Sofia Gubaidulina was an iconoclastic maverick whose work is synonymous with unprecedented openness and autonomy. The rarely performed Revue Music for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band is an eclectic, subversive masterpiece that caused a scandal at its premiere in the USSR in 1978 – the official reaction to which posed a considerable threat to Gubaidulina’s entire family. It contrasts greatly with the sensual piano concerto Introitus, heard here in the revised version created by the composer in collaboration with Alice Di Piazza. Worlds collide in Figures of Time – a work that combines chaotic effects with unifying harmony. The programme also includes the Chaconne for solo piano with its atmospherically dense process of transformation.

Considered by international critics as one of the most talented pianists of her generation, Alice Di Piazza has performed at prestigious venues including the Leipzig Gewandhaus Concert Hall, KKL Festival in Lucerne, Stadtcasino in Basel, Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory Hall, and collaborating with distinguished conductors and orchestras all over the world.

Gubaidulina said of her that ‘It is no exaggeration to say that we are dealing with an artist of great talent. What a revelation! Technical perfection and artistic virtuosity, sense and willpower. I am sure that a personality of such stature and depth will be seen by the public as a real gift’.

Titus Engel has served as principal conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta since the 2023/24 season. He has appeared as guest conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the SWR and WDR Symphony Orchestras, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich and Munich Chamber Orchestras, Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien. He regularly conducts at the opera houses in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hanover, Basel and Lyon, and was named Conductor of the Year in 2020 by Opernwelt magazine. Respected for his expertise in historical performance practice as well as his precise conducting of complex contemporary projects, the Swiss conductor and Berliner-by-choice can also be heard regularly with central works of the opera literature.