Sophia – Biography of a Violin Concerto

Sophia – Biography of a Violin Concerto

In August of 2007, Anne-Sophie Mutter performed the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s second Violin Concerto in Lucerne with conductor Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker. This piece by the Russian composer (born in 1931) is an important event in many respects. Sofia Gubaidulina is one of the world’s leading contemporary composers. Her international breakthrough came in 1980 with her first Violin Concerto, Offertorium, which she wrote for Gidon Kremer. To this day, it remains her most often performed piece. In spite of all the other pieces the has written in the meantime, it is her second Violin Concerto that violinists, conductors and orchestras around the world have eagerly been awaiting, especially since she was commissioned to write it in 1992 by Paul Sacher, the Basel conductor and patron of the arts. It was his wish that Gubaidulina’s new violin concerto first be performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter. Fifteen years later, that dream finally came true. The film focuses on the piece – from its inception, through the many stages of the creative process to its world premiere but also features the many great expectations of the music world and the resulting pressure on Gubaidulina.