The personality and the creative work of A. Pasculli in the context of the West European music art of the 19th century

The authors of the research focus on Antonio Pasculli, a famous Italian virtuoso oboe player and composer of the late 19th - the early 20th century, whose name had long and undeservingly been in the wilderness. In the last two-three decades, his legacy has been getting a new lease on life. Pasculli’s compositions are on the concert list of oboe players all over the world. Despite the performance popularity, the personality and creative work of the outstanding Italian musician are still on the periphery of the research focus of Russian musicologists. All valuable information is contained in rare foreign researches. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to reconstruct the artistic portrait of Antonio Pasculli in the context of time. This research is the first in Russian musicology to introduce into Russian scientific discourse the data from foreign sources revealing the peculiarities of Pasculli’s creative life. Based on the analysis of the collected data, the authors conclude about the necessity to revise the role of Pasculli’s work and legacy in the context of European music culture of the 19th century. It is believed that familiarization with the information about the Italian musician, unknown to the Russian audience, will help to not only dive deeper into the specificity of Pasculli’s compositions, but also to reinterpret his place and role in the evolution of playing woodwind instruments.

Symphonies by B. Tishchenko: in tune with the times, against the troubled times. Part 1

The research subject is the scope of symphonic works of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The article continues a brief analysis of all 17 symphonies of the composer, and considers his works of the 1980s - the 2000s: French Symphony, Pushkin Symphony, Dante Symphonies, and Symphonies No 7, 8, 9.  The author considers in detail such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko’s innovatory role in the renewal of Russian symphonism of the second half of the 20th century, the interrelation between and poetry in his large orchestra compositions, the significant impact of literary concepts on the development of his symphonism. Special attention is given to Tishchenko succeeding to the great Russian symphonic tradition. The main idea of the article is that Tishchenko is one of the few in his generation who remained committed to the genre of a large “pure” symphony and succeeded to his genius teacher D. Shostakovich. A special author’s contribution to the development of the topic is a detailed consideration of all symphonic works by Tischenko. Such a research has never been held in the history of Russian music before. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author proves a close connection between Tishchenko’s symphonism with his time and the controversial cultural and social processes suffered by the composers of the sixties.  

Transcription for a synth keyboard (the case study of the work of A. Artemiev, V.Martynov, Yu. Bogdanov - the disc “Metamorphoses”)

The author analyzes the experience of transcription of the compositions of J. Bull, C. Monteverdi, J. Bach, C. Debussy and S. Prokofiev for a synth keyboard Synthi 100 done by the Russian composers A. Artemiev, V. Martynov, Yu. Bogdanov in 1980, and released on the disc “Metamorphoses”. The author also considers the composers’ range of artistic tasks and sound solutions and the variants of work with the texture of the original compositions. The electronic interpretations, contained in the “Metamorphoses”, not only demonstrate the examples of transcribing the original text for a synth keyboard, but also illustrate the 4 criteria of electronic music formulated by K. Stockhausen: unified temporal structuring (a common temporal field), the disintegration of sound, a multidimensional spatial composition, and the equality of the tone and the noise.  In spite of the fact that the transcription of classical music pieces for a synth keyboard was carried out by the Russian composers several decades ago, this experience hasn’t been studied yet. Probably, it is explained by the fact that the analysis and description of electronic music using traditional means is complicated, since the material under study is not noted: all transformations carried out by the interpreter are fixed only in the audiorecord.  The analysis of transcriptions is complicated by the fact that electronic instruments are regularly upgraded and transformed, and therefore their artistic capacity is increased. The change of instruments caused the transformation of approach to music art. The article analyzes the transformation of the author’s text, the transformation of a piano texture into the electronic score, and the role of the arranger as a co-author of the composition.  

