The Visual Listening Guide

This chapter is a systematic examination of the Visual Listening Guide, a new type of printed graphic guide to facilitate active listening and understanding of orchestral works. Created by musicologist Hannah Chan-Hartley, the Visual Listening Guide is the first of its kind to appear in a concert program book, for use during a live performance. This chapter describes the development and creation of the Guide’s distinctive design. An analysis of its elements reveals how the Guide aims to show the structure of a symphonic work, acting like a map to it, indicating important sonic landmarks and other features. It also reviews the reception of the Visual Listening Guide following its first phase of use by concert-goers from 2015 to 2020, and considers the efficacy and potential of graphic guides to communicate about Western classical music to the broad public, helping organizations foster audience engagement and appreciation.

Dohnányi's Orchestrations of Schubert's Fantasy in F Minor and the Moments musicaux Piano Cycle

Ernst von Dohnányi's brilliant instrumentation skills were already recognized by his contemporaries. His former disciple and first monographer Bálint Vázsonyi published an anecdote, according to which Béla Bartók considered the orchestral version of Ruralia hungarica (op. 32) as the first truly “orchestrated” Hungarian symphonic work. Nevertheless, neither Dohnányi's own orchestration practices nor the transcriptions he prepared for symphony orchestra from the works of other composers have been studied. This paper examines two of these orchestrations, made in 1928 on the occasion of the Schubert Centenary – Dohnányi's orchestral transcriptions of the Fantasy in F Minor, originally written for piano four hands, and the piano cycle Moments musicaux – both being virtually unknown to the public. The analysis also provides an insight into Dohnányi's interpretation of Schubert, including his approach to the Austrian composer.

PRINCIPLES OF ORCHESTRAL STYLE IN SYMPHONIC FRESCOES “TARAS BULBA” BY SERHIY TURNIEIEV

Statement of the problem. The works of Serhii Petrovich Turnieiev – Honoured Artist, composer, professor – have made a significant contribution to the musical culture of Ukraine. His creativity attracts the attention of musicologists from different generations and needs more extensive study. The novelty of the research. The article makes up for the shortage of scientific works covering the orchestral style of S. Turnieiev in connection with his compositional thinking. The work highlights the leading role of orchestration – an important expressive and logical-constructive tool in the music of the twentieth century – in organizing the artistic integrity of the Symphonic Frescoes “Taras Bulba”. Literature review. The theoretical basis of the article is the work on the study of orchestration and orchestral style (Kars, 1990; Blagodatov, 1963; Shabunova, 2008; Korobetskaya, 2011, Halmrast, 2000; Hundsnes, 2010;. McAdams 2019; Monel, 2012; Otto, 1983; Rakochi, 2020; Urniecius, 2018; Wallmark, 2019). In addition, the paper refers to the articles defining the term “Symphonic frescoes” (Tikha, 2009; Tishchik, 2019; Belova, 2020). The aim of the article is to study Symphonic Frescoes “Taras Bulba” by S. Turnieiev from the standpoint of orchestral style. The article uses analytical, genre, style, historical, structural-functional, comparative, systematic generalization methods of research. Results and conclusions. The orchestration of Symphonic Frescoes “Taras Bulba” by S. Turnieiev is characterized by: 1) a variety of orchestral texture as a supplier of semantics, which gives the orchestration semantic and logical-constructive functions in organizing a large-scale work; 2) a combination of functional and coloristic orchestration; 3) orchestral flavor, sound, picturesqueness; 4) large strokes, avoidance of details, which is motivated by the genre of the work. The orchestration analysis of S. Turnieiev’s large-scale symphonic work “Taras Bulba” made it possible to draw the following conclusions regarding his orchestral style: 1) the composer’s orchestration is determined by the principles of his compositional thinking and aesthetic ideas; 2) the orchestration of the work is influenced by the genre of the work and the individual genre decision; 3) the composer chooses the orchestral ensemble сonsidering the practicality of the performance and the concept of the work; 4) there is an interpenetration of functional and coloristic orchestration in accordance with synthetic composer’s thinking. The composer operates with different types of texture, which has an important form-making and dramatic role, and applies traditional and innovative techniques.

Novel trends in the symphonic work of Soviet composers of the 1960s and B. Tishchenko's Symphony No.3. Part 1

The subject of this research is the period of Russian symphonic music of the 1960s – a new generation of composers, the “Sixtiers”, who brought remarkable artistic achievements and modern musical language. The author dwells on several key symphonic works by R. Shchedrin, S. Slonimsky, E. Denisov, Y. Falik, A. Schnittke, N. Karetnikov, and L. Prigozhin, who made an immense contribution to the revival of the Russian music culture. Special attention is given to Boris Tishchenko’s Symphony No.3, which encompasses the key trends of modern music into its stylistic orbit and opened new musical horizons. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that this article is first to examine the outstanding composition Symphony No.3 by B. Tishchenko in the context of stylistic and linguistic novelties of the 1960s. Detailed analysis is conducted on the role and place of the youngest out of the “Sixtiers” – the prominent Russian symphonist of the XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939–2010) – in the struggle for “new music”. The conclusion is made that Tishchenko became one of the leaders in the revival of the Russian symphonic style of the late XX century, and his Symphony No.3 fully reflected the rigorous pursuits of the entire generation of Soviet composers.

