Ballet "Sketches" by A. Schnittke: on the problem of interpretation of Gogol's characters

Abstract

The research is devoted to the study of the musical interpretation of the heroes of the "Petersburg Stories" and the poem "Dead Souls" by N. Gogol in the ballet "Sketches" by A. Schnittke. The musical characteristics of Gogol's characters in the ballet are considered from the standpoint of ladoharmonic, rhythmic, timbre, texture features. The stylistic context of each number of the ballet cycle is analyzed in the aspect of the technique of polystylistics. Playing with stylistic models in the field of genre, form, and musical language contributed to the expansion of space-time relations and the enrichment of the figurative sphere of ballet. Due to the multi-component nature of the latter, the compositional and dramatic aspects of the ballet cycle are highlighted, based on the principles of extended expositionality, bright contrast, and distinctive characteristics. The study of the musical characteristics of the characters is carried out for the first time and is carried out from the standpoint of the individual characteristics of the Schnittke style. The author's handwriting of the composer is guessed not only in the use of polystylistic means, but also in the methods of displaying Good and Evil, "base" and "sublime". The unattractiveness of the personal qualities of Gogol's characters was clothed in an attractive mask of smash hits. The cartoon waltz, hyperbolized tango, gallop, mazurka became the symbol of the smash hit. The use of a genre stereotype to denounce evil is also observed in the Second Violin Sonata, Concerto grosso No. 1, the cantata "The Story of Dr. Johann Faust", the ballet "Peer Gynt", etc. Conclusions are drawn about the uniqueness of the musical material of each Gogol hero in the context of Schnittke's individual author's approach.