Gubaidulina - Works for Bassoon (Valeri Popov) (1999)

"Gubaidulina's music is frequently puzzling but almost always rewarding, and she has found an excellent, eloquent spokesman in Popov. Although it's somewhat off the beaten path, I can recommend this CD to anyone interested in her music, to bassoon-fanciers, or to anyone with a liking for new sounds and ideas in music. Very entertaining!" (Classical.Net)

'All three of these works are dedicated to bassoonist Valeri Popov, who was their first performer in the years between 1975 and 1985. Popov's mastery of advanced playing techniques made him a man in demand among younger Soviet composers in that era, and it looks like Sofia Gubaidulina's contributions will be some of the most enduring.

The concerto is the earliest of the three works. It is a striking study in grey, in subtle gestures stated, combined, and recombined. There is no virtuosity for virtuosity's sake, although it would be a mistake to claim that the work is lacking in dramatic grandeur. Across its five-movement, 29-minute span, the emphasis is on weight and an almost iconic contemplation of the limited yet fecund thematic material. The strings of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra provide a dark, effective counterpoint to the soloist.

The Duo Sonata (1977) is even more cryptic. The two bassoonists balance the thematic contrasts implicit with sonata form against the tonal complementarity implicit within the duo. Gubaidulina calls upon the instruments to release some outlandish sounds in this work; cries, wails, and moans erupt in the middle section, but – unless I am missing the composer's intentions – a subtle sense of humor is never far off. Bochkov was a post-graduate student of Popov, so this recording is a union of sorts for them.

Quasi hoquetus, written in the mid-1980s, is the most approachable of the three works. A hocket is a pair (or more) of interlocking musical lines. Singly, they have melodic or rhythmic gaps that other lines fill in. This can result in a kind of ping-pongy, stereophonic effect. Gubaidulina's writing for the piano in this work is superb. Clusters and Messiaen-like arpeggios complement the darker colors of the viola and bassoon. The narrative structure carries the listener through the work's 15-minute span with hardly a moment's distraction. Pianist Bakhchiyev, with Popov, was one of the premiere performers. Gigashvili's viola-playing is in their same high league.

Gubaidulina's music is frequently puzzling but almost always rewarding, and she has found an excellent, eloquent spokesman in Popov. Although it's somewhat off the beaten path, I can recommend this CD to anyone interested in her music, to bassoon-fanciers, or to anyone with a liking for new sounds and ideas in music. Very entertaining!' (Classical.Net)

'This is a fantastic set of 3 works for bassoon by Sofia Gubaidulina, featuring the Russian bassoon virtuoso, Valeri Popov. The earliest of the three is the "Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings" (1975), but it is presented last. The first piece, "Duo Sonata" (1977), was written, like the Concerto, for Popov, and he is joined by Mikhail Bochkov. For the listener, the elegant Duo affords 13 minutes to grow accustomed to the tone of the bassoon, so rarely heard in a featured role.

The central composition, "Quasi hoquetus" (1984 -- 14"41), for bassoon, viola and piano, is the most immediately striking and impressive of the three, and perhaps the best. Gubaidulina's works always have a spiritual symbolic dimension, and in this one it seems clear that the piano is used to invoke God, or Heaven. The chords which begin the work, and then recur, remind me of the use of the shimmering G chord in the symphony, "Stimmen ... verstummen" (see my review). I dare not go further in speculating on the referents -- the bassoon and viola are frequently paired and set against the piano, what could that mean? "Quasi hoquetus" ends with the three voices joining in a dramatic upward chord progression.

The nearly 30-minute "Concerto" is a work that has grown on me tremendously with repeated listening. It was composed at a time when Gubaidulina was immersed in radical avant-garde circles in Moscow, working in an experimental electronic music studio in 1969-1970, and then joining the ASTREA improvisation group from 1975-1981. One of the radical elements in the Concerto is pitch-- Popov produces a wide array of astonishing sounds, all in the service of the work's structure and texture. The first, third and fifth movements are sections of an overarching sonata form, while the second and fourth movements are intermezzi. The low strings of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra ably bring to life the vision of the composer.

The WORKS FOR BASSOON are further testimony to the unique vision of Sofia Gubaidulina. Fear not the unusual instrumentation -- if you wanted ordinary music, you know where you could easily find it.' (Amazon.com customer)