Peculiarities of The Piano Ballad Genre at The Beginning of The 20th Century (based on works by S. Bortkevych, І Friedman, B. Lyatoshynsky)

Abstract

A comparative analysis of ballads for piano by three artists, whose works were created at the beginning of the 20th century, has been carried out. It has been revealed that the traditions the composers relied on during the period of the formation of their own style were influenced by the musical atmosphere and the environment (they are united by some common creative principles of F. Chopin and F. Liszt). The comparative analysis has reviled that the means of expression (allusions, stylizations) introduced and taken as a model to follow, differ due to the different conditions for the formation of a creative idea. For S. Bortkevych, these are the factors of nostalgia in forced emigration, hence he appealed to the idioms of expression of S. Rachmaninoff, M. Mussorgsky, and O. Scriabin. For I. Friedman these are the features of thematic development and development of F. Liszt's drama in view of the addressee of the dedication. For B. Lyatoshynsky these are works of M. Mettner, who the composer later borrowed a synthetic model of the sonata-ballad from. It has been highlighted that in terms of form, S. Bortkevych has a rondo-sonata with features of variation, I. Friedman has a sonata form with a mirror reprise and a fugue in the episode, and B. Lyatoshynsky has a sonata form of the poem type with features of cyclicality. In the article it has been claimed that the features of epicness and lyrics, gradations and means of achieving expression, freedom and scale of expansion of the major-minor in each of the composers are also different. There is an attraction to different styles of expression: romantic-secession (S. Bortkevych), secession-modern (I. Friedman), modern-expressionistic (B. Lyatoshynsky). The means used by composers have been differentiated: S. Bortkevych used allusions and pseudo-citations, intonation inversions and methods of musical structure development, which show resemblance with the works of S. Rachmaninoff, O. Scriabin and M. Mussorgsky. I. Friedman reproduced improvisation, spectacular virtuosity and the peculiarity of F. List drama tradition. B. Lyatoshynsky emphasized the basic features of the genre, based on the peculiarities of the formation of Chopin-Liszt ballad style, combining them with the peculiarities of genre synthesis and the characteristic features of M. Mettner's individual compositional style. The extent of each of the composers' contributions to the interpretation of the piano ballad genre has been clarified.