DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.3.30167

Abstract: The research subject is the usage of wind instruments in the scores of D.S. Bortniansky of the 1780s. The research object is the creative work of Bortniansky in the context of settlement of musical classicism in Russia and the interest in the galant style esthetics among the aristocratic circles. The authors consider the peculiarities of the galant style and the techniques of the composer’s orchestra scores. The authors analyze the instrumental composition of the scores and the manner of usage of each instrument of the wind group (in the scores under study, they are flutes, hoboys, clarinets, fagotts and French horns). The authors use the historical method revealing esthetic and style peculiarities of the epoch under study; the analytical method helping to study the role and the character of usage of wind instruments by the composer; the music-theoretical method connected with the issues of instrumentation. The research conclusions are: 1) creating the compositions of the galant style, the composer marks lyric and expressive characteristics of timbres of wind instruments, while their technical characteristics are irrelevant for Bortniansky; 2) wind instruments come to the fore in the moments of performing the affects of grief, sadness and contemplation, which  corresponds with the topos of gallantry and pastorale; 3) referring to the pair composition of a symphonic orchestra, Bortniansky strives to differentiate its composition breaking the speech into ensemble groups thus individualising the music fabric.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.1.32028

Abstract: The article considers the problem of analyzing the melodics of liturgical chants of the Russian Orthodox Church. The research object is the melodies which are the parts of the chants of the Christmas cycle and are used by archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl) in the Christmas Festive Triptych. The author studies the terminology traditional for medieval studies, folklore studies and general musicology to analyze one-voiced textual and musical compositions. In the author’s opinion, it is reasonable to apply the term ‘string’ to the smallest complete melodic structures closed in cadencies. For the fragments shorter than a string, the author introduces the term ‘micromodel’ proposed by Yu.N. Kholopov. The key research method used by the author is the functional method introduced by Riman and customized in the musical and theoretical tradition of Moscow Conservatory. The author also applies the elements of structural-typological method, which had developed in Russian ethnomusicology and was applied in the field of music medieval studies. Partially, the author also uses H. Schenker’s method of reduction tested within Kholopov’s music and theoretical concept. The multiplicity of the methodological aspect is one of the signs of the scientific novelty of the article. The author arrives at several conclusions. First of all, the melodic composition of regular chants is based on the principle of micromodels junction. Secondly, the essence of melodic micromodels comes down to the establishment of a local or a central modal basis. Thirdly, the junctions of melodic micromodels don’t rule out the presence of a significant pitch basis and inclination for tertian coordination. These conclusions prove that chants accumulate both archaic and relatively new style components. The author is the first to analyze the melodic of the Christmas Festive Triptych in its correlation with the pitch organization in Russian musicology.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.2.32034

Abstract: The article considers the structure and dramaturgy of the Christmas Festive Triptych by archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl). The author notes the liturgic substantiation of the Triptych’s structure. The research subject is the pitch organization and timbre dramaturgy of the composition justified by the liturgic concept of Father Matthew. In the author’s opinion, in part I of the Triptych, the modally colored mode prevails combined with the high sonority of the choir. Part II is based on the classic functional mode and strong sonorousness of the choir. Part III is vernacular polyphony. The author applies the functional method and takes into account the P.I. Tchaikovsky’s concept of ‘all-stageness’, developed by A.N. Myasoyedov. When considering the vernacular polyphony, the author notes its typological relationship with the rules of composition of the later Renaissance studied by the representatives of Yu. N. Kholopov’s scientific school. The timber aspect of the Triptych is described in compliance with N.G. Denisov’s concept developed within the structural-typological method. The author also uses the method of graphic representation of the polyphony introduced in folklore studies by E. A. Linyova. The scientific novelty of the article is determined by several factors. The author is the first to study the pitch and timber aspects of the Christmas Triptych; the analytical methodology by Yu. N. Kholopov is for the first time applied to the liturgic material.; the music logic of archimandrite Matthew is represented as a phenomenon mediated by his theological views. The author concludes that archimandrite Matthew created the Christmas Festive Triptych not only as an offering to the two thousandth anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, but also as an opportunity to give his pastor’s message about this key event of the sacred history.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.4.33543

