Viennese Classicism Research Articles

Signs of instrumental music of the Classicism era in a Ukrainian choral concert of the second half of the 18th century

The purpose of the research is to highlight the processes of introducing the principles of European instrumental music in the choral works of Ukrainian composers of the second half of the 18th century. The following research methods are used in the work: analysis, comparison, and synthesis. The research uncovered the following: features of the choral concerto as a genre; stages of its design and development in Ukraine; structure of choral concerts; the nature of the reflection of the principles of classicism in the works of Ukrainian composers; the embodiment of the features of the sonata form and cyclic structure inherent in the works of the Viennese classics in Ukrainian choral music (on the example of works by M. Berezovsky and D. Bortnyansky); aspects of the influence of national (folk-song) sources and ancient choral traditions on the genre of the sacred concert in the works of Ukrainian composers.

Formation of the genre of clavier sonata in Austria: sonatas by Leopold Kozeluch (from the music collection of the Razumovskys)

The article examines the period of European culture associated with the formation of the Viennese Classical School in Austria. The transition of music from the baroque to the classical style in the second half of the 18th century was marked by the work of some composers, whose works received various names of stylistic movements, such as “Storm and Wind”, or names specific to the style of orientation of these movements – gallant, sentimental or mixed. A special place in the constellation of composers from this period belongs to Leopold Kozeluch (1747-1818), Czech by origin, who received a selected education in Prague and Vienna, being a student of F. Dušek and A. Salieri. Later, Leopold Kozeluchva occupied a place of honor in Austrian musical culture. Among the numerous works for harpsichord and other instruments signed by Leopold Kozeluch, the Three Sonatas dedicated to Princess Liechtenstein are of particular interest, due not only to the musical material of the sonatas themselves, which reproduce the solemn theme of J. Brahms’ work, but also, directly, to the person to whom they are dedicated – the Princess of Liechtenstein. The Three Sonatas in three movements can form an integral cycle, determined by the internal logic of the unfolding of the events, but they can also be interpreted separately, undoubtedly representing significant individual artistic values.

ПОСЛЕДНЯЯ ФОРТЕПИАННАЯ СОНАТА Ф. ШУБЕРТА: ОБРАЗ ПОГРАНИЧНОГО БЫТИЯ

The article is dedicated to the last piano sonata by Franz Schubert. The Sonata B-flat major is written in the composer’s last year of life. The first great compositor of the era of musical romanticism inherited from the Viennese classics sonata form, principles of musical drama, characteristic features of the polyphonic tissue organization. At the same time, in the sonata he introduces elements of variation development that extensively expand the sonata’s allegro. The song and dance genres characteristic of Schubert’s instrumental music play an important role in the Sonata B-flat major. Multi-genre deepens the figurative sphere, complicates musical dramaturgy. On the border between Viennese classicism and emerging romanticism, there is a particular tension. Here it is possible to cross previously impassable boundaries – tonal, scale, genre and figurative. The presentiments of a near end of life have left their mark on all of Sonata’s music. The world of content is filled with extra-musical meanings, each one becoming a perspective of the theme – a transition from being to being. The first part tells about the life of a lyric hero standing at the last line. The second one is about crossing this boundary, and it’s about an imaginary crossing of a river. The river separates the world of the living from that of the dead. The third part is Skerzo – the ghost world of memories. The finale is dedicated to overcoming the delicate imperative of the minor, searching for a way into the light world, illuminated by the radiant tonality of B-flat major.

