A. Karamanov’s piano concerts: “curve” of the style and language evolution

Abstract

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the concert-piano style of A. Karamanov, an outstanding Ukrainian composer, whose works have only recently become the subject of musicological discourse. The “curve” of style and language evolution is outlined, the stages of which are marked by three large-scale concerts of the composer, the last of which called “Ave Maria” has already gained worldwide popularity and entered the repertoire of outstanding performers both in Ukraine and abroad. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the genre-stylistic complex of the phenomenon of “piano concert”, a definition of the concept of “concert-piano style” is offered, which is extrapolated to the author’s style of A. Karamanov in this genre. The characteristic features of the composer’s three piano concerts are highlighted and generalized, a kind of triptych cycle, in which through the work of A. Karamanov as a composer-pianist, constant and individually innovative features of the genre are embodied, which became symphonic conceptual model not only in his work, but also in the styles of other authors of the late XX — early XXI centuries.
 The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the need for a systematic consideration of the triptych of piano concerts by A. Karamanov as a significant phenomenon of Ukrainian and world pianism at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries.
 The purpose of the research is to reveal the peculiarities of the style and language evolution of A. Karamanov’s work, the stages of which are represented by his three piano concerts.
 The methodology is a combination of general scientific and special musicological approaches to the disclosure of the stated topic. Among them are: the method of deduction, which determines the movement of research from the general (concert as a principle of musical thinking) to special (piano concert) and specific phenomenon (triptych piano concerts by A. Karamanov); methods of genre and stylistic analysis used in considering the drama and form of all three concerts; methods of performance and texture analysis aimed at identifying the features of Karamanov’s concert pianism.
 The results of the research reveal the combination of traditions and innovations in the interpretation of the genre in the concert-piano style of A. Karamanov. All three of his piano concertos are based on different models of drama and form, but common to them is the attraction to the symphonic concept, which brings the concert forms in his music closer to the symphony as a genre of “high generalizations” (Asafiev, 1971).
 The scientific topicality of this research is determined by the fact that for the first time In Ukrainian musicology it presents a comprehensive review of the aesthetics and poetics of three piano concerts by A. Karamanov, which reflect the characteristics of modern interpretation of the genre with a tendency to symphonization.
 The practical significance of this scientific research is determined by the possibility of applying its provisions and conclusions in the further study of the laws of modern concert-piano style in the works of other composers. The article can be useful for performers who turn to interpretations of Karamanov’s piano concerts, as well as for teachers and students of piano departments and branches of art universities of Ukraine.
 Conclusions. The review carried out in this article showed that the concert-piano style of A. Karamanov is an original phenomenon of world piano culture, and therefore requires more in-depth study and performance attention. After all, it embodies the characteristics of a new worldview paradigm, formed on the basis of classical traditions and it is considered as a “bridge” between them and modernity.