Joseph Marx’s creative figure: composer, philosopher, educator, public man

Abstract

Relevance of the study. It sheds light on the Ukrainian musicological context within the creative work of Joseph Marx (1882–1964) – an outstanding Austrian composer, teacher, pianist, theorist and musical philosopher of the first half of the twentieth century. He is the author of 150 vocal pieces, a significant number of chamber instrumental opuses, two piano concertos, as well as epic symphonic works. Hundreds of students from different countries of the world studied in his class. J. Marx is the author of one of the first theoretical studies on the psychology of perception of sound and tonality.The main objective of the study is to provide an overview of the life and creative path of J. Marx. This is especially important because in recent years we can see the increasing interest of performers in the creative work of Joseph Marx. There is also a need to introduce the work of J. Marx to the Ukrainian audience.The study was carried out by using biographical and source-study method (allowing exploring the life path of J. Marx in the context of the historical epoch). An overview of the main sources of information about the life and creative work of the composer is presented. The process of the creative formation of J. Marx is revealed, and a detailed portrait of his personality is created. The main genre spheres of J. Marx’s creative work are described: chamber-vocal and chamber-instrumental, piano and symphonic. Special attention is paid to the key composer’s masterpieces such as the Piano Quintet, Six Pieces for Piano, Romantic Piano Concerto, Autumn Symphony, etc. Information about the history of the creation and the main performers of the works of the composer is presented. The original philosophical and musical-theoretical views of J. Marx are studied. The main aspects of his large-scale pedagogical and social activity, which was a whole epoch in the history of Austrian and world culture, were elucidated in detail. The emphasis is on the problem of inadequate historical evaluation of the activities of Marx during the fascist occupation of Austria. The sharpness of the relationship between the master as the leader of the “conservative” party in Austrian culture and the new generation of avant-garde composers is underlined.The conclusion of the study is that the life and work of Joseph Marx is an integral part of the Western European musical culture of the twentieth century and needs further research.