi.



So much of Sofia Gubaidulina's work has been music of the most astounding emotional and spiritual depths, with a lot of ingenious theory in there for the eggheads among us. I'd certainly recommend such works as the JOHANNES-PASSION, the symphony "Stimmen... Verstummen...", or the violin concerto "Offertorium" to any music lover. It's a pity that the flute concerto doesn't match her usual standards, and the performance of the second piece is a bit less than I expected, so this disc should wait until you've already decided to amass a Gubaidulina collection."

Respectful dissent

Thomas F. Dillingham | Columbia, Missouri USA | 07/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With all respect for the previous two reviewers, I wish to express my disagreement with their dismissal of Gubaidulina's "Deceitful Face of Hope and Despair," a work that I have found deeply engrossing and, on repeated hearings, increasingly admirable. I hasten to say that I cannot claim the expertise and confidence apparent in both the earlier reviewers' statements. I have a substantial collection of recordings of Gubaidulina's music and have spent a good deal of time listening to it, but I don't have the apparent theoretical background or depth of knowledge of Gubaidulina's thinking that the other reviewers announce.



While no one would deny the spiritual dimensions of Gubaidulina's work, especially since she has expressed it extensively in her words as well as in the music, itself, I find her work fascinating without thinking much about the spiritual qualities. In that respect, I must say that I don't find "Deceitful Face" to be "lugubrious," nor do I find its conclusion depressing, since I would have no reason to assume some sort of transfiguration or transcendence, even though such are found in her other works. Neither do I assume that Gubaidulina owes to her soloist any virtuoso moments, so it does not bother me that Ms. Bezaly has no opportunity to display her great skills; we can hear those elsewhere.

What I find in this work is a deep and, yes, troubling emotional journey, beginning with a long nearly inaudible passage that gradually blooms, though never with exuberance--rather with a kind of meditative deliberation, occasionally interrupted by orchestral eruptions not unfamiliar from Gubaidulina's works. It seems to me (having no other performance with which to compare it) that this work is beautifully performed and even if we agree that the soloist is overwhelmed or 'defeated' at the end, emotionally satisfying.



I give the CD only 4 stars rather than 5 because I agree that "The Seven Words" is not the best performance of that work that I have heard, though it is certainly a very competent performance, and no one should be discouraged from buying this disc because of that. Compleatists would want to have it anyway, but I think anyone who finds Gubaidulina's other works valuable would also be pleased by this one."

Disappointing new Gubaidulina concerto

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 06/24/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have held off on reviewing this disc, thinking that it might grow on me -- no such luck. Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931) is one of our leading contemporary composers, and Sharon Bezaly is one of the leading flautists in today's music, so hopes were high for this new flute concerto. Like all her music, "...The Deceitful Face of Hope and Despair" (26'28" -- 2005), Concerto for flute and large orchestra, is deeply spiritual.



Based on T.S. Elliot, the idea of hope and despair is depicted musically using interval tones. Gubaidulina explains that "...an interval in the lowest register creates a difference tone, which, however, we recognize not as a tone but as a pulsation. The smaller the original interval is, and the lower its register, the slower is the pulsation of its difference tone." She then maps the concept onto the music: "[the] precise moment -- when a tone emerges from the pulsation -- can be regarded as a metaphor for our hope." So, "[t]he consistent acceleration ad deceleration of the pulse of the sound web is the central theme of this work... The slowing down, which is accompanied by a great increase of intensity, is a desperate attempt to prevent the disappearance of the pulse."



The result is exceedingly lugubrious and difficult to focus on. It is certainly not a vehicle for virtuoso playing by Bezaly. There are a few menacing Shostakovich or Schnittke-like confrontations of the orchestra against the flute, but it is mainly a very low-key work. It seems to me that it might be suitable for concentrated meditation or prayer, but not for ordinary listening. The latest of several recordings of "Sieben Worte" (33'51" -- 1982), for cello, bayan (accordion) and strings, based on the last words of Christ, is another fine performance of a less than stellar composition. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is superb, as is the recording and BIS packaging, with the latest in jewel case design.



For better works from Gubaidulina, see my SOFIA GUBAIDULINA: A LISTENER'S GUIDE list. For an excellent flute concerto, seek out by all means the Music for Flute Strings and Percussion, a 30-minute concerto featuring Emmanuel Pahud, combined with the "Canticle for the Sun" with Rostropovich on cello on EMI (see my review)."