Tribute to Sofia Gubaidulina

The Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, honors the great contemporary Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, who passed away on March 13 of this year. Her rich body of work has been described as “an exploration of the tensions between Western and Eastern music” and is characterized by a rare emotional intensity.

Georgios Farougias performs the honoree’s magnificent Bassoon Concerto, accompanied by TSSO’s lower strings. The work unfolds as a tragicomic role-playing game in essence, where the bassoon appears as a Charlie Chaplin–like character trying to fight off the clichés surrounding it—expressed by the strings—yet ultimately succumbing and blending into its environment. The postmodern Silent Music is a contemporary masterpiece by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, marked by a dramatic character and powerful emotions that unfold like memories through a rather melancholic mood. The captivating musical journey concludes with Tchaikovsky’s late-Romantic Serenade for Strings, written with his aim to create something as melodious and flawless as the compositions of his idol, Mozart.

Friday, 28 November 2025
20:30
Thessaloniki Concert Hall
Emilios Riadis Hall (M2)

Bassoon: Georgios Farougias
Conductor: Konstantinos Terzakis

Program:
Valentin Silvestrov (1937): Silent Music
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931–2025): Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48

Ticket Prices:
Stalls: €15
Balconies / Gallery: €10
Reduced: €10–€5