Abstract: The article considers one of the most important topics of Russian discourse - the issue of St.Petersburg, particularly the understanding of the phenomenon of Petersburg in the works of composers. The purpose of the research is to trace back the process of formation of Russian musical “Petersburgiana”. The main task is to reconstruct segmentary materials related to the aspects of manifestation of Petersburg in the works of Russian composers. The research methods are determined by the interdisciplinary nature which synthesizes the approaches of comparative history, culturology, and music theory. As the key works, the author chooses the works related to the “Petersburg text”, particularly the work by V.Toporov who was the first to introduce this term into the literature studies. It serves as a basis for the understanding of the phenomenon of Petersburg in other forms of art. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that it is the first to study the evolution of Russian musical “Petersburgiana”, which started in the 18th century and during its 300-year history produced more than 800 opuses. The author outlines the key topics and images of Petersburg embodiment using the examples of the works of the composers of the 18th - 21st centuries, organized according to their genre and chronologically. These materials are the result of the research work; they outline promising concepts and aspects for the further comprehensive analysis of Petersburg in Russian music culture in terms of the works of its creators.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.1.34978

Abstract: The research subject is a monumental semi-orchestral composition created by an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Tischenko “Requiem” with lyrics by A. Akhmatova. A funeral service over Akhmatova was read at the church of St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Leningrad on March 10, 1966. The score of the “Requiem” was finished on August 16, 1966. Thus, the composition with the lyrics by Akhmatova has become a tribute to her, a musical offering, and even the first monument not built with hands. The author gives special attention to the symphonic form of the “Requiem”, differences in the interpretations of the poetic theme in the works of Tischenko and Akhmatova, the role of the symphonic orchestra and the leading singers; the author also considers an important issue of a high-quality performance of the hardest scores created by Tischenko. The main conclusion of the research is the fact that Tischenko’s “Requiem” has become an important element in the process of renovation of Russian symphonic style of the 1960s - the 1970s. As a composition, written in a modern language, it has become one of the drivers of this renovation. As such, the composition is a vocal symphony, and the composer develops the symphonic form step-by-step. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that it is the first work in Russian musicology to consider Tischenko’s “Requiem” in detail, to reveal the contensive aspect of the composition, and to analyze the difficulties of performing the composition. The author reasonably reckons the symphonic composition by Tischenko among the most significant pieces in the history of Russian music.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.4.38280

Abstract: The name of the St. Petersburg composer Yuri Alexandrovich Falik is known both in Russia and abroad. He has created a large number of compositions in different genres. Falik pays considerable attention to choral music. His choral legacy is represented by a wide range of genres. These are miniatures, a choral concert, a poem and a choral cycle, Orthodox hymns and a Catholic ordinary mass. The range of the composer's poetic preferences is also rich. Falik refers to the poems of A. S. Pushkin, M. Y. Lermontov, A.A. Tarkovsky, A.I. Solzhenitsin, N. A. Klyuev, A.A. Akhmatova, N.S. Gumilev and M.I. Tsvetaeva. The article discusses the peculiarities of the implementation of the content of M. Tsvetaeva's poems by musical means in the choral concert "Trinity Day" by Yu. Falik. Starting from the folklore motifs embedded in the poems, Falik creates stylizations referring to Russian drawling songs, ditties, and the dialect characteristic of the folk tradition. The composer uses variation of melodic motifs, rhythmic variation, combines natural-fret means and chromatics, uses such techniques as choral staccato, glissando, imitation of instrumental tunes, introduces ostinate layers of sound. It is established that the composer managed to find such structural, melodic, rhythmic techniques and musical means that not only illustrate the content of the poems, but also reveal its new facets.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.6.39459

EDN: UHXYFO

Abstract: The subject of the study is a new "sounding image" of the piano in the chamber-vocal cycles of Russian composers of the 1960s and 1970s. The chosen perspective is "female" vocal cycles, i.e., those that should be performed exclusively by female voices. The author examines the piano parts in the vocal cycles of B. Tishchenko, D. Shostakovich, A. Knaifel, A. Schnittke, E. Denisov, G. Banshchikov, V. Gavrilin and other Russian masters, reveals the new, original, fresh that they brought to the music of piano accompaniment in the wake of the Khrushchev "thaw". First of all, in the field of texture, rhythm, avant-garde performance techniques, timbral-register organization of musical fabric. The main conclusion of the study is the idea that the fruitful synthesis of the achievements of the European avant-garde and domestic experience led to the emergence of a new "sounding image" of the piano in Soviet music of the 1960s, which was fully in demand in the vocal cycle. Each of the composers followed his own unique path in art, individually refracted tradition, but the overall panorama of musical art, chamber vocal creativity turned out to be rich and saturated with outstanding achievements. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the piano accompaniment of the Russian vocal cycle was first subjected to a separate and fairly broad analysis.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2024.1.70104

