Generation Of Composers Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of the Differences in Aria Melodies at Different Stages of Chinese National Operas

Since the New Culture Movement, Chinese national opera has been developed by generations of composers, giving birth to a large number of excellent operatic works. Chinese national opera, based on traditional Chinese musical elements, and at the same time borrowing the advanced Western experience in opera composition and creative techniques, is deeply loved by the Chinese public. Adopting the methodological framework of comparative study, this thesis selects six operas from three different stages of Chinese national opera, and chooses representative vocal excerpts with rich musicality for research. Based on the analysis of the existing literature and the musicality of the pieces, this thesis aims to comprehensively illustrate the differences of the chant melodies in the Chinese folk opera works of different stages from different levels and dimensions (e.g., melodic ranges, modal tonalities, musical elements, rhythms, etc.), so as to provide methodological frameworks and conclusions for more in-depth studies by scholars in the future.

Style paradigm of the Transcarpathian composer school

The purpose of the article is to determine the aesthetic and stylistic foundations of the Transcarpathian composer school, to comprehend the mental archetypes embodied in the heritage of artists of the XX-beginning of the XXI century. The research methodology includes methods of induction, deduction, comparative analysis, stylistic, hermeneutic, and intertextual analysis. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time the Transcarpathian composer school is comprehended as a systemic phenomenon in its historical parallels, the most important features of its stylistic specificity are revealed. The aesthetic patterns of the formation of the artists' worldview, the measure and quality of hereditary and contextual links between different generations of composers are traced, the genre spectrum of creativity is determined and the specifics of the embodiment of the sound archetype of the Earth are considered. Conclusions. The Transcarpathian composer school is not a purely local concept, but an integral artistic phenomenon, marked by a number of stable and mobile features. The main factors of its style-formation are the picture of the world, mentality, polyethnicity, and the historical background of the era. The conceptual basis of the creative activity of local composers is the artistic generalization of the polyethnic folklore heritage of the region. This is largely due to unfavorable socio-historical conditions when folk art itself was the only means of resisting the denationalization of the country people. Consequently, folk song art has become an integral part of the musical language of every Transcarpathian composer as a means of embodying the ethic and aesthetic ideals of the small motherland. This turned out to be at different levels: the content side of music, depending on the peculiarities of national thinking, the semantics of traditional genres, modal-tone constructions, and rhythmic formulas and methods for the development of the thematic invention.
 Key words: Transcarpathian composer school, mentality, archetype, folklore, ethno-characteristic, polyethnicity.

