The Rider on the White Horse

During the course of the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam, Gubaidulina's orchestral work “The Rider on the White Horse” received its world premiere on 21 September 2002. This work is an orchestral extract from her works “St. John Passion” and “St. John Easter,” the “Intermedium” of which is incorporated into the work. Gubaidulina: “In the present orchestral work, however, the passion level is so condensed that it has been more or less melted down to a single point, a kind of turning point. (...) The first and last parts are taken from the level of apocalyptic dialogue. At any rate, the vocal soloists and both choirs are missing here, while the orchestral writing has been basically unaltered. The first part corresponds to God's descent upon the earth and the Incarnation (the element earth dominates), and the last part corresponds to the transfiguration and the Ascension of Christ (everything is devoured by fire and light).”