EDN: IJASNE

Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the problems of adapting the works of the academic tradition to the conditions of military practice of the XX century. The creation of adapted versions of famous works of classical music by domestic and foreign composers intended for performance in conditions of military ceremonies, parade grounds concerts, festivals and competitions has significantly expanded the scope of the sphere of academic musical culture. The article focuses on the academic music of Russian composers in the repertoire of military orchestras. The subject of the work is E. P. Makarov's arrangement of the final chorus "Hail" from M. I. Glinka's opera "Life for the Tsar" ("Ivan Susanin"). The purpose of the work is to study the changes Makarov made to Glinka's work and their impact on the perception of "Glory" in the context of the 1945 Victory Day Parade. The study of the arrangements of the "Glory" choir, adapted to performance by military orchestras, required the use of general scientific and special methods. To study the materials related to the activities of Russian military musicians, the methods of source studies and textual criticism, cultural-historical and comparative were used. The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the fact that for the first time it provides a detailed comparative analysis of Glinka's scores and Makarov's processing, which made it possible to identify the principles of adapting works of academic music for performance in conditions of military rituals. The study of the issues raised in the study allows us to develop an original concept of the formation and development of the arranging activities of military conductors, considered in the context of the change of cultural paradigms of the XIX – early XXI century. In conclusion, the author notes that a comparative analysis of the scores of Glinka and Makarov showed that Makarov not only shortened the work, but also rethought it, creating a new musical form corresponding to the military ritual. As a result of these changes, "Hail" turned into a concise and dynamic march that became a symbol of patriotism and the strength of the Russian people.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2016.2.19845

Abstract: The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1956) became one of the very first representatives of the New World, whose oeuvres attracted the attention of European artistic community. The composer is known for the extremely extensive range of his creative interests, as well as diverse circle of the images of his music. Villa-Lobos was among the first to study Brazilian folk music; at the beginning of the XX century he visited the remote parts of the country with preserved traditions of the natives and migrants from the African Continent. It was especially interesting to find out how the creative work of the composer was perceived, and how it correlated with European cultural context. The goal of this publication is to present the work of this Brazilian composer in the context of European art. Among many compositions by Villa-Lobos, the most diverse in its artistic images and musical material is the cycle Bachianas Brasileiras. It is also evident that through the prime examples of European art, the composer tended to make Brazilian music a part of the world culture. In this regard, his Bachianas is one of the manifestations of neoclassicism. For Europe, the interest to the works of Villa-Lobos was mostly due to the fact that at the edge of the centuries there was a spike in the interest towards the forgotten types of music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and deep antiquity, as well as the ancient folklore of African-Brazilian and Indigenous People have been assimilated.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2018.3.27988

Abstract: The object of the research is musical public organizations, the subject is the Astrakhan regional organization “Union of Composers of Russia”. The author of the article examines such aspects as the influence of the RSFSR Union of Composers on the development of regional musical culture through stimulating the creation of regional musical organizations, the influence of regional musical organizations on the development of regional musical cultures. Special attention is paid to the history of the creation of the Astrakhan Union of Composers as a new center of regional musical culture, an analysis of the organization’s activities is carried out, its potential is being investigated. The methodological basis of the research involves the principle of objectivity, based on the priority of facts, documentary evidence and involvement of a wide range of sources, historical-genetic and problem-chronological methods. The main conclusions of the study are: SK RSFSR had a huge role in the development of Russia's musical culture through the involvement of regions in the organization’s activities, contributed to the creation of regional / national composer associations, which became new local music centers. The author's special contribution of the author tothe topic is her analysis of the history of the Astrakhan Union of Composers.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2018.4.28776