Nikolay Myaskovsky: A Composer and His Times by Patrick Zuk

Reviewed by: Nikolay Myaskovsky: A Composer and His Times by Patrick Zuk Anthony Gritten Zuk, Patrick. Nikolay Myaskovsky: A Composer and His Times. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge and Rochester, NY, 2021. xlvii + 533 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Music examples. Notes. Appendices. Bibliography. Indexes. £60.00; £19.99 (e-book): $99.00; $24.99 (e-book). This huge book sets itself three huge tasks: to introduce Miaskovskii's music and life to English-speaking listeners; to rehabilitate his reputation in the musical West; and to situate him in relation to the discourse of Socialist Realism. These three tasks it fulfils with care, thoroughness and plenty of musical insight. This weighty tome is well worth the cost. Miaskovskii's music is still largely unknown in English-speaking music circles; unknown rather than forgotten, despite the work done on CDs by performers. This speaks to the dominance of a certain set of assumptions [End Page 755] about what music — particularly instrumental symphonic music — should do, be, express and tell us. Miaskovskii's music, one might read between the lines, tells us things about ourselves in relation to our musical traditions and our pat assumptions that might be uncomfortable to ponder — about what self-expression is, what public artistic communication might be, about the limits of public debate through art, and so on. And if the Soviet era was a set of times and places in which these sorts of topics were not debated transparently and equitably but certainly were subject to discussion, then it might be concluded from this new book that Miaskovskii's music and his life each provide litmus tests for what music qua public art was, is, and might be. Miaskovskii's own reputation has existed until now in the West largely in relation to the discourse of Socialist Realism (and in relation to histories of the symphony). This book does a lot to disentangle his reputation from his political milieu — or at least, to show where they run parallel but are not the same thing. Zuk's evidence consists of a deep immersion in the music and a huge trawl of the composer's correspondence and a wealth of other archival sources, many of which remain unpublished and untranslated. His narrative sets aside space for several things: patient analyses of works that highlight the musical challenges that Miaskovskii set himself; details of the contexts that we need to acknowledge in relation to his choice of texts when these seem at first glance not to be those demanded by the regime; pertinent comparisons with works by relevant predecessors (Chaikovskii looms large, of course; pp. 54–55, 80, 85–86, 105, 180, 219, 419, 455); and, perhaps most challenging for a musicological study on this scale, an assessment of the ways in which Miaskovskii's works and performances might be judged today. Zuk is not afraid to make value judgements about specific works, and these will be a helpful start to anybody following him into the music. Thus, the Sixth Symphony is rated highly, as are the Thirteenth, Twenty-First, and Twenty-Seventh (p. 455), whereas the Second is criticized in detail. Similarly, the Second Cello Sonata is rated more highly than the Violin Sonata (p. 454). Zuk dismisses Soviet biographies of the composer for axe grinding and lacking correct information, and he writes at length about how various works were only tangentially or problematically examples of Socialist Realism (e.g. pp. 388–89, 434). He also provides detailed explanations of why Miaskovskii's creative responses to Socialist Realist doctrine — dictats that were nervously defined and individually self-justifying — need to be evaluated individually in relation to each separate work. Socialist Realism evolved chaotically, and so did the ways in which it was evaluated in public by those in power, as with, for example, the events of January 1948 during which Miaskovskii seems to have received the lion's share of the blame for the wider problems of a whole generation of composers, possibly for the simple reason that he had taught [End Page 756] many of them (pp. 436–37), but probably also because he had been the recipient of several Stalin prizes, which probably created jealousy and accusations of...

B. Tishchenko's Music for S. Shuster's Documentaries (on the issue of the radical renewal of Russian Symphonism in the 1960s)

The subject of the study is the symphonic work of the outstanding Russian composer of the second half of the twentieth century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939-2010). The article discusses his music for the documentary films directed by S. Shuster "Suzdal" (1964), "Palekh" (1965) and "Northern Studies" (1968). The author of the work dwells in detail on such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko's innovative role in the renewal of Russian symphonism in the second half of the last century, reformatting the very foundations of compositional thinking, enriching the sound palette with the help of modern musical avant-garde. Special attention is paid to the issue of B. Tishchenko's inheritance of the great Russian symphonic tradition. В The main conclusion of the article is the idea that B. Tishchenko's music for documentaries of the 1960s accumulated the freshest ideas of the period of renewal in Russian art. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is a detailed study of three little-known scores of the composer in the context of an intensive search for "new music". The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author examines the composer's compositions through the prism of stylistic and linguistic innovations of the 1960s, proves the close connection of Tishchenko's symphonism with his time, with the contradictory cultural and social processes that befell the generation of composers of the "sixties".

