Pietro Antonio Locatelli

Pietro Antonio Locatelli (b. Bergamo, 1695–d. Amsterdam, 1764) was an Italian composer and a virtuoso violinist. He started his career in his hometown, among the violinists of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. In 1711 he moved to Rome, probably to study with Arcangelo Corelli, the maximum musical authority of the time. The severe illness and the death (1713) of the great master frustrated the young violinist’s plans, however. Probably Locatelli had to fall back on Giuseppe Valentini, a virtuoso violinist trained at Corelli’s school. In the meantime, Locatelli worked in many places and institutions. His first employment was with Michelangelo X Caetani, duke of Cisterna and Sermoneta and prince of Caserta; he then performed with the musical chapel of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and Monsignor Camillo Cybo, the latter the dedicatee of Locatelli’s Op. 1. From 1716 to 1722 he was a member of the Congregatione generale dei musici di Santa Cecilia. Locatelli was in Rome until the spring of 1723. He then started a tour that led him to the main European musical centers. In 1723 Locatelli was in Venice, where made the acquaintance of the patrician Girolamo Michiel Lini, Op. 3’s dedicatee. In 1725 he was in Mantua, where was appointed “virtuoso di camera” by Philipp von Hessen-Darmstadt. In 1727 Locatelli left Italy, never to return. He had short stays in Munich (1727), Berlin, Frankfurt, and Kassel (1728). In 1729 he moved to Amsterdam, where remained until his death. There he started to print his nine Opus numbers composed during the years of pilgrimage. Locatelli wrote only instrumental music, in the genres of concerto grosso, violin concerto, violin sonata, and trio sonata. Le Cène, Van der Hoeven, and Covens were the publishers of his orchestral works, while his chamber works were instead published at his own expense. In addition, he gave weekly private concerts, taught a few rich patricians of the city, and traded in prints, books, and musical items. Studies on Locatelli’s time, life, and works are covered in several book-length studies, a complete edition, and numerous articles.

The Composition Model in Music: To the Issue of Evolution of Concept

Понятие композиционной модели как структурносемантического прототипа музыкальной формы развивалось и эволюционировало вместе с понятием композиции как эстетической категории и одной из основополагающих категорий художественного творчества. В роли композиционной модели выступает художественный канон или авторский текст; она задается извне или выстраивается по индивидуально разработанному алгоритму; способом ее представления может быть вербализованная система правил, графическая схема или объективированный в звуковой форме образец. С возрастанием значимости в творческом процессе абстрактно-логического мышления область моделируемого внемузыкального неуклонно расширяется: от следования стратегическим законам ораторской речи - к расчетам на основе математических формул, от «биоморфизма» - к «техноморфизму». В статье рассмотрена эволюция понятия композиционной модели на материале сочинений, принадлежащих разным эпохам и стилям: Токкаты из органного триптиха И. С. Баха BWV 564, органной Сонаты № 6 d-moLL из цикла ор. 65 Ф. Мендельсона, Симфонии in C И. Стравинского, Concerto grosso памяти Веберна Ф. Караева и «VOI(REX)» Ф. Леру. The concept of a composite modeL as a structuraLLy semantic prototype of a musicaL form deveLoped and evoLved aLong with the concept of composition as an aesthetic category and one of the fundamentaL categories of artistic creation. The compositionaL modeL is an artistic canon or author's text, it is given from outside or is buiLt according to an individuaLLy deveLoped algorithm, the way in which it is presented can be a verbatim system of ruLes, a graphicaL diagram or an audibLe specimen. With increasing importance in the creative process of abstract and LogicaL thinking, the area of modeLLed extramusicaL is steadiLy expanding: from foLLowing the strategic Laws of oratory speech to caLcuLating on the basis of mathematicaL formuLae, from “bio-morphism” to “techno-morphism.” The articLe considers the evoLution of the concept of the composition modeL on the materiaL of works beLonging to different epochs and styLes: Toccata from the organ triptych I. S. Bach BWV 564, Sonata 6 d-moLL from op. 65 F. MendeLssohn, Symphony in C I. Stravinsky, Concerto grosso in the memory of Webern F. Karaev and “VOI(REX)” F. Leroux.

Concerto

The term concerto has been applied to music works since the early 16th century, first appearing in treatises almost a century later. Reflecting the sense of two or more forces either contending with or working together with someone (both Latin), or “arrange, agree, get together” (Italian), early concertos combined voices and instruments with no other formal consequences. These characteristics remain with the genre throughout its history. Only with the emergence of the instrumental, non-texted concerto in the late 17th century did structure begin to become an issue. Two important formal trends regarding the concerto dominate the 18th century. The most pervasive overall form is that of three movements, fast-slow-fast. The form of the first movement has attracted the most attention in the literature. Concertos in the first half of the 18th century, emanating from Italy and spreading northward, start with some version of ritornello form, which is also used in arias. In the latter part of the century, first movements increasingly take on the characteristics of sonata form, found in symphonies and sonatas, resulting in first movement concerto form or concerto-sonata form. The actual nature of the merging of the two ideas in any given work remains a vibrant topic. In one sense, the influence of the two forms, ritornello and sonata, has declined since Beethoven, giving way to other compositional concerns, yet the forms can often lurk in the background of the genre. The breadth of works that fall under the descriptive term concerto can be exasperating. Concerto also embraces a number of subgenres. The earliest works are known as vocal concertos or sacred concertos (many of them were sacred pieces), but do not always bear the designation. They are performed in stile concertato, using diverse musical forces. The term remains applicable to certain textures. The concerto grosso, connected with the Baroque, is another subgenre. Yet another subgenre is the symphonie concertante, which emerged in 18th-century France. This subgenre passed in popularity, but the term concertante continues to be applied to the texture. Later developments made use of other textures, though the symphonic concerto, originating in the 19th century, might be seen as derivative of earlier approaches. These styles and textures are major factors in many other works not called concertos, such as variation sets, fantasies, and even symphonies, to name a few.