Post-Avant-Garde and German Neo-Baroque of the 21st Century

The purpose of this work is to identify stylistic clarifications regarding such an all-encompassing and extremely influential direction from the last century as neo-baroque, which was perceived as an offshoot of the overall neoclassicism of the 20th century, taking into account the post-avant-garde contribution from the 1970s and the post-post-avant-garde ("neo-post-avant-garde") addition from 2010s – in the conditions of the German music world. The latter has held basic positions in art music since the times of the Viennese classicism, significantly supplying the repertoire of performance even today. The methodological basis of the study is the intonation approach, as it was noted in the works of B. Asafiev's followers in Ukraine (see the publications of D. Androsova, O. Markova, O. Muravska, and others), as well as based on the development of instrumental performance of the Odesa school (works by Z. Bupkatskyi, K. Muhlberg, other scholars). The scientific novelty of the work is noted due to the originality of the presentation of the meaning of the stylistic diffusions of instrumental art from the 20th to the 21st centuries, which made it possible to revive in the performance of works that bypassed artistry in favour of either church aestheticism of expression or frankly traditionalist thinking, which was not associated with ideas about the stylistic dynamism of German music of the last two centuries. Conclusions. The neo-baroque stylistic eclecticism of German art from the 20th century was based on the contributions of the stylistic extremism of P. Hindemith, which bypassed the "soft" detections in the works of A. Zemlinsky, Z. Wagner, F. Schmidt, and more, leading to the "neo-Schubertianism" of V. Rimm, which became the recognised leader of the German musical world at the break of the post-avant-garde and post-post-avant-garde heritages. Performance practice, performing the works of German post-avant-garde composers at the level of B. Zimmerman, J. Widman, A. Raiman, and other masters, organically combined it with the revival of the legacy of A. Zemlinsky, F. Schreker, Z. Wagner, F. Schmidt, as well as composers of the Baroque era – J. Molter, H. Telemann, and so on, whose thinking did not coincide with the criteria of the author's work of the New Age, but corresponded to the neo-baroque filling of the post-avant-garde with compositions marked by church aestheticism in bypassing the criterion of artistry, which we denote by the term "post-avant-garde neo-baroque" in music.
 Keywords: baroque, neo-baroque of the 20th century, neoclassicism, post-avant-garde neo-baroque, German style in music, style of the era, post-avant-garde.

A Performance Interpretation of the Viennese Classics by the Example of Fantasia for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C Minor, Op. 80 by Ludwig van Beethoven

"The relevance of the study is determined by the need to cover the significance, uniqueness and means of performance of one of the masterpieces of the Viennese Classical School — Fantasia in c minor, op. 80 for mixed choir, piano and orchestra by Beethoven. The aim of this publication was to study the problems of performance interpretation of the legacy of the Viennese Classical School using the example of L. Beethoven’s Fantasia for piano, soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra. Research methods were: creation of an information background; comparative analysis and structuring of information; identification of the categories that make the basis of the problem; generalization of obtained data. The materials based on audio and video recordings of the work by prominent representatives of the performing arts were used. The literature on the stylistic and compositional atmosphere of the era of Viennese classicism, as well as on features of the genres of the work was also used. The results of the study revealed the interrelationship of all components of the problem being studied. They evidenced the inseparability of such elements as genre, musical form, instrumentation, manner of performance, a certain historical period, as well as the stylistic orientation prevailing within it. Its main categories were identified while studying the chosen topic, as well as their dependency on the temporal, stylistic, individual, and psychological (performers’ personalities) context was established. These facts became a theoretical and methodological contribution to art science, history of performance, as well as music pedagogy. As a conclusion of the study on performing interpretation of the Viennese classics using the example of Fantasia by Beethoven, its genre stylistic and compositional technical universality was determined; the process during which the piano becomes a solo concert instrument; the role of improvisation in the large-scale synthetic genre; development of a single performance concept by the conductor, pianist and choirmaster, diversity of artistic and psychological types of performance while preserving the main author’s idea. The research of this topic has wide prospects in the future, thanks to its volume, multi-vector nature, connection with a wide range of musical subjects, and sensitivity to individual styles of interpretation in the context of different epochs. This is emphasized by the value of classical heritage, the need to preserve and popularize it. Keywords: performance interpretation, genre uniqueness; author’s performance; improvisation; synthesis of musical forms; solo concert instrument."

The correlation of the voice and the piano parts in the vocal music of Schubert’s predecessors

This article analyzes the historical and cultural background of F. Schubert’s achievements in the field of chamber vocal music, in particular, in correlation with the vocal and piano parts. We are talking about the fact that the basis of Schubert’s Lied are the traditions of German and Austrian folk songs, the work of minnesingers, meistersingers, predecessor composers. Reliance on folklore determines the intonation, the rhythmic and structural patterns of Schubert’s songs. The influence of the masters of minnesang and meistersang is felt in the harmony and composition logic of the Austrian genius. The legacy of Mozart and Beethoven is especially close to the romantic achievements of Schubert. In the chamber-vocal music of these Viennese classics are used different types of correlation between the vocal and instrumental music scores: accompaniment prevails according to the principles of the general bass, but there are already some examples of relative independence of the music score ensemble. There appear instrumental introductions, conclusions, interludes. The texture of the piano part is diversified according to the types of presentation, and contains an imitation of the sounds of nature.