Slovenian Music in its Central European Context: the 20th-century experience

Slovenia has had a rich and varied musical histoiy, despite the fact that it was part of the Habsburg Empire and then a constituent part of Yugoslavia. Its recent smooth transition to independence and its realignment with Central Europe have been noteworthy. In the past, Slovene or part-Slovene composers such as Gallus, Tartini and Wolf worked abroad, while in the 20th century composers normally returned to Slovenia after studying abroad. For example, Marij Kogoj and Slavko Osterc studied in Central Europe and maintained a strong musical connection with Central European modernism in the 1920s and 1930s. Kogoj's strong links with Viennese expressionism were well expressed in the opera Črne maskeof 1927, while Osterc's connections with Hindemith, Honegger and others is evident in the opera Krog s kredo and orchestral works such as Mouvement symphonique. On the other hand, Kozina, Arnič and Škerjanc developed a less advanced style and kept less contact with the rest of Europe. The political situation in the 1940s and 1950s made outside travel difficult, changing the situation dramatically. Composers such as Ramovš and Uroš Krek had different experiences: Ramovš managed to study with Frazzi and Casella in Italy, while Krek did not study abroad. Both, however, produced works in a distinctive neo-classical style that typified the immediate post-war period. Ivo Petrić's music follows the styles of Prokofiev and Shostakovich. From the late 1950s onwards the situation changed with strong contacts with Croatia, Poland and countries of the West: France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States in particular. This contact encouraged the emergence of a new avant-garde in Slovenia in the 1960s with such composers as Petrić, Ramovš, Lebič, Jež, Božič, Matičič, Globokar, Stibilj and Štuhec coming into prominence. Later they were joined by Pavel Mihelčič and Maks Strmčnik. Matičič and Globokar mostly stayed abroad, while Stibilj returned permanently later. In the decades before and after independence in 1991, a new generation of composers became established, with the most advanced composition by Aldo Kumar, Uroš Rojko, Tomaž Svete, Brina Jež-Brezavšček and Nenad Firšt. Postmodern tendencies are found in the music of Jani Golob and Marko Mihevc. Ali these composers are providing the Slovene musical scene with a wide variety of distinctive music that is both challenging and interesting.

The formation of the original repertory for the Folk Instruments Orchestra of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts as a historical mission of Kharkiv composers (1950–1960)

Statement of the problem. The Folk Instruments Orchestra of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts has been performing for more than 90 years. However, the original works composed for this orchestra have never been the subject of serious scientific interest. The relevance of the problem is determined by the necessity to generalize the previous generations of composers’, performers’ and teachers’ experience in the field of folk instrumental art, in particular, the training in the orchestra of folk instruments as a concert unit. Analysis of recent publications shows, that the study on folk instruments orchestral performance has not been reflected in national scientific journals for a long while, but currently this is considered as an up-to-date issue. The articles by N. Bashmakova and V. Kikas and Yu. Fedotov (2018), Z. Stelmashchuk (2014), K. Maidenberg-Todorova (2019), I. Fedun (2020) are confirming this statement. The main purpose of the article is to find basic principles of the original repertoire formation for the Folk Instruments Orchestra of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts related to the creative activities of Kharkiv composers in the 1950–1960s. For the first time, the historical mission played by Kharkiv composers in the original repertoire formation of the Folk Instruments Orchestra of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts is determined. The concept of the article is based on the interdisciplinary interaction of historiographical, holistic, genre-stylistic and performing methods of researching, as well as a phenomenological approach to the analysis of the individual style of a composer based on the example of the particular works. Results and conclusions. The selected works by O. Steblyanko, D. Klebanov, V. Borisov, B. Alekseev, I. Kovach, P. Haydamaka and V. Podgorny included in the concert program of the creative project of 2021 have been analyzed due to their compositional, intonation and dramaturgical structure. The compositions that have been arranged for the folk instruments orchestra from the scores of symphony orchestra or ones instrumented from the compositions for accordion, domra ensemble, domra accompanied by piano were identified. According to the results of analysis, the creative approach of the composers of Slobozhanshchina in the 1950s–1960s was based on the thematic development of folklore material (song and dance prototypes) or the creation of the original themes, which are as close as possible to the folk samples. Having created large forms for domra and balalaika, Kharkiv composers fulfilled a historical mission in the formation of the original repertoire and, correspondingly, genre and stylistic priorities of the Folk Instruments Orchestra of KhNUA named after I. P. Kotlyarevsky. Due to the arrangements of these works for the folk instruments orchestra, a high academic status of playing folk instruments was demonstrated. It is necessary to emphasize the genre and stylistic orientation of these works on the Western European tradition. Along with the traditional forms of processing and arrangement, the folk instrumental art received the entire genre palette of European music, from miniatures to suites and concerts (in terms of timbre and texture capabilities of the folk instruments). On this way we see the keys to the academic status of the folk instruments orchestra. The prospects for further development of the theme. On the basis of the formed original repertoire at a certain historical moment it is possible to substantiate other leading principles of the orchestra as a concert and educational unit: the combination of an orchestra performer’s training, the formation of his professional skills with the ensemble’s concert activity; the introduction of academic approaches in the training of the folk instruments performers, conductors etc.

