Korean Chamber Orchestra to salute Sofia Gubaidulina with Seoul memorial concert

Poster for the "Sofia Gubaidulina & Korean Chamber Orchestra" concert / Courtesy of Korean Chamber Orchestra

The Korean Chamber Orchestra will honor late Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025) with a memorial concert featuring two Korean premieres at Seoul Arts Center on April 26.

The program, titled “Sofia Gubaidulina & Korean Chamber Orchestra,” will take place under the baton of conductor Park Tae-young. It will be the first memorial concert in Korea dedicated to Gubaidulina, widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in contemporary music.

The event aims to spotlight the spiritual depth and experimental sound that made her a touchstone for performers and composers worldwide.

Born in a small town in Russia, Gubaidulina defied Soviet conformity from her early years. She once said her desire was “to rebel and swim against the current.” She spent her life creating sonically daring works that pursued truth through art and a belief in art as a “beautiful prayer.”

The evening will open with Ernest Bloch’s “Prayer” for solo cello and strings, framed by the orchestra as a musical requiem and tribute. It will continue with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, a work by Gubaidulina’s mentor who famously supported her artistic convictions early in her career.

The second half will be devoted to the composer’s own works: “Fairytale Poem” and “The Wrath of God," both orchestral works making their Korean premieres.

The composer was inspired by Czech writer Milos Macourek’s “The Little Piece of Chalk” when she composed “Fairytale Poem” in 1971.

The fairy tale centers on a small piece of chalk that longs to draw palaces, gardens and seas but instead spends its life writing words, numbers and shapes on a blackboard until it nearly disappears. When a boy rescues the worn-down chalk and uses it to sketch a beautiful world on asphalt, the story becomes an allegory of creation, sacrifice and the meaning of existence.

In “The Wrath of God," (2019), the composer was inspired by Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, and the music begins with the melody from that piece. The orchestral work invites listeners to reflect on choice, responsibility and the moral direction of their lives, moving beyond avant-garde technique toward existential inquiry.

Founded in 1965 as the Seoul Baroque Ensemble, the Korean Chamber Orchestra is Korea’s oldest chamber orchestra and has grown into a global touring ensemble. The group is designated both a Seoul metropolitan arts corporation and a nonprofit organization recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The orchestra said the concert will offer audiences a rare chance to experience Gubaidulina’s music live and inspire them to reconsider what music can ask of the human spirit.