Melody of S. Prokofiev as the main feature of his style (on the examples of Concerts No. 1 and No. 2 for violin and orchestra)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the violin concertos No. 1and No. 2, to find and explore the characteristic signs of S. Prokofievʼsmelody, lyrics, cantilenas, and ways of its construction. One of the taskswill be to discover their differences, using the example of concerts to showthe evolution of melody development by S. Prokofiev. Find thecharacteristics of his melody with works that were created in the same timeinterval along with the violin concertos. The methods are based on a comprehensive analysis of violin concertos; the historical and structurallyanalytical methods are used to track the evolution of the melody ofS. Prokofiev. Scientific novelty claims relevance because, unfortunately,very little attention is paid to the unique lyrics of Prokofiev, which standsout very clearly among other composers. Therefore, the study of thecharacteristics of the canted melody reveals the melodic style in itsmainstream. Especially since it is the cantilena that contains the mostimportant artistic discoveries of the composer in the field of melody, this iswhere the peculiarity of his melodic thinking manifested itself.Conclusions. Prokofiev was one of the first composers of the twentiethcentury, who brought the violin art back to its natural, for centuries acertain lyrical-emotional direction. The violin in his works appears mostoften in the role of „actorˮ, who predominantly distinctly „singsˮ. Thisfeature is inextricably linked with the lyrical direction – very strong in allProkofievʼs works. The lyrical direction, we can assume, dominatesProkofievʼs entire violin heritage. His innovation in the field of updatingthe melody from the inside consisted in updating its imaginative,intonational, mode. Over the years, the Prokofievʼs violin style haschanged, reflecting the general evolution of its artistic and aestheticprinciples. The last period of his work was marked by the desire forsimplicity, clarity of musical thinking, and hence to even greater modesty,transparent texture, and wise savings in the means of expression.