One of the first modern women composers to reach international acclaim, Gubaidulina wrote bold music, inspired by Eastern and Western philosophies, and the joy of sound itself.

Legendary avant-garde composer Sofia Gubaidulina has died in Germany, where she spent more than 30 years of her life after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Gubaidulina, who was 93, was one of a group of composers blacklisted in the Soviet Union in 1979.

Blacklisted at home but finding acclaim abroad, she sought to bridge East and West, the sacred and the secular, in vivid, colorful compositions.