V. Silvestrov’s Chamber Symphony “Spectra” in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s

Abstract

Statement of the problem. At present, the creative personality of Valentyn Silvestrov appears to be significant taking into account a well-established mission of the artist as a spokesman of the Ukrainian art of today on a global scale. Today in the conditions of historical challenges and victorious endurance of Ukraine, the chamber symphony “Spectra” (1965), created over 50 years ago, is actualized as a manifestation of free thinking. Neither in national nor in the world musicology has this work been the subject of special research; this fact determines the relevance of the topic of the scientific research. Analysis of recent research and publication. The works by O. Horodetska and O. Opanasiuk are devoted to the study of V. Silvestrov’s work in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The main objective of the study is to consider V. Silvestrov’s chamber symphony “Spectra” in the context of avant-garde tendencies of Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The scientific novelty of the research findings is closely related to the actualization of the study of the chamber symphony “Spectra”, which is of considerable interest for Ukrainian music science in the context of the study of avant-garde trends in Ukrainian culture of the 1960s. The concept of the research is based on the following scientific approaches: historical-cultural, genre, stylistic, structural-functional. In addition, the semantic and hermeneutic methods were employed. Results. The artistic community of Kyiv in the 1960s played an important role in the formation of underlying aesthetic principles of V. Silvestrov’s early style. The composer belonged to the creative group “Kyiv avant-garde”. Individual artists of the group played a crucial role in the creation of V. Silvestrov’s “Spectra” (1965). The name of the symphonic composition is directly connected with the dramaturgy of S. Paradjanov’s unfinished feature film “Kyiv Frescoes” (1965). “Spectra” is a three-movement symphony for chamber orchestra. The musical language of the work is based on the involvement of sonorous sounds, pointillism and aleatorics. Freedom of embodiment of the author’s expression is revealed at all levels: speech, composition, style. Conclusion. The Symphony “Spectra” for Chamber Orchestra (1965) reflects the early period of V. Silvestrov’s work. It was important to take into account the cross-cultural context when considering the early period of the composer’s work. It is about the work of the creative group “Kyiv avant-garde”, which became a unique phenomenon in the musical culture of the Ukrainian sixties. The chamber symphony “Spectra” is a special type of symphony and is the embodiment of the originality of the artistic thinking of V. Silvestrov.