Abstract: The essay is devoted to the Merited Artist of the RSFSR Ivan Yakovlevich Panitsky (1906-1990), an outstanding virtuoso of bayan, teacher and composer. Panitsky, a vision impaired original musician from the Volgian village Balakovo, was destined to pave the way for Russian bayan to the academic scene, significantly enrich the concert repertoire of professional bayanists. The author of the article traces back the beginnings of professional and spiritual and creative formation of I. Panitsky and reveals the spirituality and poetry of his character which defined the main direction of the musician’s work - the field of instrumental lyrics. The author gives special attention to music events devoted to the famous countryman initiated by the department of folk instruments of Saratov State Conservatory named after L.V. Sobinov. The author uses the historical method to study the musician’s biography and the method of musical analysis of the piece. The author studies Panitsky’s waltzes “Remembrance” and “Dead roses” as the examples of bayan lyrics. The paper describes the typical ways of work with music material revealing the main lyric idea of the piece: its improvisatory character, polyphony of the manner, variations, and the diversity of timbre colours of a bayan. The novelty of the study consists in the combination of the narration of historical and biographical material with the unprecedented analysis of Panitsky’s works in the waltz genre. The author concludes that Panitsky’s background is inseparable from the region of his birth. The strong spiritual bond with his small motherland, its history and traditions, defined the bright individuality and recognizability of the works of the famous bayanist, one of the remarkable representatives of bayan lyrics in the Russian instrumental music of the 20th century.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.6.31113

Abstract: The research subject of this interview is the creative work of a modern Astrakhan composer Yu.P. Gontsov, and the object is the history of Astrakhan music culture. The interview genre gives an opportunity to study musical creativity in great detail, from the inside, through the composer’s view of the influence of the music and non-music milieu. The author of the research gives special attention to Gontsov’s individual stylistic features (melodics, intervalics, rhythmics, harmonic plan, etc.), defining the style of his notating, and attempts to classify his vocal pieces. The author uses the method of interviewing (in-depth interview), the ideographic method (to prepare the materials), and systematization (to analyze the composer’s works). As the article is an interview, it doesn’t contain an explicit problematics which is to consider the composer’s creative work as an integral process of social interconnections. The questions used in the interview are essential as they help trace back the composer’s evolution - from direct influences to independent work. The author’s special contribution is the attempt to systematize the style language of the composer, and to classify his vocal pieces. The scientific novelty consists in a new method of studying such music material.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.6.34651

Abstract: In the 19th century, after a two-centuries oblivion, the interest in a medieval genre “danse macabre” reappeared. Dances of Death were embodied not only in pictorial art, literature and music, but also attracted the attention of scholars. The research subject of this article is one of such scientific works - “Les Danses des Morts” by J.-G. Kastner. Its uniqueness consists in the combination of a theoretical research and practical embodiment of its results in a piece of music. The genre of the tractate is defined by scholars as “livre partition” - a sheet music book. The article contains the biographical data of the life and creative work of the French scholar, music expert and composer, little-known in Russian musicology. Based on their own translation of the original text, the authors study the structure-content components of the tractate and define its specificity. J.-G. Kastner considers the genre “danse macabre” in the historical, philosophical and aesthetic contexts; traces back the interdependence of literary, decorative, and musical versions of the dances. The tractate of the French musicologist considers in detail the range of instruments of dance macabre (based on the collection of wooden engravings of a gothic Doten Dantz printed in the late 15th century). The authors define the features of J.-G. Kastner’s ideas which differ them from the thanatological views of his predecessors H. Peino and E.-H. Langlois.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.6.36655

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the theme of labor in the Soviet mass song of the 1930s. The purpose of the study is to reveal the poetics of mass song labor in the context of the Russian musical culture of the 30s of the twentieth century. The author points out that the mass song is one of the most interesting phenomena of Soviet culture. It is rightly noted that being a product of the socialist era, the mass song was designed to solve the tasks of mobilizing a significant number of people for labor feat, without which it was unthinkable to successfully build a new life in the young Soviet state in the first decades of its formation after the October Revolution of 1917. It is stated that the song of those past years reflected the typical features of song art aimed at developing an optimistic spirit, strong will and self-confidence among Soviet citizens. The article examines the characteristic features of the mass song of the 1930s, analyzes the goals of its dissemination, the main images popularized in the texts of this type of songs, as well as their influence on the consciousness of the Soviet people. The theoretical significance of the research is determined by his contribution to the development of the problems of pop music art as an integral part of Russian culture.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2023.5.68840