Un Beethoven ibérico: Dos siglos de transferencia cultural ed. by Teresa Cascudo García-Villaraco

Reviewed by: Un Beethoven ibérico: Dos siglos de transferencia cultural ed. by Teresa Cascudo García-Villaraco Walter Aaron Clark Un Beethoven ibérico: Dos siglos de transferencia cultural. Edited by Teresa Cascudo García-Villaraco. (Comares música.) Granada: Comares, 2021. [xi, 397 p. ISBN 9748413690520 (paperback), €33.] Music examples, illustrations, tables, bibliography. Ludwig van Beethoven's legacy is not one that we associate with Spain. At least it is not immediately apparent what sort of influence he and his music might have exercised on Spanish composers, concert artists, and audiences. We associate Beethoven with the genre of the symphony, but symphonic organizations were slow to develop in Spain during the 1800s, and Beethoven's symphonies only gradually gained traction with concert audiences there. And Spanish composers themselves never cultivated the symphony with any notable results. True, they composed an abundance of orchestral music, especially tone poems, ballets, and concertos, many of which have found a secure niche in the canonical repertoire. But one strains to think of a single Spanish symphony that has achieved the stature of Isaac Albéniz's Catalonia, Manuel de Falla's Three-Cornered Hat, or Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. For whatever reason, Spanish composers were simply not drawn to the musical abstractions of the symphony—which is not to say they never composed them. Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga (1806–1826) was a young composer whose promising career as a symphonist was cut short by a premature demise. And though they are far better known for their zarzuelas and operas, both Tomás Bretón and Ruperto Chapí essayed symphonic works. Joaquín Turina's Sinfonia sevillana (1920) also comes to mind, though it may be the exception that proves the rule, since it is as much a three-movement tone poem as it is a symphony. And yet it should not come as a complete surprise that the Iberian penetration of the Austro-Germanic heritage of which Beethoven was the crowning glory is on full display here. Joseph Haydn was hugely popular in Spain, and his Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze was an orchestral work commissioned by the city of Cadiz in 1786. And in the late nineteenth century, Richard Wagner's operas and operatic philosophies were adopted and adapted by many admirers, including Felipe Pedrell, Albéniz, and Enrique Granados, among others. To be sure, this heritage was not confined to symphonies and operas. As this volume makes perfectly clear, the impact of Beethoven's chamber music and piano sonatas was immense, felt first within the salons of the elite before it made its way to concert venues populated by a growing middle class. Thus, Beethoven, a larger-than-life symbol of Viennese classicism and incipient romanticism, is not out of place in Iberian music history, and it was about time that someone undertook to examine his undoubted impact in both Spain and Portugal. That someone is Teresa Cascudo García-Villaraco, a leading musicologist in Spain and professor at the Universidad de La Rioja in Logroño. She assembled a dream team of scholars for this trailblazing collection of essays, which will be of great interest and value not only to Hispanists but also to anyone interested in the global scope of Beethoven interpretation and reception. The editor's insightful introduction concerns issues of reception, discourses, and canonicity relative to Beethoven. As she astutely points out, "Almost two centuries after his death, Beethoven is today the most-programmed composer, an icon of practices associated with 'classical music' and one that constitutes a model for certain attitudes and behaviors, an example of an idea of emancipated humanity that was defined at the end of the eighteenth century" (p. 1, my trans.). She then establishes the necessary tenor and parameters for the volume, which offers a generous collection of twenty essays, divided into nine major parts, by twenty-five scholars. This collection is the outgrowth of a 2020 [End Page 393] conference dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth and organized by the "Música y Prensa" group of the Sociedad Española de Musicología. Yet, as the editor advises, these...

Muzyka wielogłosowa w katedrze gnieźnieńskiej

The article presents a cross-sectional view of musical activity in Gniezno Cathedral from the 16th century to the present day. It attempts to summarize the various polyphonic compositions performed there over the centuries. The development of polyphonic music contributed greatly to the displacement of Gregorian chant, cultivated in the cathedral church since the dawn of time. Musical direction was always given by moderators, who were successive Kapellmeisters, later called directors of music and then directors of the cathedral choir. Some of them, being composers, also provided the musicians with their own works. The vocal and instrumental repertoire represents a variety of musical styles, ranging from religious polyphony to the Viennese classics, the Romantics and contemporary works. Its selection was always determined by the ensemble’s performance capabilities.

