Early (Avant-garde) Symphonies by Valentin Silvestrov As a Sound Universe

"In the article under consideration are the ways of symphony genre transformation in the early works of Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine). For the first time, the First, Second, Third, and Fourth symphonies by the genius composers of the 20th century are analyzed as a certain stylistic system. These compositions are endowed with the features of avant-garde poetics, and as a subject of musicological reflection, they are associated with a rethinking of the semantic paradigm of the genre. V. Silvestrov's early symphonies stand out from the classical practice of European symphonies. Scientific awareness of their phenomenal nature necessitated a methodological choice aimed at the most accurate identification of the philosophical concept of the new sound universum of V. Silvestrov's music. Deep correlation of the image of a human being as a factor of the symphony poetics (the influence of philosophical concepts of human ontology in the 20th century with the transformation of the genre canon) is considered. This refers to the nonmusical dimension of the genre semantics. The study of V. Silvestrov's early symphonies reveal a new philosophy of music through gradual movement – modulation: from the neo-baroque First Symphony and ""cosmic pastorals"" Musica Mundana of the Second Symphony through the history anthropologisation in the Third Symphony ""Eschatology"" to the monodrama Musica Humana in the Fourth Symphony. The dichotomy of Musica Mundana – Musica Humana is not accidental: in V. Silvestrov's creative method, remains relevant, which is confirmed by the dramaturgy of his latest work – the Ninth symphony (2019). Keywords: V. Silvestrov's early symphonies, evolution of style, worldview, Musica Mundana, monodrama. "

Tracing Beethoven in Zagreb

Beethoven’s Zagreb and Croatian acquaintances included his aristocratic friends, the two countesses, Ana Barbara Keglevich and Anne Marie Erdődy née Niczky, whom he intented to visit in 1817 in her castle near Zagreb. His other friends, Nanette and J. A. Streicher, were ancestors of today’s Zagreb musicians, and general Greth, husband of Jeannette d’Honrath, played on a private concert there in 1819. Beethoven’s music was performed on the first concert of the Musikverein in Zagreb (today Croatian Music Institute, CMI) in 1827. A representative of the Musikverein was present at the Vienna centenary celebrations of his birth in 1870; interesting material about that is kept in the CMI, together with some early and first editions of Beethoven’s works. The local premiere of the Ninth Symphony took place in 1900, with more than 200 performers. Other notable performances of the work include that conducted by Lorin Maazel (1987), and the project entitled Nine for the Ninth Centenary (1994), which united young musicians in the wartime. Tracing Beethoven in Zagreb also concerns his name, which was written on the walls of the CMI building in 1876, and his impressive bust made in 1939 by Vanja Radauš, kept today in a clinic for otorhinolaryngology.

The Premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Belgrade

The premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, was in 1910. The situation in Belgrade, around 1910 in the field of musical culture, and culture in general, was not so good as in other parts of Europe. In a society with not so many professional musicians, where amateurs were the main carriers of musical life, the young composer and conductor Stanislav Binički, who had come back from his studies in Munich decided to organize with a group of enthusiasts the premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In this article I will represent the musical situation in the capital around 1910 and show what this premiere brought to audiences and musicians in Belgrade.

The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, Its Rich History

Adrienne Rich’s poem “The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven Understood at Last as a Sexual Message” has become a fixture in musicological accounts of Beethoven and the Ninth ever since its introduction to the discipline in an influential essay by Susan McClary. But though Rich’s work has been cited in numerous books and articles in the intervening decades, it has remained yoked to McClary’s text, with critics rarely considering the poem on its own terms. This paper considers what is at stake in our discipline’s reliance on Rich’s “Beethoven” poem. After taking stock of its use at the hands of musicologists since the publication of Feminine Endings, asking to what end authors reference Rich’s work, it returns to the poem in order to stage a more explicit confrontation with its text, reestablish its connections to contemporary discussions of Beethoven and feminism, and consider its significance to musicology.

Komponisten-Gesamtausgaben im digitalen Zeitalter: Perspektiven und Reflexionen am Beispiel Ludwig van Beethovens

In the field of edition philology a diverse range of digital approaches is being put to the test. Taking Ludwig van Beethoven as a basis, this article demonstrates the limits of printed editions and presents preliminary considerations for a genuinely digital edition of his works. Various versions of the Ninth Symphony, the publisher Sigmund Anton Steiner’s publication concept for the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies and Wellingtons Sieg, which incorporated arrangements for highly diverse scorings, as well as the use of single numbers from the opera Fidelio in other music theatre works of the time, all serve as examples. The significance of metatexts and connections in terms of materiality are also discussed. Conceptional principles of such a Digital Beethoven Edition would include an inclusive approach allowing for multiple perspectives, which greatly expands both the number of sources on which an edition is based and the potential for insight, in contrast with traditional editions.

The political implications of Beethoven's music in China, 1949–1959: an examination of the publication and performance of Beethoven's music

PurposeOne of the standard practices of Communist Parties around the world is to employ art, including music, as a channel to spread political ideologies. This study aims to scrutinize the reception of Beethoven's music, particularly from a political viewpoint, by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the early years of its rule, i.e. from 1949–1959. The ambiguity of Beethoven's own political outlook may have provided an opportunity for the CCP to choose the composer and his music in support of its aims.Design/methodology/approachTo understand why and how the CCP could exploit Beethoven and his music to support its political ideologies, a series of Chinese writings on Beethoven between 1949 and 1959 have been studied. Those literatures not only helped the composer gain reputation and popularity in the PRC, but also provided a platform for the CCP to manipulate such candidate and his music. Finally, the reception of the performances of the Ninth Symphony in 1959 in the PRC is singled out for close examination.FindingsDuring the first ten years of the establishment of the PRC, the quantity and quality of the articles on Beethoven expanded considerably. These writings continued to reflect the reception of Beethoven and his music with the addition of political nuances that could be interpreted in the CCP's favour.Originality/valueThis paper seeks to examine the PRC's artistic policies, with a particular emphasis on the reception of Beethoven and western classical music.