EDN: AMRFRM

Abstract: The article explores the genre of string quartet on the example of Beethoven and Shostakovich in the aspect of intonation and thematic connections, as well as the parallels of creativity of both composers. The author gives examples of thematic, interval, intonation and textural-melodic quoting of Beethoven's works in Shostakovich's quartets. Russian culture and Beethoven's influence is revealed, in particular, in relation to working with the material of Russian songs in quartets written by order of Count Razumovsky. The author reveals Shostakovich's attraction to Beethoven's work, the closeness of his compositional style and ideas in terms of conceptuality, architectonics, the use of musical and expressive means and a tendency to dynamic onslaught. The methodology of the research is based on the analysis of historical materials, musical articles, concepts of outstanding historians and music theorists. The main contribution of this study is the identification of thematic and semantic connections between the quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich. The author concludes that Shostakovich often turned to Beethoven's work, used his methods and techniques of working with the material, the structure of the cycle, included allusions to themes, intonations in his quartets, and even used whole textured excerpts from Beethoven's music – and he made it through the prism of his creative style. The novelty of the article lies in the identification of the connection between Beethoven's work and Russian music, the composer's use of melodies of Russian songs in "Russian Quartets", as well as intonation-thematic parallels between the quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich. In addition, the article reveals the special role of the performer in the work on the quartet of both Beethoven and Shostakovich.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.3.30132

Abstract: A single-action pedal harp - harpe organisee - was created in 1720. The research subject in the article is its history, parts and speech peculiarities. The aim of the research is to theoretically reveal the specificity of playing a single-action pedal harp in the middle of the 18th century, when the first attempts were made to formulate the principles of harp pedagogics. Theoretical significance is proved by the characteristics of the terms “a single-action pedal harp”, “European music”, “the parts of a harp”, “a harp’s speech peculiarities” in the context of the history of philosophical and the study of art knowledge and the scientific methodology. The practical importance is proved by the fact that the acquired results give the opportunity to broadly understand the role of a single-action pedal harp, trace back the correlation between harp technique with performing practice of the 18th century, define the place of harp within a system of the philosophy of culture and art of the 21st century.  The research methodology is defined by the aim and tasks of the study and the uniqueness of the material under study. It is based on the method of analytical study of sources clarifying the logic and the idea of a single-action pedal harp; and the method of comparative analysis. The scientific novelty is defined by the very problem statement and proved by the fact that the author adds new facts about a single-action pedal harp to the Russian musicology, which helps to see the problems of its history, parts and speech peculiarities in a new perspective. The result of the research - the historical processes in harp performance and the specifics of a single-action pedal harp - is the topical scientific problem. Its solution would lead to better understanding of historic performance and dominants of meaning in harp music in the European civilization.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.4.36161

Abstract: 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.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.5.36784

Abstract: 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.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.2.37784

Abstract: The subject of the study is the symphonic work of the outstanding Russian composer of the second half of the twentieth century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939-2010). The article discusses his music for the documentary films directed by S. Shuster "Suzdal" (1964), "Palekh" (1965) and "Northern Studies" (1968). The author of the work dwells in detail on such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko's innovative role in the renewal of Russian symphonism in the second half of the last century, reformatting the very foundations of compositional thinking, enriching the sound palette with the help of modern musical avant-garde. Special attention is paid to the issue of B. Tishchenko's inheritance of the great Russian symphonic tradition.   The main conclusion of the article is the idea that B. Tishchenko's music for documentaries of the 1960s accumulated the freshest ideas of the period of renewal in Russian art. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is a detailed study of three little-known scores of the composer in the context of an intensive search for "new music". The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author examines the composer's compositions through the prism of stylistic and linguistic innovations of the 1960s, proves the close connection of Tishchenko's symphonism with his time, with the contradictory cultural and social processes that befell the generation of composers of the "sixties".