The Origin of the Concept of Style in European Musical Thinking

"Essentially, the emergence of the concept of style in European musical thinking is the consequence of the shift produced at the end of the Renaissance. The trend towards the simplification of language and musical expression and the subordination of both to the notional-poetic discourse determines the unimaginable: the hegemony of rhetoric and, implicitly, of style as a rhetorical sub-category having the function of organizing and controlling musical suggestiveness – the taxonomy of musically expressible emotions. It is also during the period of the musical Baroque that the practical insertion of the concept of style begins by cohabiting with the idea of genre in all its three forms: as a specific habitat for the performance of the musical act, as a composition coefficient and equally as a type of ethos. This confusion will persist for the entire period of use of the concept of style, which gradually fades as the insertion of postmodernism gathers momentum. As a tool for functional and semantic dislocation, style also acts in relation to the term canon, the only value reference until the shift from the mathematical-cosmic quadrivium to the discursive-philological trivium (the Del Bene moment, 1586). Apart from taking over the attributions from the concept of genre, style also claims the function of canon as the exclusive value reference. Starting with the Baroque, we already speak of the stylistic canon. The complete absorption of the canonical function by style takes place during the Viennese Classicism, when style becomes a personalizing-biological reference, attached to the musical thinking of a prominent personality (Wilhelm von Lenz, Beethoven et ses trois styles, 1855). Musical Romanticism raises the understanding of style to the level of an almost absolute exclusivity, on a par with the transcendentalism displayed by the genius-musician (the Liszt-Wagner paradigm). The dissipation of Romanticism determines the return to the identification through ethos: verism, expressionism, impressionism-symbolism and naturalism, so that it is only during the first musical modernism (1900-1914) that we witness the return to the purely technical Renaissance acceptance: the atonal style, during the second modernism (1918-1939) – the dodecaphonic style, the serial style, and further, during the third modernism (1946-1968) – the style of stochastic music, the style of aleatoric music, the minimalist style etc. The uselessness of the concept of style as a procedure of identification through differentiation (Boris Asafiev) and obviously as a meta-narrative is already revealed in musical postmodernism, with all the three anti-metanarrative “ideologies” of postmodernism: the ideology of distrust, the ideology of the fragment and the ideology of recovery. Keywords: history of style, stylistic canon, style as a genre, style as a metanarrative, liberation from style "

Instrumental Music in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples: Politics, Patronage and Artistic Culture, by Anthony R. DelDonna

<i>Instrumental Music in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples: Politics, Patronage and Artistic Culture</i>, by Anthony R. DelDonna

Beethoven and Bohemia: Dramaturgical and Political Aspects of ‘Fidelio’ Reception in Prague

ABSTRACT In 1977 the Czech musicologist Oldřich Pulkert discovered a manuscript score of Beethoven’s 1806 Leonore, the second version of what became Fidelio in 1814. The score’s pre-1977 history is mysterious, with the exception of 1870, when Bedřich Smetana clearly used it for a production of the 1814 Fidelio in Czech. Pulkert and Helga Lühning assumed, based on questionable evidence about early nineteenth-century plans for a Prague production of the 1806 Leonore under Beethoven’s supervision, that the score reached Bohemia around 1807. This article uses previously overlooked archival documents to show that the score may have been brought to Prague only in the late 1860s, possibly from Leipzig, and that nineteenth-century Prague theatres never performed the 1806 Leonore. The narratives Pulkert and others produced about the score’s history also illustrate the politicization of Viennese classicism in post-Second World War Czech musicology, especially the widespread view that Bohemia had a unique relationship to Mozart and Beethoven.

To hear anew .... Contemporary composers and the repertoire of the Viennese classics

To hear anew .... Contemporary composers and the repertoire of the Viennese classics

Innovations of Presentation in Antonio Vivaldi’s Concertos and Their Impact on the Development of the Orchestra