Innovative trends in the symphonic works of Soviet composers of the 1960s and Symphony No.3 by B. Tishchenko. Part 2

The subject of this research is the period of Russian symphonic music of the 1960s. A new generation of composers – the “Sixtiers” – introduced a fresh modern musical language and remarkable artistic achievements. In first part of the article, the author dwell on several fundamental symphonic works by R. Shchedrin, S. Slonimsky, E. Denisov, Y. Falik, N. Karetnikov, as well gives general characteristics to this period. The second part of the article examines the compositions by A. Schnittke and L. Prigozhin. Special attention is turned to the Symphony No.3 by Boris Tishchenko, who opens new stylistic horizons and encompasses the key trends of modern music, including the avant-garde, into his stylistic orbit. This article is first to consider B. Tishchenko's outstanding Symphony No.3 in the context of stylistic and linguistic innovations of the 1960s, which defines the scientific novelty. Analysis is conducted on the role and place of the youngest composer of the “Sixtiers” B. Tishchenko in the struggle for the “new music”. The conclusion is made that Tishchenko was one of the leaders in revival of the Russian music of the late XX century, and his Symphony No.3 reflects the pursuits of the postwar generation of Soviet composers to the fullest.

Novel trends in the symphonic work of Soviet composers of the 1960s and B. Tishchenko's Symphony No.3. Part 1

The subject of this research is the period of Russian symphonic music of the 1960s – a new generation of composers, the “Sixtiers”, who brought remarkable artistic achievements and modern musical language. The author dwells on several key symphonic works by R. Shchedrin, S. Slonimsky, E. Denisov, Y. Falik, A. Schnittke, N. Karetnikov, and L. Prigozhin, who made an immense contribution to the revival of the Russian music culture. Special attention is given to Boris Tishchenko’s Symphony No.3, which encompasses the key trends of modern music into its stylistic orbit and opened new musical horizons. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that this article is first to examine the outstanding composition Symphony No.3 by B. Tishchenko in the context of stylistic and linguistic novelties of the 1960s. Detailed analysis is conducted on the role and place of the youngest out of the “Sixtiers” – the prominent Russian symphonist of the XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939–2010) – in the struggle for “new music”. The conclusion is made that Tishchenko became one of the leaders in the revival of the Russian symphonic style of the late XX century, and his Symphony No.3 fully reflected the rigorous pursuits of the entire generation of Soviet composers.

Timbre as a a means of reconstructing an ancient ritual in the XXI century chamber music of Kazakhstan (on the example of “Kamlanie”)

The article considers the work for flute, viola and kyl-kobyz “Kamlanie” is examined in detail for the purpose of identifying new timbre solutions in the XXI century chamber music of Kazakhstan. At the present time, in the Kazakh musical science many works of composers have not been an object of special study from the point of timbre drama and the search for new musical colors. Therefore, the relevance of Kazakh music of the XXI century, which is important for the current generation of composers, musicologists and lovers of modern musical art, also increases. The main objective of this article was the idea to show timbre as the leading category, the most important element of drama, concept of the work, as well as to reveal the originality of timbre solution and performing techniques in the work “Kamlanie” by D.Berzhaprakov.

ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC AND THE SLOVAK MUSICAL AVANT-GARDE IN THE 1960S

In the 1960s, the development of music in Slovakia was marked by prominent generational and stylistic confrontations of the compositional poetries of the previous generations of composers and the just emerging one. In the composers’ community, an initiative was gaining a foothold that reassessed the practices, norms, and achievements of the previous developmental stages of Slovak music and looked for new points of departure. In certain stages of the given period, the first graduates of the Academy of Performing Arts (Ilja Zeljenka, Juraj Pospíšil, Pavol Šimai, Ladislav Kupkovič, Peter Kolman, Roman Berger, Jozef Malovec, Miroslav Bázlik, Ivan Parík, Tadeáš Salva, and others) entered the musical scene. The genesis and the formation of the Slovak musical avant-garde in the 1960s was determined by their quest for the novel possibilities of expression and the compositional techniques of the so-called New Music of Western Europe. They included experimenting with previously unknown electrogenic compositional materials and techniques of electroacoustic music. Slovak electroacoustic music, which achieved success in Slovakia and abroad already in the 1960s, emerged first on a private basis, later in the Sound Studio of the Czechoslovak Television, and, primarily, in the Experimental Studio of the Czechoslovak Radio.

Boris Tishchenko and the new generation of Soviet composers of the 1960s: political and economic context

The subject of this research is the period of the Russian symphonic music of the early 1960s. The scene saw the emergence of a new generation of composers – the so-called “Sixtiers”, making themselves known with remarkable artistic achievements, novel and modern musical language. Emphasis is place on such aspects of the topic, as the system of music education that established in the Soviet Union by the mid XX century, sustained material affluence of the Soviet composers, and ideological pressure of the government in return for such care. Special attention. Special attention is given to the new artistic opportunities for the young Russian composers that emerged as a result of the political “thaw”. The scientific consists in introduction into the scientific discourse of a wide range of memoir literature and critical articles of the representatives of the “new wave” movement, as therefore, a more comprehensive understanding of the complex processes that unfolded in the Soviet academic music. A detailed analysis is conducted on the role and place in the struggle for “new music” of the youngest musician out of the “Sixtiers” – a prominent Russian symphonist of the XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 – 2010). The main conclusion is reflected in the thought on a certain triumph of the School of Soviet Composers and the system of music education, which is most clearly described by the last three decades of the existence of the Soviet Union.

Evolution of piano miniature in the early 20th century (exemplified by V. Rebikov's piano work)

Relevance of the study. One of the features of the piano music of the early 20th century is traditions overcoming of the romantic style and search for opportunities to go beyond it. Numerous composers of a new generation have experimented with musical language, form and phonic visualization. At the same time, the genre of musical miniature did not lose its relevance, on the contrary, it became one of those piano genres where many musical innovations were tested. The study of piano miniature allows us to consider the evolution of small forms in piano music, the process of style and genre transformation, a gradual transition from the established romantic tradition (including the national one) to a new era, marked by the search for contemporary expressive means. The work study of V. Rebikov, an innovative composer who wrote more than 30 cycles of piano pieces and who made a significant contribution to the development of small forms of piano music, is an important stage on the way to a comprehensive understanding of the musical art evolution of the 20th century. Numerous ideas that were tested in his works found their development in the music of next generations of composers and still remain instant and modern. The study of some of V. Rebikov's miniatures key-cycles, which were important stages in the formation of the unique image of the composer, in the context of the figurative and stylistic genesis trends in the art of the first third of the 20th century, allows, with some assumptions, talk about his work as an example of stylistic and harmonic transformations of their time. Main objective of the study is to identify the fundamental elements of V. Rebikov composer's style, which are manifested in his piano works of small forms, in the context of the patterns development of piano miniature at the beginning of the 20th century. The methodological baseline is the methods of historical, systemic, harmonic, style and performance analysis. Results and Conclusions. Analysis of V. Rebikov's musical heritage, as well as of other composers who did not gain great popularity at their time, proved that there are no composers, whose work can be dispensed with, setting the task of identifying the historical stages in the deve-lopment of musical art, since the value of a particular contribution is determined and will be determined by future generations. Therefore, the study of the work of all composers of the early 20th century is necessary for understanding historical formation of musical art, including piano, as well as for identifying the origins and principles that fed the music of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Combinatorics as a constant principle of I. Stravinsky’s orchestral writing

Combinatorics as a constant principle of I. Stravinsky’s orchestral writing

„Knots and signs” – a conceptual approach to Stanescu's poetry in the creation of the composer Petru Stoianov

This article analyzes the notable influence of Nichita Stănescu on contemporary Romanian music, and his poetry inspired a whole generation of composers from the second half of the twentieth century, who were constantly attracted by his poetic universe, signing works that it fits in various stylistic orientations, for different interpretive components, of different genres, which can be delimited in a distinct “group” within the Romanian composition. Petru Stoianov is one of the composers who addressed Stanescu's poetry countless times.