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2023.4.44077

EDN: YAPKRL

Abstract: The study of the history of any musical genre implies its detailed characterization in certain historical epochs associated with changes in artistic and social orientations. Such a separate epoch is the XIX century – the age of Romanticism, the time of modification of a number of well-known musical genres. The genre of the piano duet is undergoing a similar transformation at the specified time. The subject of research in this article is the specifics of the existence of a piano duet in the context of a significant rethinking of the semantic and stylistic thesaurus of musical art in general, which occurred in the XIX century. It is emphasized that the genre not only changes the specifics of its performance (there is a gradual transition to the concert stage), but also undergoes internal stylistic transformations. For the first time in musicology, attention is paid to the reasons for the spread of the genre in the XIX century, a classification of duet compositions (concert and chamber types) is created, the features of the content, form, texture, tempo, performing techniques characterizing a piano duet at a specified time are considered, and the reasons for the modification of its genre features are also named. The works of S. Geller, E. Grieg, L.M. Gottschalk, K. Reinecke and a number of other composers are presented as examples. As a conclusion, the reasons for the disparity of duet compositions of the XIX century in artistic terms are noted.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2017.3.25113

Abstract: The article considers the piano works by the famous Chinese composer Du Mingxin (Du Mingxin, born in1928).  Due to the fact that few Russian readers know this name, the first part of the article presents a brief summary of the biography of the composer. The main attention is paid to the events that influenced the composer's creative personality. The second part of the article deals with the analysis of one of the last compositions for piano - 'The Album for the Youth of the New Century' suite. In the process of analysis the author identifies a number of features that allow us tocall the compositions a cycle. Each of the four pieces of music that make up the suite has been examined in detail: figurative structure, features of the genre, form, musical language. In the musical language of the suite 'The Album for the Young of the New Century' the composer combines features of national music (intonation, modal features) and traditional Europeantechniques in music composition.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2016.2.19624

Abstract: In the works of the Latin American composers we can notice a consistent trend towards the compositions reflecting the specificities of world perception of residents of the region, in which the autochthonous elements of the folk music of Indigenous and Afro-American People are being interpreted by the means of the most recent composer’s techniques. A similar phenomenon in literature was dubbed the “magical realism”. Marlos Nobre (born in 1939) is one of the brightest representatives of Brazilian composer’s school; his music is known for emotional saturation, explicitness of form, as well as testifies of composer’s virtuosic technique. Nobre’s oeuvres “Ukrinmakrinkrin”, “Yanomani”, and “Kabbalah” are inspired with the magic of “miraculous reality” of Latin America. In composer’s works we can observe a fusion of the three diverse components – avant-gardism, as synonym of the novelty and experiment; neoclassicism, as reliance upon the professional art of the past; and neofolklorism, as embodiment of the modern interpretation of the problems of folk character. However, we should underline Nobre’s Brazilian ethnicity, which is manifested in his ideological-conceptual, as well as technical aspects of his compositions.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.3.35674

Abstract: The subject of this research is the symphonic creativity of the outstanding late twentieth-century Russian composer Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939–2010). The author studies his works from the 1960s, which were inspired by classical and modern Russian poetry, while focusing on issues such as the interrelation between music and poetry in Tishchenko’s orchestral compositions and the significant influence of literary concepts in the development of his symphonic style. Special attention is given to four of the composer’s outstanding works: The Twelve, a ballet based on Alexander Blok’s poem (1963), Symphony No.2 Marina to Marina Tsvetaeva’s lyrics (1964), Requiem to the poem by Anna Akhmatova, and a piece of dramatic music, The Death of Pushkin (1967). The author arrives at the conclusion that most of Tishchenko’s symphonic creativity was based on his love of literature, words, and the artistic image begotten by literature and poetry. The author’s unique contribution to the research of this topic is a detailed study of Tishchenko's significant symphonic works based on poetry in the 1960s. The scientific novelty of this research is that Tishchenko's literature-centric works are, for the first time, being considered in the context of the development of his symphonic creativity. The article uncovers a strong correlation between the author’s style, the composer’s language, and the non-music influences on his creative process.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2016.3.21030

