Sofia Gubaidulina's Cathedrals of Sound: Redefining the Boundaries of Instrumental Concertos
Bibliographic record
Abstract
This dissertation explores Sofia Gubaidulina’s artistic vision of music as a spiritual and transformative sanctuary, akin to the creation of a grand architectural masterpiece. The composer’s metaphor of the “cathedral of sound” encapsulates Gubaidulina’s compositional philosophy, where each work serves as an effort to foster a harmonious and transcendental realm that invites listeners into a space of contemplation and spiritual elevation. We argue that this concept challenges the conventional pursuit of novelty that dominated much of twentieth-century music, positioning her compositions as a reimagining of traditional forms rooted in a personal, deeply spiritual vision. Our study examines Gubaidulina’s redefinition of the boundaries of concerto forms, revealing how the composer blends contemporary practices with the traditions of Western art music. Central to our discussion are her ecumenical understanding of Orthodox Christianity, her philosophically-infused musical concepts of transfiguration and shadow and light, and her use of various symbolic devices – literary, name-based, and those related to peculiar geometric shapes and numbers. These elements are argued to coexist with the reimagined traditional frameworks of sonata, variations, ritornello, ternary, and various sectional forms. Further, the dissertation explores Gubaidulina’s conception of form as a journey full of metaphors and symbols, particularly focusing on the symbol of the cross, which holds profound significance for the composer. This dissertation is the first scholarly work to apply Gubaidulina’s theory of the Rhythm of Form in a practical analysis of three of her concertos. By examining the scores, sketches, and drafts preserved at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, Switzerland, this study offers an intimate look into Gubaidulina’s creative process. The analysis of Revue Music/Concerto for Two Orchestras, Jazz and Symphony, Viola Concerto, and In the Shadow of the Tree reveals how Gubaidulina shapes her music using mathematical proportions derived from Fibonacci and Fibonacci-related sequences. These works exemplify her historically progressing architectural approach to form, where each piece embodies a blend of aesthetic beauty and precise, deliberate design. The study also demonstrates how “magic” numbers influence not only the formal structure but also thematic, timbral, and textural development, creating a complex and symbolic framework within each composition. Key words: Sofia Gubaidulina, Concertos, Music History and Analysis, Rhythm of Form
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.007 | 0.019 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.007 | 0.003 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.006 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".