David Dalle
Thursday March 8th, 2018 with David Dalle
Celebrating International Women's Day with music from composers Sofia Gubaidulina, Gloria Coates, Hindustani violin with Kala Ramnath and more.

Today we will hear music by tremendous women composers, musicians and singers. The program will be anchored by two grand, richly emotional and epic works by two composers: Sofia Gubaidulina and Gloria Coates. At first glance, they seem a world apart, Gubaidulina a Tatar-Russian from Tatarstan in the then-Soviet Union, Coates in an American from Wisconsin. Though they seem so different, they have a lot of commonalities, they are from the same generation, Gubaidulina born in 1932, Coates born in 1938; they both have forged very successful careers pursuing their own unique musical voice; they have both lived in their current home in Germany for several decades; and both pieces we hear today were composed in 2007. Aside from these commonalities, their music is very different. Gubaidulina's is very strongly influenced by spirituality and her Orthodox faith, and has a strong affinity with Bach. Coates' is more focused in abstract experimentation with sound and texture. However their music is both mostly tonal, and very rich emotionally, often invoking a powerful and memorable reaction in listeners. The two pieces from 2007 we hear today are both masterpieces. From Gubaidulina we hear her 2nd violin concerto, a commission for German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who waited patiently for almost two decades for this work. It is titled "In tempus praesens" (in present time) and Gubaidulina invokes the violin breaking free from darkness on its way to transcendence. From Coates we hear her 9th String Quartet, a work in two movements the first is in canonic form and forms almost a palindrome. It features many of the glissandos, tremolos, quarter-tones that makes her music so arresting to the ear. It is absolutely breathtaking. We will also hear a raga performed by the exceptional Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath, and some tremendous women singers and musicians from Mail, Morocco, Iran, Syria.