The Origins of a Romantic Piano Concerto (a Case Study of Daniel Steibelt’s Oeuvre)

Abstract

Relevance of the study. Among the pianist composers of the late 18th — the early 19th centuries whose work is poorly comprehended today, there is a figure of Daniel Steibelt. Some pianistic techniques and dramatic decisions of the artist anticipate the genre and stylistic features of romantic music, which determines the relevance of studying the artist’s work.The aim of the article is to highlight D. Steibelt’s life path and the body of creative work, to identify the style, art and performance features of his piano concerts.Research methodology. In order to reveal the peculiarities composer style the methods of historical and comparative interpretation and theoretical generalization are used in this article. The insight of stylistic features of piano concertos by D. Steibelt, artistic-figurative content, structure, expressive and technical means, etc., was carried out with the help of music and theoretical and performing analysis.Results. Daniel Gottlieb Steibelt was the author of eight piano concerts. Among the early works Concert No. 3 was popular, entitled “Thunderstorm”, the effect of which in the finale is achieved thanks to innovative reception of tremolo for that time. Of the last concerts of D. Steibelt Concert No. 6 attracts special attention, in which the composer created an art program, and No. 7 (1816–1817), which uses an additional the military orchestra.Turning to the innovations of D. Steibelt in the concert genre, note should be made of the development of romantic trends in the figurative sphere, which was manifested in the artistic program of the piano concerts and the creation a lot of rhapsodic and dramatic pathetic melodies. In his concerts, an extension of the tonal plan is noted, as well as a significant complication of the harmonious layer. Thus, D. Steibelt acts as an anticipator of romantic paths in piano music, in particular in the genre of piano concerto.Novelty. The paper is the first attempt for reviewing and analyzing D. Steibelt’s piano concerts, a characteristic of concert creativity of whose is not widely studied in Ukrainian musicology.Conclusions. On the whole, D. Steibelt was a composer with a bright personality, and his 8 concerts for piano have significant artistic value. A deeper study of the creative heritage of Daniel Steibelt will expand the presentation of the artist himself, his contribution to the music art of the late 18th — the early 19th centuries, and the performing culture of that time.The practical significance lies in the possibility of using the material of the article in further scientific explorations in the field of musicology, as well as in pedagogical practice (in particular, in educational courses in the history of music, history of performing arts, analysis of musical works, etc.).