Entropijska dinamika i rizomatični arhetipovi u delu "Aeriality" Ane Torvaldsdotir

Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir is part of the new generation of composers who have already gained international exposure. As she herself explained, her compositions are born from nature: from her long walks and from the observation of the dynamics, colors and sounds of nature itself. The piece for orchestra Aeriality (2011) is a good example of this poetics. This paper intends to analyze this composition in detail and talk about the author's poetics. Following my idea of an "open" musicology, that is related to other forms of knowledge and not a description of the score following a specific analytical method, first of all possible relationships between compositional structures that can be described in a quantitative way will be investigated. Particular importance will be given to the concept of entropy by translating t his concept into musical terms. Specifically, it will be shown how the displacement of sound masses in the orchestra determines an increase or decrease in entropy. Then the work will be analyzed according to the philosophy and thought of Gilles Deleuze. In particular, taking into account a main concept of his thought which is the rhizome. In concrete terms, it will be shown how the score contains rhizome archetypes and therefore it is possible to read it from this point of view. The intent therefore is to combine the work of this composer with an innovative approach.

Listening to and Composing with the Soundscapes of Climate Change

Listening to and Composing with the Soundscapes of Climate Change Kate Galloway (bio) Climate change and the soundscapes of the contemporary energy industries, including their environmental impact, are audible. The public, however, is still learning how to listen to, perceive, and express this audible environmental information. Since the early 2000s, Canadian composer Derek Charke has combined electroacoustic elements, field recordings, and acoustic instruments to comment on environmental issues and ecological relationships. Fascinated by recording and composing with the sounds of the environment, Charke's compositions use the sounds of the environment to express his personal affinity for the soundscapes of Northern Canada and concern for the environment. His personal connection to this region and his observations of environmental change shape how his field recorder and his ears listen to these places as he records how climate change irreversibly alters the landscape and social life of Northern Canada. His embodied knowledge of the location influences where he places his field recorder for long durational recordings and how he moves through the environment recording with his handheld field recorder. Field-recording paraphernalia—including omnidirectional condensers, binaural in-ear microphones, hydrophones, contact microphones, and handheld solid-state recorders—provide a means of archiving and listening back to long-form uninterrupted recordings of a location and how its conditions change over time. Field recording enhances human listening, providing sonic information and knowledge gathered through this form of mobile hearing enhancement and recording. Hydrophones, for instance, are submerged deep below the water's surface, listening to aquatic ecologies the human ear is unable to adequately listen to. Field recording and composing [End Page 81] with these recordings can amplify the sonic environment; and by crafting an interpretive sonic document that is rich in sonic detail and nuance, listeners are provided with a sonic space where they can embody an individualized sound world in flux. Charke's extended personal experience in the Arctic and his ongoing concern for the state of the environment are highlighted in this work through his spatial explorations using an array of field-recording techniques and his compositional treatment of his sound materials and subject matter. By listening to the Canadian Arctic and other remote environs, listening with both his ears as well as with his field-recording equipment, Charke provides a sensory experience of environmentally harmful human activity, such as oil refining and industrial-scale production. In the age of climate change awareness, how should composers use sonic materials to address the scope of human impact on the nonhuman environment? This is a question that Charke and other composers, sound artists, acoustic ecologists, and field recordists who create music using environmental sound are attempting to answer through their creative activity that witnesses, archives, and circulates physical and audible environmental change.1 The ecological crisis demands dialogue and collaboration across disciplines and modes of sensory perception. My analysis contributes to the conversation about how expressive culture—particularly music and sound—conveys information and knowledge about environmental issues, taking an alternative format to the sciences in order to disseminate information concerning interactions among human and nonhuman systems, environmental science, and climate change discourse. In this article, I discuss some ways that music and environmental sound are used to listen to the aurality of climate change. Field recording is used by Charke as a creative mechanism for listening to expressive climate change. Through Charke's thoughtful studio manipulation and composition, the field recordings in his music imitate environmental phenomena. Drawing from the interdisciplinary field of acoustic ecology, I sketch out some of the ways that Charke interprets sonic and ecological experiences of live places and environments into his compositions. Acoustic ecology sets out to analyze soundscapes and examine the sonic relationships among human and nonhuman actors in their environment. One of the central motivations of acoustic ecology is to raise public awareness concerning the ways human society [End Page 82] participates in composing, shaping, and revising the soundscape. Following a generation of composers in the 1960s and 1970s who integrated the sonic aesthetics and ecological politics of acoustic ecology into their creative work, Charke similarly uses field recording and modes of intimate listening to environments to depict different types of environmental change. I use...

Choral creativity by Hanna Havrylets as a symbol of the togetherness of Ukraine (on the example of the musical and stage action “We will sow the Golden Stone”)

Choral creativity by Hanna Havrylets as a symbol of the togetherness of Ukraine (on the example of the musical and stage action “We will sow the Golden Stone”)

Paradoxes of L. Spohr

Background. The creative life of Ludwig Spohr (1784–1859) coincides with at least three historically-cultural periods: Late-Classical, Romantic and LateRomantic, thus creating a straight line from Classical works of XVIII century to those of the middle of XIX century. First works by Spohr having opus number chronologically coincide with the beginning of Beethoven’s central period of life, and in this light, he is rather seen as heir of pre-Beethoven generation of composers. But, having outlived the last Viennese Classicist by 32 years, Spohr assimilated both his experience and innovations of the new generation of musicians, his junior contemporaries. In spite of the fact that Spohr wasn’t inclined to radical innovations, unlike his coeval Weber, he became one of the first harbinger of the new music. Yet we should note that situation of drastic change of musical culture, in which the composer was brought up, programmed his lifestyle and general direction of his creativity. Moreover, “intersection of times” defined contradictions in Spohr’s legacy, that hitherto hurdle his unambiguous evaluation. Literature review. It would be unfair to state that name of Spohr doesn’ figure in musicologists’ researches at all. Although one has to admit that while in Western musicology a certain tradition of studying his creative life has been established, in Soviet and post-Soviet scientific area creativity of Spohr hasn’t ever become on object of separate dissection, with a single exception of Raaben’s essay (Raaben, 1967). But even in this work Spohr only listed alongside with other musicians, but not as a self-sufficient phenomenon. Scattered facts of Spohr’s creative life are incorporated into brief outlines of his works or spheres of activity, created by M. Cherkashyna (1998), N. Antipova (2007), V. Ferman (1961), V. Pluzhnikov (2006). Researches are actively trying to reveal diverse connections between Spohr and the past of the musical culture: his “Mozartness” (Heussner, 1957), efforts to revive music by Bach, Handel and other masters of the past (Homburg, 1958; 1960). Much less attention is drawn to historical typology of Spohr’s legacy, to his place in the spacetime of music. H. Riemann (1961) regards him as a Romantic composer, having more in common with Shubert and Mendelssohn than with Weber, Schumann and Marschner. K. Huschke (1939) notes his soft, elegiac and lofty feelings, beauty of the melodies, his nobility in stark contrast with Weber’s art founded in folk intonations, although claiming both of them to be German in spirit. Although wholistic image of Spohr in research literature, unfortunately, has not been created yet. The aim of this paper is an attempt to present complex creative personality of Spohr, comprised of the opposite constituents, as a whole. Results. On the verge of XVIII–XIX centuries even tradition, that is one of the most profound and fundamental factors of culturally-historical process, is subjected to reconsideration. For Spohr, tradition means mainly possessing skills, professionality. Spohr endeavoured mastership in every single thing he did: practicing violin 10 hours daily, polishing his Kapellmeister art, or embodying appearing musical ideas in his compositions. It was rather predictable that he had become one of the most prominent pedagogues of XIX century, progenitor of violin school and glorious Violinschule. According to the tradition dating back to the Baroque era, Spohr reveals a tendency towards inventio: both in the terms of technology (invention of a chinrest) and in creativity. In the latter case inherited meets modern. Spohr precisely formulates artistic ideas appearing to him thus becoming one of their generators. Spohr’s attitude to tradition can be understood through his favouring of musical classics as vivid reality. Almost all scholars of his legacy unanimously agree that he had enormous adoration of Mozart during all his life. One may say that in mind of Spohr two different approaches to tradition overlap: from the standpoint of XVIII century (when it was regarded as a continuity of knowledge, well-developed skills, order) and from the vantage of XIX century (as an object of reconsideration, adaptation in the context of new stylistic system and Romantic worldview). Not only did ambiguous approach to the tradition defined his art, but also affected societal, political views, spheres of activity and personal traits. Conclusions. Observations on creative life of Spohr allow to demonstrate paradoxes of his personality. He was simultaneously a court musician and a “free artist”; a proponent of musical past and critic of the modernity – and its indefatigable champion as opera Kapellmeister and as symphonic and concert conductor; performer-virtuoso – and serious, ruminant creator of large-scale oratorios, operas and symphonic conceptions; advocate for normativity in art – and pioneer in many respects, – these are pairs-oppositions defining the image of Spohr’s personality.

