The Composer-Performer Interrelationship in the Bayan and Accordion Compositions of Sofia Gubaidulina

This dissertation explores creative collaborations between Sofia Gubaidulina, a contemporary Russian composer, and four internationally prominent bayanists and accordionists: Elsbeth Moser, Friedrich Lips, Geir Draugsvoll, and Alberdi Iñaki. I analyze their dialogues about both the composition and performance of some of Gubaidulina’s most significant pieces for bayan and accordion. My consideration not only provides a deeper understanding of this music, but it also provides insight into Gubaidulina’s compositional process. By examining how she addresses issues of collaboration, her authorial voice, changing intentions, and interpretation in performance, I implicitly provide a framework through which musicians might approach some of the Gubaidulina’s music in future performances. Various unique features of the bayan and accordion necessitate approaches to composition that differ from those used for more “standard” keyboard instruments, such as piano or organ. For these reasons, a number of composers have collaborated closely with performers who provide insight into the limitations and possibilities of the accordion and bayan in a general sense—that is, as a bellows driven free reed aerophone—and also in relation to the specifics of their personal instruments, which can vary in terms of keyboard layout and range. Through ongoing dialogues, Gubaidulina and the four elite performers mentioned above formed creative collectives characterized by mutual interdependence, akin to what sociologist Howard S. Becker (1982) describes as an “art world.” By considering these relationships, I explain how Gubaidulina and her collaborating musicians crafted her De Profundis, Silenzio, Fachwerk, and Cadenza—music that, on one hand, would not exist without her as the composer, but that, on the other hand, would sound vastly different if created with a different network of contributing artists. Moving beyond the compositional processes, I discuss the implications of the artists’ dialogues in preparing Gubaidulina’s In Croce by examining four notable recorded performances in relation to the scores and transcriptions used and the discussions between performer and composer that preceded the recording sessions. What emerges is a sense of how Gubaidulina’s musical voice is the product of her personal musical vision, her openness to input from other artists, and perhaps most importantly a willingness and ability to adapt according to that input over the course of time.D.M.A