Transformation of the presentation in Vivaldi’s instrumental concertos is considered in this paper. It is noted that the Corellian model of the concerto (concerto grosso, changeable number of movements, variety of tempos, thematic unity of tutti and solo episodes, trio-sonata-like instrumentation of the concertino) becomes the basis for Vivaldi’s modifications. His model is based on a solo concerto prevalation, a fast — slow — fast three-movements structure, ritornello musical form in the outer movements and the motivic mosaic of the first tutti. The significance of these transformations gives grounds to define them as a paradigmatic shift in the evolution of the genre. It is emphasized that these changes would be impossible without reviewing of the presentation in the orchestra. Innovations concern the ways of highlighting a soloist, the use of inexact (background-ornamental) doubling, activation of the internal orchestral soloists (especially in concertos for a wind instrument), increasing the significance of alternations, intensification of timbral, register, textural, dynamic, and thematic contrasts, changes in the orchestra’s composition (the double bass), and expansion of a palette of soloing instruments. It is pointed out that all these modifications had a strong impact on the development of the orchestra. First, the rise of wind instruments and reinforcement of expression in their parts resulted in the diversification of the orchestral sound: probably, we would not have heard the Mannheim Orchestra without Vivaldi’s concertos. Secondly, the dominance of the homophonic texture formed a proper basis for internal orchestral soloing and increased the relevance of a particular timbre color. Third, the standardization of a four-parts string section formed the basis for further changes of the orchestra. Fourth, the use of such orchestral techniques as the pedal (the future substitute for the basso continuo in the orchestra of Viennese classics), background-ornamental doublings, unison texture, etc. reflected in ways of musical material presentation in all orchestral genres. Everything convinces that the interdependence between the evolution of the instrumental concerto and the transformations of the orchestra is evident and strong.

Synchrony in the periphery: inter-subject correlation of physiological responses during live music concerts

While there is an increasing shift in cognitive science to study perception of naturalistic stimuli, this study extends this goal to naturalistic contexts by assessing physiological synchrony across audience members in a concert setting. Cardiorespiratory, skin conductance, and facial muscle responses were measured from participants attending live string quintet performances of full-length works from Viennese Classical, Contemporary, and Romantic styles. The concert was repeated on three consecutive days with different audiences. Using inter-subject correlation (ISC) to identify reliable responses to music, we found that highly correlated responses depicted typical signatures of physiological arousal. By relating physiological ISC to quantitative values of music features, logistic regressions revealed that high physiological synchrony was consistently predicted by faster tempi (which had higher ratings of arousing emotions and engagement), but only in Classical and Romantic styles (rated as familiar) and not the Contemporary style (rated as unfamiliar). Additionally, highly synchronised responses across all three concert audiences occurred during important structural moments in the music—identified using music theoretical analysis—namely at transitional passages, boundaries, and phrase repetitions. Overall, our results show that specific music features induce similar physiological responses across audience members in a concert context, which are linked to arousal, engagement, and familiarity.

INTERPRETATION PECULIARITIES OF THE CAPRICE GENRE IN F. MENDELSSOHN’S PIANO CREATIVITY

Statement of the problem. The centuries-old development of the genre of piano caprice (capriccio), which led to its flourishing in the work of romantic composers, is considered as an integral part of the genre system in Western European piano music. Insufficient study of Mendelssohn’s piano works, in particular caprices, determines the relevance of the research. The purpose of the article is to generalize stylistic qualities of the composer’s piano caprices in the context of genre evolution and their performance features. Analysis of research and publications. The genre of caprice is studied in the historical research of T. Livanova (1983), who equates the form of fantasy and capriccio-ricercare. V. Protopopov (1979) reveals the connection between fantasycapriccio and fugue in the early 17th century. K. Agisheva (2007) examines the historical aspects of the study of the capriccio genre. Modern Western European researchers, analyzing the genre of piano caprice, emphasize that its musical texture is filled with elements of vocal lyrics and mood swings (Lewandowski, 2017; Keym, 2009). At the same time, the issues of performance features remain unclear. Methods. Complex methodological approach applied in the article (historical, genre, structural-functional, performаnce research methods) allows us to trace the development of caprice from the Baroque era to Romanticism and conduct an intonational-dramatic analysis of Mendelssohn’s works in accordance with the following criteria: musical form (dramaturgy), textural presentation, thematic development, tempo-rhythmic characteristics, nature of thematism. Analysis of recent research and publications. Baroque caprice is a work of polyphonic composition and improvisational construction (J. S.Bach, G.F. Handel, I. Sweelink, J. Frescobaldi). In the era of Viennese Classicism, caprice was not very popular due to its improvisational, bizarre nature, contradicting to the aesthetic ideals of the time. The genre of piano caprice became widespread in the era of Romanticism in the works of F. Mendelssohn, whose distinguished style is marked by virtuosity, melody, grace, sentimentality, clarity of presentation. Among the works of F. Mendelssohn there are seven caprices for solo piano and with orchestra. The intonational-dramatic analysis of Mendelssohn’s piano caprices makes it possible to trace the main stylistic qualities of the genre and to reveal its performance features. Conclusions. The work outlines the stylistic traits of Mendelssohn’s piano caprices ассording to such parameters: – compositional structure of his piano caprices is a one-movement composition or a cyclic one, composed of two or three movements; – texture of the music is determined by polyphonic orchestral elements and broad cantilena themes; – thematic development is based on repetition, variability or variation; – tempo-rhythm is characterized by three-beat pulsation, syncopation of rhythm, sharp accentuation; – thematicism is determined by synthesis of lyrical and decisively acting images inherent in the style of Mendelssohn. Hence, the main task for the performer is clarity, expressive intonation of the melody in combination with a “pearl” light touch and energetic dynamic tempo rhythm.