The role of Russian pianists in the formation of accompaniment art

The Russian tradition of piano performance has been winning international recognition for several centuries. The names of S.V. Rachmaninoff, S.T. Richter, K.N. Igumnov, A.B. Goldenweiser and others, are inscribed in the history of the piano music and pedagogics. At the same time, such a sphere as accompaniment remains unheralded. The author of the research attempts to estimate the role of the above mentioned pianists in the formation of accompaniment art. Based on the analysis of the experience of performance and pedagogical work of the pianists, the author reveals their importance for the development of the Russian accompaniment tradition. This topic hasn’t been critically considered and analyzed. However, the history of piano music is rich in examples when concert pianists take on the role of accompanists. Their contribution to the practice of ensemble performance has influenced the development of accompaniment art. The work of S.V. Rachmaninoff, S.T. Richter, K.N. Igumnov, and A.B. Goldenweiser has influenced various aspects of accompaniment art: the extension of functions of an accompanist; the importance of the role of an accompanist in the interpretation of music pieces; the extension of the pedagogical function of an accompanist in the ensemble; the formation of a methodological background based on the accompaniment experience.   

Theoretical and methodological basis of music education: structure and contents

The research subject of the article is the theoretical and methodological basis of music education represented in a traditional four-level structure (developed by A. Yudin within the system approach), consisting of: 1) a philosophical, 2) a general scientific, 3) a specific scientific, 4) a methodological level. Based on the thesis about the connection between theory and practice in music education, the second part of the article briefly describes the contents of the first three levels of the structure of the theoretical and methodological basis which are believed to be the most academical. The author focuses on two aspects: 1. The goals and potentials of the level under consideration; 2. The problems arising at each level. The author arrives at the following conclusions: 1) the philosophical level of the theoretical and methodological basis of music education, being the most general and therefore the leading one, is necessary for training prospective musicians for the formation of the value, moral and spiritual, and esthetic components of education; 2) the general scientific level helps systematize the philosophic provisions and concepts into certain approaches and principles which can be introduced into the pedagogical practice as models of integral formation of education processes; 3) the level of socio-scientific disciplines, which is the most thoroughly developed due to the close connection with practical aspects and problems, consists in the aspects of the contents of education (musicology), the methodology of teaching (pedagogics), and the study subject/instrument (performance art).   

The influence of the history of folk music development on Russian and Chinese folk dances

The authors consider and analyze the peculiarities of means of dance and plastic expression: pantomime, gestures, choreographic lexics, choreographic pattern, rhythmics, remarks and exclamations. The idea of a combination of a choreographic image and music of Russian and Chinese dances, declared by the authors, is a multi aspect complicated issue which is of a significant scientific interest. The purpose of the research is to reveal the contents of a folk dance stage adaptation which is conveyed with the help of improved means of expression and is an effective tool for the expression of national peculiarities of Russian and Chinese choreography. The authors study the folk dance stage adaptation as a key means of expression of folk music in Russia and China. The scientific novelty of the research consists in a comprehensive analysis and substantiation of the need for preservation of folk dance traditions in modern China as an important component of a traditional training of a future choreography teacher. The authors prove the presence of definitive features of local invariants of Russian folk dances and dance canon and its differences from the canon of folk dances of other regions.  The research actualizes the problem of music training of future choreography teachers in the pedagogical theory and artistic education practice.  The consideration of this topic is determined by the solution of an urgent problem of preservation of a unique cultural phenomenon of a nation in the aspect of continuous assimilation of culture both among regions and in interstate realms (border areas of countries with unique cultural codes).  

The role of E. Mravinsky in the triumph of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5

