Relevance of the study. A new wave of creative interest in the piano transcription combines the constructive and destructive vectors of the development. In the performing sphere the former stimulate the search for original ways of presenting the personal “I”. The destructive influence is connected with the possible hyperbolization of any artistic ideas. The presented problematic situation determines the relevance of the topic of the article: the transcription legacy of the renowned Kharkiv pianist-pedagogue Serhiy Yushkevych still remains little studied in domestic art history.Main objective of the study. The objective of the research is concluded in comprehending the stylistic dominants of S. Yushkevych’s transcriptional approach.Methodology. The research is based on the principles of an integrated approach that motivates appealing to the genre, stylistic, intonation, structural-functional, compositional-dramaturgical and comparative-interpretative methods of analysis. The biographical method is used to provide additional important informational data
Results and conclusions. Transcriptions demonstrate not only the aesthetic preferences and stylistic guidelines of a particular era (according to B. Borodin), but also the individual performing and interpreting tendencies of the transcriptor himself. This allows considering transcriptions as the key to understanding a musician’s artistic credo. S. Yushkevych’s transcriptional interests include the works of composers of the Baroque and Romantic eras, Soviet-era music, and Ukrainian folklore; he is attracted by various samples of orchestral, organ-harpsichord and vocal music. The transcriptions of the “Badinerie” collection can be divided into three groups: 1) ancient music; 2) the compositions which in the original are intended for the voice with accompaniment; 3) Ukrainian music. A significant role in understanding the creative search is played by the interpretation of Yushkevych-pianist.The specificity of the transcriptional style of the Kharkiv maestro lies in the ability to create the “sound op-art” with the help of typical formulas of piano technique (similar to the op-art by V. Vasarely). This is reflected in his own system of means of expression, the specifics of the texture and register distribution of the artistic material, the use of polyphony as a technique of additional ornament, the embodiment of various acoustic effects and more. This creates a different type of the pianosound relief. The stylistic features of S. Yushkevych’s transcript handwriting are: the special register framing of the composition, the multi-layered nature of piano texture, the openness to timbre orchestration, the use of quartet writing peculiarities, the tessitura fragmentation of thematic complex, the intonation-motive detailing of musical fabric and a significant freedom from the author’s remarks. The pianism itself is the main “factor of influence” and is a representative of the individual style.
Ancient Music in the Piano Transcriptions by Serhii Yushkevych