К вопросу о специфике исполнения-интонирования фортепианной музыки венских классиков

The purpose of the study is to identify the intonation and stylistic specifics of the performance-intonation of piano music of the Viennese classicism period. The relevance of the research is based on the existing need for the preservation, study and continuity of traditions, as well as the search for innovative technologies for mastering the musical and pedagogical repertoire of classical music. The research methodology is based on the results of experimental work on the research topic; systematization of scientific-pedagogical and scientific-theoretical knowledge in the field of education of piano performance culture-intonation of classical piano music. The scientific novelty lies in the systematization of ideas about the musical art and pedagogy of music education of the classical era, the specifics of piano performance-the intonation of classical music. As a result of the undertaken research, a method of educating the culture of piano performance-intonation of piano works by composers of the Vienna classical school-has been developed. It is concluded that the education of the culture of piano performance-intonation of classical piano works is impossible without a thorough knowledge of the specifics of the expressive means used by classical composers, intonation and stylistic features of classical music performance, technologies of performance culture-intonation of classical music. The results obtained can be used in the professional activity of a teacher-musician.

Beethoven “in drei Charakterbildern:” Three Beethoven Images from the Interwar Hungary

In my study, I show how three different figures of the interwar Hungary saw Beethoven. The first of them, Dénes Bartha (1908–1993), was a musicologist and became an international specialist of Viennese Classicism. In the context of contemporary Hungarian literature, his first Beethoven monograph (1939) represents an emphatically anti-Romantic attitude. In the second part, I examine the popular image of the composer, on the basis of the planned operetta Beethoven (1929–1931) by Zsolt Harsányi, an author of popular biographical novels, and Mihály Nádor (1882–1944), a successful operetta composer. This piece follows the example of Das Dreimäderlhaus, and its music was compiled from Beethoven’s melodies by Nádor. In the third part I examine an essay about Beethoven by an important musician of the period, Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960), who was, according to Bartók, a leading Beethoven performer of his age. Although the text of his “Romanticism in Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas” was written during his émigré years (draft: 1948, revision: 1955), it summarizes well what the leading figure of the interwar Budapest musical life might have thought about Beethoven’s music.