Symphonic Creative Activity of Rufat Ramazanov

The article analyzes several works related to the symphonic work of Rufat Ramazanov, a middle-aged representative of the modern Azerbaijani school of composition. The article also examines Ramazanov’s symphonic works against the background of the development of Azerbaijani music culture and examines his symphonic works in terms of genre diversity. Also, the article considers the characteristics of music and harmonic language in the symphonic works of the composer, the methods of using orchestration. The article emphasizes the unique stylistic features of Rufat Ramazanov’s symphonic works, their connection with folk art, and his tendency to modernize within the traditions. The purpose of the research is to analyze certain symphonic works of Rufat Ramazanov and to study the individual stylistic features of the composer. The main touches are the emergence of the characteristic features of the composer’s symphonic work and the discovery of its connection with modern Azerbaijani music culture. The basis of the research is the involvement in detailed scientific research of several valuable symphonic works of R. Ramazanov, a worthy representative of the modern generation of Azerbaijani composers, which have not been subjected to scientific and theoretical analysis. From this point of view, the research is based on the method of complex theoretical analysis. The research methodology is based on music-analytical, theoretical, and historical analysis. It was noted that the composer’s work has undergone stylistic changes in the process of development, and modern technical methods have uniquely manifested themselves. At the same time, based on the scientific-theoretical principles and research of Azerbaijani and foreign musicologists, the article forms the methodological basis. The scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time as special research work, the article is devoted to the symphonic work of R. Ramazanov, a representative of the modern school of the composition of Azerbaijan, and the study of general creative features associated with it. The presented article for the first time scientifically analyzes the symphonic works of R. Ramazanov, which are important in his work but have not been studied so far. Conclusions. A comprehensive analysis of Ramazanov’s symphonic works in the presented article allows one to draw important conclusions about the features of the composer’s creative style. It was noted that the richness and deep content of the musical language of the bright and individual symphonic works created by Ramazanov, one of the modern Azerbaijani composers distinguished by his original creative style, in various years of his creative life are important in our national music art. It was noted that the composer’s insistence and seriousness towards himself are also felt like his works. From this point of view, Ramazanov’s symphonic music and modern writing techniques with rich images were chosen from his contemporaries and recognized in our music society and were welcomed not only in his homeland but also far beyond its borders. It should be noted that several of Ramazanov’s works have been successfully performed not only in his native Azerbaijan but also in Turkey, England, Norway, Israel, Canada, Georgia, and other countries. Ramazanov is currently experiencing a period of growth in his creativity, enriching our professional music art by creating new modern works.

“Romantic Concert” for Piano and Orchestra by Joseph Marx in the Aspect of Aesthetics of Late Romanticism

There is considered the “Romantic Concert” for piano and orchestra in E major (1919) by the Austrian composer, pianist, teacher, theoretician and public figure Joseph Marx (1882–1964). The “Romantic Concert” was included in the repertoire of such pianists as W. Gieseking, J. Bolet, M.-A. Hamelin and D. Lively. The relevance of the study consists not only in the absence in Ukraine publications devoted to the study of the “Romantic Concert”, but also in the need to introduce this work into the creative practice of native performers. The main objective of this study is to explore how the realization of the traditions of the piano concerto genre in the opus of J. Marx is combined with the composer’s thinking as a late romantic and his individual creative style. Scientific novelty lies in an attempt to spread the scientific understanding of the existence of late romanticism in the musical art of the early twentieth century and to determine features of its embodiment in the genre of a concert for piano and orchestra on the example of the “Romantic Concert” by J. Marx. The research methodology is based on the methods of holistic and stylistic analysis described in the works by M. Mikhaylov and Ye. Ruch’yevskaya. Also this article is based on the concept of late romanticism by L. Nebolyubova, which is supplemented by the theses set forth in the works of Russian musicologist O. Sheludyakova.All three parts of the “Romantic Concert” were analyzed in detail, which made it possible to produce the findings set out in article. In his work, J. Marx reproduces in detail the type of piano concerto of the Romantic era, using almost all possible genre-compositional and style parameters. “Romantic Concert” is an example of an instrumental concert of a symphonic type, where the soloist and orchestra act as a comprehensive whole, and the cycle itself is based on the dramatic basis of the symphonic work. The musical fabric of the concert is based on a huge number of style allusions to the work of composers of different eras and styles, which is a vivid manifestation of the synthetic, conclusive character of the late stage of musical romanticism. Piano concert of J. Marx played a part in the formation of “romantic-centric” trends in the musical art of the twentieth century.