Abstract: The genre palette of the heritage of Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov is extraordinarily broad, and includes instrumental works, vocal miniatures, chamber opuses, large-scale symphonic oeuvres, as well as compositions for the musical theatre. Many directions which he pursued in his creative work were new to the Bulgarian culture. His music emerged in the 1920–1930’s in Europe, and the composer himself was one of the popular authors of the “Universal Edition” (Vienna), which published almost all of his oeuvres written within this period. A special place in the composer’s heritage belongs to piano music – separate pieces, and over thirty cycles created during the period from 1914 to 1978, among which is “Impressions” (1920, opus 9). In the course of the analysis of the cycle, the author was guided by the specificity of stylistic analysis, as well as other analytical methods of musicology. In the music of “Impressions”, we can note not only the symbolic, but also romantic and neoclassical features, which are associated with the peculiarities of “accelerated development” of the Bulgarian culture. Perhaps this has left an imprint upon the composer’s artistic individuality, in whose heritage we can find diversity of characters, emotions, as well as bright picturesqueness of the sound characters.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.2.29663

Abstract: The research subject is the phenomena and processes related to the beginning of the Vienna operetta genre as a phenomenon of the emerging mass culture. On the cusp of the 18th and 19th centuries, Vienna, the capital of Austria, was the largest music center, where a range of music and theatre genres, anticipating the emergence of new music phenomena, became widely spread - aristocratic Italian opera, French operetta, Austrian-German busk comedy and singspiel. The specificity of the socio-political conditions in the country (the Age of Metternich) facilitated the utmost development of the art of entertainment, in music - vocal lyrics and dance (waltz), in theatre - comic genres. The author uses the comparative historical method, the historical-typological approach, general scientific methods of analysis, generalization and classification. The novelty of the approach consists in the fact that Vienna operetta is considered as one of the initial stages of mass culture formation. The model of French operetta showed Vienna composers and playwriters the example able to combine the advantages of “high” and “low” genres, foreign influence and domestic traditions. As a result, Vienna operetta (F. von Suppé) was formed as a variant of a young genre possessing the features of a fundamentally new mass culture.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.5.38957

EDN: JVOLHS

Abstract: The article is devoted to the chamber-instrumental works of one of the brightest representatives of the Russian school of composition of the second half of the twentieth century, Yuri Butsko, in which his religious and musical philosophy is multidimensional and vividly embodied. The focus is made on the discovery of the author's approach to the "reintoning" of the cult chant in the fabric of secular composition and its role in the processes of meaning and text formation of the artistic whole. The works created by the composer mainly in the early period (1960 – 1970s) in chamber genres are considered as a kind of creative laboratory in which the principles of dialogical poetics of religious and secular principles are formed, manifesting itself both at the conceptual level and at the level of textual relations. As a result of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the church monody in the works of Yuri Butsko manifests itself as a dynamic construct, the musical vocabulary and semantic field of which, on the one hand, are amenable to reinterpretation in the process of creating new artistic samples based on it, on the other – have a transformative force that has a significant impact on the content, compositional-dramaturgical, intonation-thematic structure of the work. Both at the conceptual level, realized in the process of interactions of such structures as the symbolic invariant formula of the plot of Golgotha, the external program, the "plot" of the quoted chant, and at the level of textual relations, a multilevel original system of conjugation of Old Russian chant and individual author's poetics is formed in the chamber opuses of Yuri Butsko, which has no analogues in Russian music culture.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2017.4.25530

Abstract: The article focuses on the figure of Dmitry Shostakovich, the greatest composer of the twentieth century. The author explores contradictions of his creative heritage of the 1930s, when the composer was forced to make the so-called musicology compromises. These compromises were connected, first of all, with the desire to write the music and work in the genres that corresponded to emotionality of the composer. On the other hand, Shostakovich had to write "superficial" music to please the current political regime which followed every creative step of the composer. From a historical perspective the article considers the most controversial works of the 1930s, which were created in theatrical genres - the opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" and the ballet "the Limpid Stream". The historical approach required the use of sources of that time - fragments of articles from newspapers and magazines in which Shostakovich's name is mentioned from one or another perspective. This approach gives novelty to the topic under consideration. It is stated that music by Shostakovich will always be relevant regardless of the era in which mankind exists, and it will be a true testimony of the history of the twentieth century for the future generations.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2023.4.43626