PIANO QUARTETS OF L. BEETHOVEN: MOZART’S PROTOTYPES AND AUTHOR’S INITIO

Background. The article provides an analysis of L. Beethoven’s piano quartets through the prism of the ensemble writing and composition experience by W. A. Mozart. The disclosure of the successive ties between the two great Viennese classics in the field of chamber instrumental music contributes to the scientific understanding of the history of this genre, which is not sufficiently covered in musicology. The analysis revealed that the four piano quartets of L. Beethoven are focused on Mozart’s prototypes, or rather, on sonatas for violin and piano. It was found that the formative principles of Beethoven’s piano quartets grow from the above-mentioned compositions by W. A. Mozart, but the content and the ensemble-dramatic solution reflect the independence and originality of the young composer’s thinking, revealing the sprouts of a future mature style. The purpose of this article is to disclose the ways of rethinking the prototypes of Mozart in the piano quartets of L. Beethoven. The piano quartets of the latter serve as the musical material of the article: No. 1 Es-dur, No. 2 D-dur, No. 3 C-dur WoO 36, and No. 4 Es-dur op. 16. Results. L. Beethoven changes the algorithm of ensemble events contained in Mozart’s opuses, where the theme is presented in turn by piano, violin, followed by the conversation of the two. The composer immediately includes all members of the quartet in the presentation of the leading material, which specifies this genre, revealing its “intermediateness” between the intimacy of the trio and the “representativeness” of the concerto. Since the genetic origins of the genre of the piano quartet are the trio sonata, the string quartet and the clavier concerto with the accompaniment of a string ensemble, these genres influenced the type of Beethoven’s piano quartets. Thus, Beethoven’s Bonn quartets resemble in their writing a string quartet; and the piano quartet Es-dur op. 16 resembles a clavier concerto with orchestra. These compositions are related to the first of the above mentioned prototypes by the consistent application of the trio principle, which is expressed in various combinations of ensemble voices. In the timbre refraction, the trio-principle underlies the pairing of stringed instruments, where the bowed instruments form a strictly homophonic vertical with the traditional functional relationship according to the “upper voice &amp;#8210; bass &amp;#8210; middle” model. Another dimension of the trio principle arises when one of the string parts of the piano is displaced, as a result of which a multi-timbre sound field is formed. There is an obvious desire of the composer for the equality of four voices in the piano quartet. At the same time, the timbre uniqueness of the piano and the virtuosity of its part make it possible to recognize in it the leader of the ensemble union. Conclusion. The leading role of the piano in L. Beethoven’s piano quartets brings this genre closer to a piano concerto. At the same time, the piano has a variety of role functions: it can act as an equal partner, being one of the voices of the quartet score; as a concert instrument demonstrating its virtuoso capabilities; as a leader of an ensemble, a kind of conductor, giving impetus to performance, initiative in ensemble play. Similar functions can be observed in W. A. Mozart’s sonatas for violin and piano, which L. Beethoven was guided by.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? or about The Sense of Cultural Nostalgia

"The evolution of the European musical culture took place in a flagrant contradiction with the traditional image of a simple succession of stylistic stages. Even if the linearity of the consecution of Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Viennese Classicism, Romanticism, Modernism and Postmodernism is only too obvious, the nature and logic of the transformations are related to the determining referentiality of the syncretic principle. But, unlike the Enlightenment conception of linear progress, applicable rather to the technological and, in general, scientific thinking, musical art has evolved in mirror symmetry to a cultural history that was separated into two great “ages”, following Eliade's idea of the sacred-profane dichotomy. Around the year 1600, the order of the constituents of the syncretic principle, which are three in number: the Sacred (the tribal societies), the mythological (the Greek and Roman Antiquities) and the ritualistic (the Middle Ages and the Renaissance), was reversed – the ritualistic and the mythological (the Baroque, the Viennese classicism and Romanticism) and the Sacred (the first modernism). In postmodernity, the syncretic principle itself is “recycled” and thus the cycle of cultural evolution closes by returning (in an obviously distorted manner) to the original principle. Keywords: syncretism, Sacred, mythological, ritualistic, three modernisms and three modernities."

CREATIVE WORK OF THE EARLY VIENNESE CLASSICS IN HISTORICAL RETROSPECTIVE

The purpose of the research is to analyze the achievements of early Viennese classics through the historical prism of Empress Maria-Theresa's reign, who was the promoter and financed the musical culture in her country. The methodology of the research is based on the use of historical, source, musicological, culturological approaches, which allowed to analyze the activities of the Habsburg era musicians, who created the basis for the emergence of Viennese musical Classicism. The scientific novelty consists in the formulation of the mentioned research vector and the research material systematization of that historical epoch, which concerns the analysis of the works of early Viennese royal court composers and performers, who are little known to the general public. The Conclusions. Thus, there were significant reform changes in the cultural, socio-state and religious life of the Austrian Empire during the reign of Empress Maria-Theresa (1740 – 1780). The musical life of Vienna was characterized by the intensity and developed forms of music and concert practice. Old Viennese musicians of Maria-Theresa era created a favourable foundation for the activities of Viennese musical classics, laying the foundations in all areas of the artistic process – composer's creative work, performing practice, pedagogue's practice, music education infrastructure and concert entertainment institutions. Among the galaxy of contemporary composers-performers stood out the figures of G. K. Wagenzail, G. Reuter, M. G. Monn, J. Starzer and J. K. Manna, who were united by a common geographical location (the city of Vienna) and the same period of time (the reign of Maria-Theresa), which coincided with the peak of their creative activity. According to E. Braudo, each of the representatives of Old Viennese school individually “strengthened the foundations of the new instrumental style, both in symphonic and instrumental music” (E. Braudo).