D-Minor Concertos and Symphonies of the Brahms–Schumann Circle in the 1850s: Cross-Relationships and the Influence of Beethoven

This article examines cross-relationships and mutual influences in the D-minor symphonies and concertos written in the 1850s by a close-knit circle of composers: Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and their friends Joseph Joachim, Julius Otto Grimm and Albert Dietrich. Outlining the overlapping compositional timelines of Brahms's First Piano Concerto (at one point a candidate to become his first symphonic work), the violin concertos of Joachim and Schumann, and the symphonies of Grimm and Dietrich, it demonstrates that the pieces were shared among the composers during their periods of composition and explores musical correspondences indicating mutual influences both among the composers and from other specific works. The musical choices involved in this group of pieces seem to point to an underlying backdrop of Beethovenian influence involving specific works from Beethoven's body of orchestral music, an oeuvre concluding with an unforgettable symphonic work in D minor—to which the younger generation's collection of works may relate symbolically. This study not only emphasizes the central role that Beethoven played in the minds of these composers in the mid-1850s, but also underscores the musical intimacy that extended from the social intimacy of the composers in the Brahms–Schumann circle.

An Epic Voice with Rhyme and Reason

This chapter considers the particular qualities that make Felix Mendelssohn’s symphonic writing so distinctive, as exemplified in the Third (‘Scottish’) Symphony. Focusing on key features such as sound (the characteristic ‘Scottish’ Nebelstimmung), scenically evocative elements (such as the music’s suggestion of battles, storms, and daybreak), and the ballad-like tone, it sets Mendelssohn’s practice against precedents in the symphonic work of Beethoven, not in order to enact yet again the lopsided binary that defines some composer negatively in terms of Beethoven but rather better to profile what is striking in Mendelssohn’s symphony. A concluding section, comparing the symphonic art of the two composers to the contrasting translations of Homer by Chapman and Pope, asks why reception history has for so long ignored the mastery and skill of Mendelssohn’s own symphonic achievement.

China and Russia – «The Great Silk Road» - the interpenetration of cultures in composing in the 21st century

The article is devoted to the premiere of the symphonic work of the Russian composer Viktor Pleshak "Dun Huang" held in China in 2018. In this regard, the problem of interpenetration of cultures on the basis of their integration and striving for peaceful cooperation is considered. The urgency of such cultural initiatives between countries is emphasized. The features of the musical language of this symphony are noted: the introduction of Chinese folk instruments (pipa, erhu, shen) into the classical composition of the symphony orchestra. As a feature of the musical language of the symphony, the ability of the Russian composer to penetrate into the essence of the characteristic modes of Chinese music and create a large symphonic work with a national flavor in the absence of direct quotation of Chinese folk melodies is noted.

The french horns in the First Symphony by Gustav Mahler

The purpose of the article is to consider the function of the group of French horns in Symphony No. 1 by G. Mahler. In the center of attention of the author – the performance requirements for hornstones, due to the specificity of the interpretation of the symphonic score by G. Mahler. The methods of the research are based on the application of empirical approaches, namely – observation, generalization and systematization of the holstoristic tasks. These methods form a distinct practical component of the proposed scientific research. Structural-functional method of development of the investigated material builds complex indicators of the requirements of the executive thesaurus of the holstorist's tasks in the specified score of the symphonic work. The scientific novelty of the article is to identify and systematize the leading factors and techniques that led to the new sound of the horns, and then, respectively, the entireorchestra. The mentioned problem is studied from the point of view of the artist-performer – the use of various registers, functions and types of techniques of the game on the horns in the score of Symphony No. 1 of G. Mahler. The conclusions state that G. Mahler uses horn in all its functions, which developed in the era of romanticism: as a solo instrument, in the „choirˮ horns, interacts with other wind instruments, to support strings and tutti. G. Mahler has achieved much in enriching the expressiveness of all copper winds. One of the most original methods of reaching Mahlerʼs expressiveness is the use of extreme range registers. To make this or that voice a relief, G. Mahler often resorted to changing the sonority of the instruments of the copper and wooden groups. The playing with closed sound on horns (gestopft) attracts G. Mahler as the strongest means of accentuation. A combination of open and closed horns sounds to underscore modes, or tense tones. G. Mahler first uses these tools resources to create certain images. Often, G. Mahler succeeds in receiving glissando from horns. The playing of copper tools with a trench up (Schalltrichter in die Höhe) – a technique used in the nineteenth century for climaxes, became typical for G. Mahler.