КОНСТАНТИН НИКОЛАЕВИЧ ИГУМНОВ: ПРОРАСТАНИЕ ТРАДИЦИЙ

Abstract

The article describes the multifaceted activities of Konstantin Nikolayevich Igumnov. It reviews the main sources, which reflect the personality traits of the outstanding Russian musician, as well as the principles of his performing and teaching work. The composer’s holistic approach to working on the embodiment of a musical composition is analyzed. Integrity is considered as an aesthetic category, which is a criterion for the artistic value of a work and its interpretation. A comparative analysis of the 1947 audio recording of Tchaikovsky’s cycle “The Seasons” performed by Igumnov with the interpretation of this opus by his “musical grandson” M. V. Pletnev is presented based on the video recording from the 1983 concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The article focuses on tempo-rhythmic, agogic, intonation-dynamic, dramatic features, and reveals the commonality of the meaningful approach. At the same time, it is noted that the two outstanding performing versions of the composition differ markedly. The value parameters inherent in the Russian performing arts of the first half of the XXth century — integrity, naturalness and psychological truthfulness — are later supplemented by such necessary criteria as conceptuality, originality of approach to the stylistic features of music and skillful “weaving sound matter”, which is revealed when comparing the interpretations of the cycle. The stylistic diversity, polymorphism, and fundamental synthetism of the musical and performing art of the late XXth century determine the different artistic attitudes of performers.