Symphonic Principles of Development in Chinese Piano Concertos of the 1980s - Early 2000s

Abstract

In the 1980s and early 2000s, Chinese composers wrote the largest number of piano concertos in the entire century-long history of this genre in the musical history of this state. Among them, the most recognized in different countries were the works of Huang Anlun and Du Mingxin. Along with the fame of the pianists who performed them and the importance of the composers themselves in the music of China, a considerable merit in this is seen in the enrichment of their concerts with symphonic principles that influenced the depth of dramatic tension in these works. The article examines the techniques of musical development in two concerts by Huang Anlun and the First and Third Concerts by Du Minxin in line with the ideas of symphonism laid down by B. Asafyev and developed in the works of Soviet and Russian musicologists. The role of Russian music in the appeal of Chinese composers to symphonic drama in piano concerts is also noted. The main means of symphonization in the concerts under consideration mostly coincide. They are characterized by the orchestrality of the piano part and the developed dialogicity of the soloist and orchestra, moreover, there is a high degree of their cohesion in the works of Huang Anlun. The figurative transformation of themes is of key importance. Meanwhile, there are differences. Du Mingxin tends to a more concise form of the concert. With regard to thematic work, he confines himself to creating arched connections and tends to bring contrasts closer together. Huang Anlun builds monumental musical canvases. He permeates his compositions with leittems and pays great attention to development. So, if Du Mingxin acts within the framework of a symphonized concert, then Huang Anlun has made an exit to the concert-symphony genre.