Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion


Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion is a piece written by Sofia Gubaidulina in 1994 dedicated to Pierre-Yves Artaud.
The instruments are divided into two sections, one of which is tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other. Gubaidulina describes, "in this way the potential of treating both halves as 'light' and 'shadow' emerges." She uses three chords, one major, one minor, and one whose third is exactly halfway between being used at importance cadence points also determined by the five open strings of the higher orchestra section. The flute is in tune with this higher section, but through microintervals and glissandos also coincides with the lower section.
The piece has been recorded and released on: