Russian Composer Research Articles

Symphonic compositions of Boris Tishchenko and the world music culture

The subject of this research is the symphonic works of the prominent Russian composer of the late XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 – 2010). His symphonic pieces synthesize different images, ideas, genres, and forms. This article explores various stylistic and linguistic effects upon his works, reveals the origins of fresh and unique artistic thinking. Emphasis is placed on the innovative role of B. Tishchenko in the revival of Russian symphonic style of the 1960s. Special attention is given to Tishchenko's succession of the great Russian symphonic tradition. The main conclusion lies in the thought that B. Tishchenko is one of the few among his contemporaries to remain faithful to the genre of great, “pure” symphony, as well as is the successor of the symphonic line of his brilliant teacher D. Shostakovich. The novelty consists in proving the thesis that symphonic style of B. Tishchenko is a holistic, meaningful, and truly modern phenomenon. Tishchenko amusedly delved into the new composing techniques, highlighting dodecaphony, aleatoric music, sonorism, pointillist music; however he did no remain faithful to these genres to the end; he constantly “refined” his musical language, introduced novelties for creating an artistic image.

Symphonies by B. Tishchenko: in tune with the times, against the troubled times. Part 1

The research subject is the scope of symphonic works of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The article continues a brief analysis of all 17 symphonies of the composer, and considers his works of the 1980s - the 2000s: French Symphony, Pushkin Symphony, Dante Symphonies, and Symphonies No 7, 8, 9.  The author considers in detail such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko’s innovatory role in the renewal of Russian symphonism of the second half of the 20th century, the interrelation between and poetry in his large orchestra compositions, the significant impact of literary concepts on the development of his symphonism. Special attention is given to Tishchenko succeeding to the great Russian symphonic tradition. The main idea of the article is that Tishchenko is one of the few in his generation who remained committed to the genre of a large “pure” symphony and succeeded to his genius teacher D. Shostakovich. A special author’s contribution to the development of the topic is a detailed consideration of all symphonic works by Tischenko. Such a research has never been held in the history of Russian music before. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author proves a close connection between Tishchenko’s symphonism with his time and the controversial cultural and social processes suffered by the composers of the sixties.  

BORIS TISHCHENKO. THE TWELVE. CREATION HISTORY AND BASIC COMPOSING PRINCIPLES

The article is devoted to the history of the creation and music score of the ballet Twelve based on the poem by A. Blok by the outstanding Russian composer of the second half of the twentieth century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko. The ballet was staged by the famous Soviet choreographer Leonid Jacobson back in 1964 and became, in fact, the first avant-garde ballet in the Soviet Union. Critics noted Tishchenko’s bright modern symphonic music and Jacobson’s free plastics, which “became a breath of clean air in the rarefied atmosphere of classical epigonism”.

Polystylism in the context of Postmodern Music. Alfred Schnittke’s Concerti Grossi

Abstract One of the multiple orientations of the musical postmodernism is polystylism – a concept used and theorized by the Russian composer and musicologist Alfred Schnittke. He identified its specific techniques in previous academic tradition and organized its principles by writing many essays, papers and by applying these compositional methods in his own work. The approach of polystylism offers the opportunity to observe artistic phenomena in a synthetic perspective and to understand the compositional methods by which tradition is still revalued in some directions of the postmodern period. This paper deals with the problems encountered in the research on this subject, the lack of this term in the dictionaries, the political and cultural context when polystylism was introduced, the tendency to consider unorganized and unoriginal those works based on quotes, previous writing techniques and musical languages, traditional genres or structures and therefore, the perception of some musicians to underestimate Schnittke’s talent and mastery as a composer.

Music for the ballet “The Twelve” by Boris Tishchenko in the context of the revival of Russian symphonic style of the 1960s

The subject of this research is the symphonic works of the prominent Russian composer of the late XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939–2010). The article analyzes the composer's first major ballet based on the poem “The Twelve” by A. Blok, which was requested in 1963 by the outstanding Soviet choreographer L. Yakobson for production design in the Kirovsky Theater in Leningrad. The author examines such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko's innovative role in the revival of Russian symphonic style in the second half the XX century, interrelation between music and poetry in the orchestral compositions of B. Tishchenko, as well as strong influence of the literary concepts upon the development of his symphonic style. Special attention is given to the topic of B. Tishchenko's succession of the great Russian symphonic tradition. The main conclusion lies in the thought that B. Tishchenko's ballet “The Twelve” is the first truly contemporary ballet performance in the Soviet musical theater. The author’s special contribution to this research consists in comprehensive examination of the works of the prominent Russian composer that have not receive due attention of the musicologists. The novelty lies in demonstration of the important role of Boris Tishchenko in the overall process of the revival of the Russian symphonic music of the 1960s on the example of the ballet of his early period. Developing his original artistic concepts, Tishchenko symphonized the ballet performance, paving the way for many Soviet composers in this direction.

Symphonies by B. Tishchenko: in tune with the times, against the troubled times. Part 1

The research subject is the symphonic works of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The article considers his compositions of the 1960s - 1980s: the first six symphonies with numbers and some symphonies with titles. The author studies such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko’s innovatory role in the renovation of Russian symphonic style of the 1960s, the interrelation of music and poetry in Tishchenko’s large orchestra compositions, and the significant influence of literary concepts on the development of his symphonic style. Special attention is given to the issue of Tishchenko taking over from the large Russian symphonic tradition. The main contribution of the research is the idea that Tishchenko is among the few of his generation who held true to the genre of large “pure” symphony, and took over from the symphonic line of his genius teacher D. Shostakovich. The author’s special contribution is the analysis of all symphonic works by B. Tishchenko. Such a detailed study is the first in Russia. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author proves a close connection between Tishchenko’s symphonic style and his epoch, the controversial cultural and social processes suffered by his generation.

AZERBAYCAN BESTECİLERİNİN ESERLERİNDE ETÜD TÜRÜ THE GENRE OF ETUDE IN THE WORKS OF AZERBAIJANI COMPOSERS

The etude genre is one of the examples characterized by the emergence of different types of music that develop at certain stages of musical art. Although the introduction of studies as an independent genre in musical literature dates back to the XVII-XVIII centuries, its main function in the development of piano art was already present in other musical genres. The next stage in the development of the study genre is related to the work of the Romantic Movement representatives F.Chopin, R.Schumann, F.List. The acquisition of new features of the genre is due to the work of Russian composers. Thus, with the increase in the content features of art-concert studies, new features such as programming and integration with other genres were observed in Russian music. Interest in piano in Azerbaijan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries first appeared in aristocratic strata, but gradually spread to a wider area. The development of the art of performing on the piano also influenced the creativity of the composer an gave impetus to the formation of the national repertoire for this instrument. Although the etude genre in the works of Azerbaijani composers is not common in the works of European and Russian composers, there are important examples only in the early stages of the formation of miniatures. Azerbaijani composers E.Nazirova, F.Guliyeva, A.Azizov, A.Abbasov, Niyazi, J.Hajiyev, R.Shafag, Kh.Mirzezadeh and others managed to create interesting examples of this genre. One of the main features of the analysis of Azerbaijani somposers etudes is that these examples are pioneered for educational purposes. For this reason, some of the studies we analyzed (M.Mirzayev, J.Hajiyev etc.) are aimed at the first stage of music education with its small volume and simple structure. Studies of relatively large artistic and technical complexity (E.Nazirova,Niyazi,F.Guliyeva) are suitable for the upper classes of music schools. Although the evolution of the study genre and the features of its various genres are not embodied in these works with the splendour seen in the works of European and Russian composers, Azerbaijan is an interesting example of piano music in its educational repertoire. As a result, we can say that the etude genre is not a special development stage in the works of Azerbaijani composers, but each of the existing examples is important in the formation of the aesthetic tastes of young pianists, musical performances on a national basis, and it is successfully applied in the educational repertoire.

Philosophy of Music in the Mirror of the Contemporary Age. Article 1

The article examines the situation that has developed in the contemporary age and being named differently: postmodernism, post-postmodernism, digital modernism, metamodernism, etc. It is noted that, despite the difference in naming, all the terms indicate a global crisis of culture and man. The three most important signs of this crisis are identified: (1) degradation of a man – the predominance of his animal nature; (2) total technicism; (3) oblivion of national traditions, sacred things. These features are briefly explained. It is concluded that the basis of these signs is the loss of human spirituality. It is stated that music has extraordinary opportunities to elevate the spiritual needs of a person. It is emphasized that these opportunities contributed to the strengthening of the impact of religious practices within various worships – shamanism, Zoroastrianism, Sufism, and others, which ensured the maintenance of the humanity of the world. It is believed that the use of spiritual-creative possibilities of music will help overcome the existing global crisis and prepare the formation of the era of culture and man, the era called a New Humanism by M. Eliade. It is argued that there are composers in Russia and in other countries today who purposefully use the spiritual-creative potential of music in their work to overcome the crisis that has arisen. We offer an interview with one of them – Russian composer Dmitry Stefanovich. In conclusion, it is noted that the following articles will continue to analyze the processes taking place in contemporary culture, and, in this regard, there will be presented stories about music and interviews with composers from Russia and other countries.

Ígor Stravinski en México (1940-1961). Recepción e influencia en los músicos españoles del exilio: el caso de Jesús Bal y Gay

El presente artículo analiza la recepción en México del compositor ruso Ígor Stravinski entre 1940 y 1961, años de su primera y última gira en este país, a partir de su influencia en los músicos exiliados españoles, con especial atención al musicólogo y compositor Jesús Bal y Gay, exiliado en México entre 1938 y 1965. En primer lugar, se examinan las primeras giras mexicanas de Stravinski, y su vínculo con Bal y Gay a partir de los diarios de Vera Stravinski y Robert Craft, entre otras fuentes. En una segunda parte, se analiza la presencia del compositor ruso en los escritos del musicólogo español, valorando el papel de Bal y Gay como difusor de la obra musical y literaria de Stravinski en el ámbito hispanoamericano.

Развитие интереса подростков к отечественной истории на уроках музыки в общеобразовательной школе средствами музыкального искусства

The paper aims to reveal the potential of musical art for developing secondary school pupils’ interest in domestic history. The article examines realization of young peoples’ patriotic education by means of art at music lessons. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that the Russian composers’ works are analysed taking into account their role in developing teenagers’ interest in domestic history. The research findings are as follows: the author compiles a list of musical, pictorial and poetical works recommended for use in musical classes in order to promote pupils’ interest in domestic history.

COMPOSITIONAL-DRAMATIC FEATURES OF THE SONATA FOR OBOE AND PIANO BY F. POULENC

Backround. Chamber instrumental music by F. Poulenс is a bright, original and important part of the composer’s creative heritage. The sonata genre, represented by ten works for different instruments, occupies a special place in it. F. Poulenc’s appealed to it throughout his career, so studying samples of this genre belonging to different periods helps to trace the evolution of F. Poulenc’s compositional style. However, despite the widespread popularity of performers, chamber and instrumental works by F. Poulenс are not sufficiently covered in music studies. The purpose of the article is to reveal the compositional and dramatic features of the Sonata for oboe and piano by F. Poulenс. Results. Some specific techniques characteristic of S. Prokofiev’s works as a sign of respect for the Russian composer are used in the Sonata for the oboe and piano by F. Poulenc. This work has a genre and narrative-psychological program, as evidenced by the names of the movements: “Elegy”, “Scherzo”, and “Sorrow”. The title of the first movement – “Elegy” – means “mourning song” in Greek. This genre is quite common in the works of Russian composers. It seems legitimate that, in devoting his sonata to S. Prokofiev, F. Poulenc gave the first movement a title related to Russian culture. Songful, clear in structure melody is harmonized with the involvement of transitions to the distant keys. The second movement of the Sonata – “Scherzo” – contrasts sharply to Elegy. Exquisite harmonies and complex polyphonic combinations are replaced by monophony. If in the first movement the text of the piano part indicated the use of a soft deep carcass, the second movement applied a sharp, sometimes too rough, martellato. Elegy’s sophisticated agogics are destroyed by “iron” metricity, precision, and regular Scherzo’s accents. The Scherzo genre is interpreted here in a sharp grotesque way. The introduction begins in the dynamics of f and has a rigid rhythm. The parts of both instruments are completely equal. The endsections of Scherzo are steeped with “hypnotic” rhythmic movement. The middle section of the second movement is lyrical. The thematicism of the Scherzo middle section refers to the lyrical pages of S. Prokofiev’s work. The semantic center of the entire sonata for the oboe and piano by F. Poulenс is the third movement – “Sorrow”, which is a kind of musical epitaph. Created shortly before the composer’s death, the sonata can be considered one of thefinal results of his career. Perhaps this is not only a tribute to S. Prokofiev, but also a musical monument to himself. The textual presentation of the third movement is reminiscent of the choral. The melodic basis of the sonata finale is a set of intonations that are associated with spiritual singing of the Orthodox tradition. The main theme is exhibited in piano solo and has a mournful character, almost completely surreal. Conclusions. F. Poulenc’s Oboe and Piano Sonata is a three-movement cycle that has a genre and psychological program, as evidenced by the names of the movements. None of them uses the sonata form itself. All movements have a threesectionreprise structure. This, along with the program, points to the influence of suite logic, which fits into the tendency for the genre to be renewed in the 20th century, including combining the sonata genre with others. Working with different genre models and their hybrids is also a reflection of the neoclassical trends of 20th-century music that have always been inherent in F. Poulenc’s work. Signs of influence of Russian composers – S. Prokofiev, I. Stravinsky, M. Mussorgsky – are manifested not only at the level of thematicism, quotations, intonational allusions, types of texture presentation, but also at the level of dramaturgy. Thus, the interaction of lyrical and grotesque musical images in the second part is reminiscent of the conflict of love and enmity in S. Prokofiev’s ballet “Romeo and Juliet”.

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.

The impact of literature-centric concepts on the development of the symphonic creativeness of Boris Tishchenko in the 1960s

The research subject is the symphonic creativeness of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The author studies his works of the 1960s inspired by classical and modern Russian poetry. The author focuses on such issues as the interrelation between music and poetry in Tishchenko’s orchestra compositions, and the significant influence of literature concepts on the development of his symphonic style. Special attention is given to the four outstanding works of the composer: “The Twelve”, a ballet based on A. Blok’s poem (1963), Symphony No.2 Marina to M. Tsvetaeva’s lyrics (1964), Requiem to the poem by A. Akhmatova, and a dramatic music “The Death of Pushkin” (1967). The author arrives at the conclusion that the most part of Tishchenko’s symphonic creativity was based on his love of literature, words, artistic image begotten by literature and poetry. The author’s special contribution to the research of the topic is a detailed study of large symphonic works by Tishchenko of the 1960s based on poetry. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that literature-centric works by Tishchenko are being for the first time considered in the context of the development of his symphonic creativeness; the article detects a close connection between the author’s style and the composer’s language and the non-music confluence on his creative thinking.   

РАСШИРЕНИЕ КРУГОЗОРА ИНОСТРАННЫХ СТУДЕНТОВ В АСПЕКТЕ СОЦИОКУЛЬТУРНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

The article provides a methodological description of the lesson on the topic "Music and We: Famous Russian Composers" using regional material of a socio-cultural nature. At the beginning of the lesson, a system of goals and objectives is given, aimed at the formation and development of knowledge, abilities and skills. Then the structure of the lesson is given, indicating the test material on the stated topic and comments on each part. The lesson is based on a mini-lecture by the teacher about famous Russian composers (P.I.Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, I.P. Mussorgsky, S.V. Rachmaninov, G.V. composers, fragments of their musical works. The teacher can choose the composer himself, about whose life and work the text will be read. The indispensable condition is the use of regional material. So, in this particular lesson, the author proposes to include information about G.V. Sviridov, who is directly related to the Kursk province, where he was born and received his primary musical education. In addition, folk musical traditions characteristic of this region are reflected in his work. The Kursk School of Music bears the name of the famous Kurian composer. The story about the Kursk composer can be accompanied by a presentation depicting streets, buildings, monuments associated with the name of the composer and familiar to students.

The conceptual role of finals in symphonic cycles by Russian composers of the 1920-s

The conceptual role of finals in symphonic cycles by Russian composers of the 1920-s

Vocal Symphony of Boris Tishchenko

The subject of this research is the monumental vocal-symphonic piece of the prominent Russian composer of the second half of the XX century Boris Tishchenko. His Symphony No.6 s based on the poems by A. Naiman, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam, M. Tsvetaeva and V. Levinzon, completed in 1989, and tribute to Yevgeny Alexandrovich Mravinsky, who passed away a year before. Poetic lines that form the backbone of the symphony contain multiple images resembling death, which imparts a profound meaning, a moment of personal experience in dedication to the prominent conductor. Special attention is given to the symphonic dramaturgy of the Symphony No.6, the problem of interrelation between music and poetry, realization of the complex literary texts in the ultimately modern symphonism of Boris Tishchenko. The conclusion is made that Tishchenko is absolutely seamless in this vocal-symphonic opus and reveres his coauthors. The translates everything into the music, without missing a tiny thing that can reveal its meaning and beauty. At the same time, the circle of poetic images, semantics of the verse were transformed in accordance with his worldview. The novelty is defined by the fact that this article is first in Russian musicology, to comprehensively analyze the Symphony No.6  by Boris Tishchenko, reveal its semantics, and performance difficulties. The author attributes this symphonic composition of Boris Tishchenko to most remarkable in the history of Russian music.

Piano quintet in the work by Russian composers at the close of 18th -the first third of 19th centuries

Piano quintet in the work by Russian composers at the close of 18th -the first third of 19th centuries

Vocal Chamber Music by Russian Composers in I. P. Bogacheva’s Interpretation

Vocal Chamber Music by Russian Composers in I. P. Bogacheva’s Interpretation

ЕВГЕНИЙ ГОЛУБЕВ И НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЕ МУЗЫКАЛЬНЫЕ КУЛЬТУРЫ

The article is devoted to the pedagogical activity of Evgeny Kirillovich Golubev (1910– 1988) — composer, professor of the Moscow State Conservatory, whose 110th birthday was celebrated in 2020. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that for the first time Golubev's contribution to the education of not only Russian composers, but also representatives of different national cultures — Hrant Grigoryan, Kapan Musin, Todor Popov, Andrey Eshpai and others is considered. The questions of the master's compositional pedagogy, which were little studied until now, are touched. The object of the research is Golubev's diary "Alogisms", as well as the memories of his students. The author highlights activities of Golubev's students who connected their creativity with other national cultures. Among them were Valentin Konchakov (1933–1993) who worked in Karelia and contributed greatly to the development of folk art in this republic, and the composer Aida Isakova (1940–2012) who participated in the formation of Kazakh musical culture in Alma-Ata and wrote essays on national themes.

«Русское» в музыке зарубежных композиторов на «русскую тему»

The article poses the question, how the “Russian element” is viewed by composers who belong to other national cultures. We are able to judge about this by a convincing number of works written on the “Russian theme.” The “Russian element” is realized in it by means of finely illuminative subtitles and an arsenal of musical means and techniques. Very diverse approaches to this theme are systematized and combine three “images” of the “Russian element.” In one of them it is interpreted as an appellation of the state (“russky,” i.e. “Russian” in the sense of the nationality is identified with “rossiyskiy,” i.e., “Russian” in the meaning of pertaining to the state), whose referential substance is expressed by the geographic names (Russia, its rivers, regions, capitals and cities), the North as a geographical dislocation, the landmarks of the historical past, the crowned heads and the events of the life of the tsar’s family. Another aspect shows the social and private lives of people (the “Russian element” is transformed into the “ethnographic”), which reveals by endowing musical compositions titles with words from the Russian lexicon, Russian proper names, attributes of everyday life (“sani,” i.e. sleds or “troika,” i.e. three horse carriage), through the sound of Russian songs and folk tunes, dance genres, timbres of national instruments, fragments from works by Russian composers and texts by Russian poets and writers. The third angle of reclamation of the “Russian element” accentuates Orthodox Christianity as the religious constituent of the Russian world (the “Russian element” manifests itself as the “confessional element”). The religious aspect of the Russian element is revealed by the efforts of such masters as Baldassare Galuppi, Caterino Cavos, John Tavener and Arvo Part. An overview of the numerous examples of manifestation of the “Russian theme” by composers from other countries shows the flexibility and the diffuseness of the geographical and the ethnic boundaries of the “Russian element” in their music. Keywords: Russian theme in the music of Baldassare Galuppi, Caterino Cavos, John Tavener, Arvo Part, Russian folksong.