Popular Music, the Devil, and Aerobics

This chapter advances the argument of Sonic Overload by turning to the interactions between art and popular music in Schnittke’s Symphony No. 1, Requiem (1975), Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977), Piano Concerto (1979), Symphony no. 3 (1976–81), and Faust Cantata (Seid nüchtern und wachet, 1983), as well as several of his film scores. It considers for the first time Schnittke’s ongoing negotiations between high and low across his entire career, giving careful scrutiny to his declaration in the late 1980s that “pop culture is a good disguise for any kind of devilry.” Schnittke’s change of heart, from embracing popular music—and specifically jazz and rock—from the late 1960s through the 1970s, to expressing grave concerns about its effects a decade later, mirrored the sentiments of many. In the turbulent final years of the Soviet Union, rock supplanted poetry as the conscience of the nation yet it still inspired deep anxiety among those embracing traditional Soviet conceptions of being “cultured.” Schnittke’s apprehensions about popular music in the 1980s stemmed from its growing presence in the fragmented late-Soviet soundscape and its growing prestige among newly influential tastemakers, chief among them younger intellectuals and other cultural figures. The elevation of pop music in the USSR (as in the West) expanded a growing generational divide. Schnittke’s own rejection of popular music seems to have been instigated in part by his son, Andrey, who in the early 1980s was a member of the noted Moscow rock group Center (Tsentr), a fact overlooked by previous scholars.

DIALOGUE AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS IN INSTRUMENTAL CONCERTS OF J. HAYDN

In the article, dialogue peculiarities are considered as one of the typical qualities of a classical concert, closely connected with the principles of virtuosity, concertizing and playing. On the example of instrumental concerts of J. Haydn, compositional and dramaturgical functions of the dialogue between orchestra and soloist are studied. They are illuminated through a system of attitudes based on the principles of consent and counteraction. Conflicting relationships between communication participants contribute to the demonstration of several points of view. Thus one can reveal various kinds and signs of dialogues forming the concept of the world of J. Haydn's compositions, which is developed in the process of stylistic exchange — Baroque and Classicism. Signs of typical oppositions in the text models of ancient genres — concerto grosso, trio-sonatas and "wandering" plots with the participation of dialogue structures are observed and described in the composer's instrumental concerts. Different functional relations between the structural-semantic text units, presented as cliched "formulas" of various etymology, through the prism of horizontal (tutti — solo) and vertical (continuo — solo) models, formed in Baroque ensemble music, are considered. Dialogue interactions, successive Baroque, vividly highlight the specificity of the general — classicist and individual — composer's view of the world.

Preludio

This chapter sets in motion the primary themes of the book, tracing briefly Alfred Schnittke’s compositional evolution before the Concerto Grosso no. 1, paying special attention to his Symphony no. 1 (1969–72) and his initial ideas about polystylism, as well as the works immediately preceding the Concerto Grosso no. 1, including the Piano Quintet (1972–76), Hymns (1974–79), Requiem (1975), and Moz-Art (1975–76). It also investigates the genesis, construction, and affect of the Preludio of the Concerto Grosso no. 1, focusing on its initial prepared piano chorale together with its other key motives. The chapter further discusses the interpretations of polystylism and postmodernism by such Russian writers as Svetlana Savenko and Alexander Ivashkin. Finally, the chapter sets in place the justification and format for the remainder of the book.

Alfred Schnittke's Concerto Grosso no. 1

This book provides for the first time an accessible, comprehensive study of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso no. 1 (1977). One of Schnittke’s best-known and most compelling works, the Concerto Grosso no. 1 sounds the surface of late Soviet life, resonating as well with contemporary compositional currents around the world. This innovative monograph builds on existing publications about the Concerto Grosso no. 1 in English, Russian, and German, augmenting and complicating them. It adds new information from underused primary sources, including Schnittke’s unpublished correspondence and his many published interviews. It also engages further with his sketches for the Concerto Grosso no. 1 and contemporary Soviet musical criticism. The result is a more objective, historical appraisal of this rich, multifaceted composition. The Concerto Grosso no. 1 provided a utopian model of the contemporary soundscape. It was a decisive point in Schnittke’s development of the approach he called polystylism, which aimed to contain in a single composition the wide range of contemporary musical styles, including jazz, pop, rock, and serial music. Thanks to it and his other similar compositions, Schnittke became one of the most-performed and most-recorded living composers at the end of the twentieth century. The novel structure of this book engages the Concerto Grosso no. 1 conceptually, historically, musically, and phenomenologically: the six movements of the composition frame the six chapters. The present volume thus provides a holistic accounting of Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso no. 1, its influences, and its impact on subsequent music making in the Soviet Union and worldwide.