The author reconsiders the interpretation of the concept of Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5 based on the fact that the composition was created during Stalin’s Great Terror of the 1930s and after a harsh criticism of his compositions by the Communist Party and the USSR government in the early 1930s. During the creation of the Symphony No 5, the Soviet music experts defined its concept as a celebration of a “happy” life of Soviet people, However, in the author’s opinion, the symphony has another idea. The researcher notes that the triumph of the Symphony No 5 in the global culture had happened only owing to the director’s interpretation by Yevgeny Mravinsky during the premiere at Leningrad Philharmonic Hall on November 21, 1937, after which the Symphony was performed all over the world and became the gold standard of the Soviet music. Probably, Shostakovich intended to create an optimistic finale for the Symphony. But there are many examples when the composer’s goal doesn’t correspond with the final result. The author provides the conclusion that almost all music experts, who analyze this symphony, use abstract phrases: contrast themes, lyrical image, enemy, etc. But the only proven fact is that a “mechanistic” march is a heavy and ponderous advance of the power of a tyrant eliminating everything he wants based on the principle “who is not with us is against us”. This idea pierces into the Forth and later the Seventh Symphonies by Shostakovich. Today, the Symphony is still a music masterpiece and a part of the global music heritage, but the new socio-cultural interpretations of modern directors each time reveal the new faces of this composition.  

Dmitry Shostakovich’s suite for two pianos as a musical novel (on the issue of manifestation of epos in the composer’s legacy)

In Shostakovich’s creative work, metaphoric completeness becomes the most important constant of any concept, in which the orientation to the depth of the audience’s penetration into the controversial music whole prevails. Naturally, different metaphoric states are enclosed in definite, prevailing metaphoric layers: epos, lyrics, and drama with typical for them various emotional shades and the ways of narrative development. The research object in the article is the suite for two pianos created by the composer in 1922, which reflects the composer’s state of mind after his father’s death. It explains the images and themes in the composition, which  are connected with epos and the epic form of a novel. For the first time, the study of art considers a suite as a musical novel: the author parallels between a novel as a genre of literature and a novel as a possible form of narration and development of a piece of music. It represents the scientific novelty of the article. The author proves that due to its special form of narration, the suite has the features new to the field of piano duet: polysynthetism of the form of the whole, variety of drama “fractures”, diversity of artistic and musical metaphors, and, consequently, the virtuosity of performance. In its turn, it has predetermined the allocation of thematic structures, considerably new for the genre.   

The role of psychology in the pedagogical work aimed at the elimination of bleating in the process of teaching singing

The article reveals the contents of pedagogical skills of the future music teachers in the process of vocal training based on the value-based attitude of would-be teachers to technologically oriented vocal and pedagogical activity, their technological knowledge and skills in the field of vocal performance and vocal pedagogics and psychology, abilities to use singing training techniques. Vocal and psychological training of would-be teachers of music is considered as a process of acquisition of vocal-technical and art and performance knowledge and skills, vocal and pedagogical skills, using the singing teaching techniques, in order to use them in the work with students, especially those with voice defects. The research methodology is based on the theoretical analysis of the existing approaches, techniques and methods of forming pedagogical competence of would-be vocal coaches. Based on the analysis, the authors systematize and combine different instruments (pedagogical and psychological) in order to increase the effectiveness of eliminating bleating in the process of vocal training. The vocal-pedagogical psychology is characterized as an integrative system combining task-oriented, step-by-step and algorithm-based pedagogical, psychological and vocal activities of a coach aimed at the improvement of the result of teaching singing with account of voice defects in order to use them in the work with middle-school and out-of-school education students especially in terms of working with bleating.

Symphonies by B. Tishchenko: in tune with the times, against the troubled times. Part 1

The research subject is the symphonic works of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The article considers his compositions of the 1960s - 1980s: the first six symphonies with numbers and some symphonies with titles. The author studies such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko’s innovatory role in the renovation of Russian symphonic style of the 1960s, the interrelation of music and poetry in Tishchenko’s large orchestra compositions, and the significant influence of literary concepts on the development of his symphonic style. Special attention is given to the issue of Tishchenko taking over from the large Russian symphonic tradition. The main contribution of the research is the idea that Tishchenko is among the few of his generation who held true to the genre of large “pure” symphony, and took over from the symphonic line of his genius teacher D. Shostakovich. The author’s special contribution is the analysis of all symphonic works by B. Tishchenko. Such a detailed study is the first in Russia. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author proves a close connection between Tishchenko’s symphonic style and his epoch, the controversial cultural and social processes suffered by his generation.