Songwriting and Chorale by Martin Luther

Abstract The five hundreth anniversary that we commemorated in 2017 is a good opportunity to remind the significance of vocal works by Martin Luther. Creative musical activity of Dr. Martin Luther is somehow in the shadow of his other historically significant activities. It is a well-known fact that he was an outstanding musician who could play lute and could sing. In his household, he constantly played music and sang, while he actively engaged his family in performing music. In performing the reformatory ideas, he was aware of the extremely important role of religious singing, which he started composing since 1523. He is the author of 38 songs – chorales, while at the same time, he is the author of 20 melodies. In most cases, he used the texts of the Psalms. From his chorals the best known is entitled Ein feste Burg is unser Gott – The Fortified Castle is the Lord our God, that became worldwide the anthem of the Protestants. Luther have become an important inspirational source for the next generation of composers, and they culminated in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, including the works of contemporary Slovak composers – Roman Berger, Víťazoslav Kubička. The prevailing majority of Lutheran chorales is also the part of the Protestant Songbook in Slovakia.

Władysław Andriejewicz Zołotariow (1942–1975) – zarys biografii

The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the personage of an outstanding Russian composer and bayanist Vladislav Zolotaryov. Tragically deceased at the age of only 33, the artist was an exceptional figure. He was a great innovator who changed the face of the accordion, using this instrument to the limit of its technical and sound possibilities. The novel and almost orchestral method of treating the accordion, which he initiated in the 1970s, not only had a tremendous impact on the work of the young generation of composers, such as: Aleksander Nagayev, Vladimir Zubicki and Viacheslav Siemionov, but was also noticed and appreciated by the eminent and already recognized composer Zofia Gubaydulina. Yet, while Zolotaryov’s output is widely known and appreciated by the present-day accordionists, his life still hides many unresolved secrets and doubts about the causes of his death. In the absence of any Polish language studies on the subject, the composer's biography is well worth a closer look. The information collected about the details of the composer’s life, as well as the opinions of people connected with him, may help to understand the composer's complicated personality. Zolotaryov’s innovative oeuvre, despite innumerable interpretations, is invariably interesting not only for the performers. It is still an important determinant for other composers of accordion music. Zolotaryov’s compositions, such as: Suita kameralna (en. Chamber Suite) Partita No. 1, Sonata No. 2, or collections of miniatures included in Suity dzieciece (en.Children’s Suites) have permanently entered the repertoire of contemporary performers. His magnum opus – Sonata No. 3 – is still one of the most important musical pieces in accordion literature. The source of this article are the letters and diaries written by V.Zolotaryov and the composer's biography by Inna Klause21, as well as memoirs by Nikolai Liesnoy22, Vitaly Szentalinsky23 and Fridrich Lips.