EDN: YARQMY

Abstract: The subject of the study is the piano compositions by contemporary Chinese composers Song Minzhu (triptych "Musical Suite of the Sichuan Opera") and Jia Daqun (miniature of "Chuanqiang" from the cycle "Three Preludes for Piano"), written under the influence of the traditions of the Sichuan opera chuanju. The unique multi-composition of the origins of the South Chinese drama predetermined the originality of the typical quipai tunes and their modal coloring, the style of singing in a high register, the features of the stage action, the timbre composition of the accompanying percussion ensemble. The purpose of the article is to study the specifics of the refraction of the traditions of Sichuan opera in the modern piano repertoire. Research methodology: comparative typological and analytical methods make it possible to substantiate the uniqueness of the selected piano miniatures, due to the influence of the chuanju style. Piano compositions by Song Minzhu (triptych "Musical Suite of Sichuan Opera") and Jia Daqun (miniature "Chuanqiang" from the cycle "Three Preludes for Piano") are considered in Russian musicology for the first time. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. The stylistic features of the traditional Sichuan opera manifested themselves in the piano pieces of Song Minzhu and Jia Daqun at different levels: at the level of quoting typical tunes of gaoqiang, kunqiang, pihuanqiang, common in the southern region of the country; at the level of modal organization of tunes associated with pentatonic and heptatonic (zhengsheng and qingshang modes); at the level of imitation on the piano of the timbres of string and percussion instruments of the chuanju opera (violins huqin, gaibanzi, banzi rattles, gongs and drums); at the level of textural organization, due to the interaction of the soloist and the choir in the opera chuanju gaoqiang.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2023.1.39945

EDN: CJMEAU

Abstract: The research subject of this article is Dmitri Shostakovich's “Thirteenth Symphony”—one of the most monumental symphonic canvases of the twentieth century, reflecting in its essence the chronicle of historical vicissitudes that took place in the Soviet Union. After a number of compromised compositions in the late 1940s and 1950s, forcibly written ("Songs about Forests," the Eleventh Symphony, numerous miniatures), the Thirteenth Symphony made a splash in musical and near-musical circles, as many perceived it from a polemic angle with the Stalinist regime. The reader's attention is focused on the fact that in it, the composer resorts to a veiled polemic with the current government, and the figurative world of the symphony is a direct reaction of Shostakovich not only to the events to which the opus is dedicated ("Babi Yar," the words of E. Yevtushenko) but also on the reality surrounding him. The semantic contexts of the work are examined through the prism of biographical data about the composer, as a result of which a wide documentary and historical apparatus are involved—the memoirs of Shostakovich's colleagues and contemporaries, his own statements addressed both to the symphony in question and to the broad historical and cultural context of the era. It is in the broad contextual approach that the scientific novelty of the article is seen. In addition, it presents analytical material that allows a deeper understanding of the essence of the work as a whole and the reasons why the symphony was banned at the time.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.2.29585

Abstract: “Sequenzas” is a unique cycle that is a landmark not only for the work of Luciano Berio, since it combines the brightest elements of innovatory understanding of the author’s music performance, but also for the global musical art, since, together with his “Sinfonia” (1968), it has become the symbol of the Postmodernist esthetics. The research subject is the most popular among composers the thirst three Sequenzas, which are among the most significant ones in the composer’s body of work. The openness of the form and content, the use of arts synthesis within one instrumental piece, penetration of a word into the instrumental form (verbal reference to the genre of instrumental composition), poly-stylistics, decorating one piece of music with the variety of a language palette, the diversity of not only the performer’s interpretations of each composition, but also of a listener’s comprehension, the use of new principles of notation connected with aleatory music - all these signs of Postmodernism are represented in “Sequenzas” fully enough, and are demonstrated in this article in the analysis of particular compositions of the cycle, and the most representative of them are the first three ones. This article analyzes these works of the composer.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.3.33175

Abstract: The article considers the composition Dmitri Shistakovich created in his youth days: Two Fables by Krylov for vocal and piano. Despite the fact that the romances were written when the composer was only 15 years old, they outlined many important streams of chamber vocal works and artistic principles of the mature creative period of Shostakovich; his manner, imagery and even mastery are easily visible. The author focuses on the close connection between the fables and the late vocal works of the composer, analyzes the romances and adduces Shostakovich’s own evaluations of this work, and tells about the creative milieu of the composer which affected the creation of the composition. The author concludes that youthful Krylov’s fables manifested the capacity of the chamber vocal art of the composer. They contain all the basic streams of development of Shostakovich’s vocal lyrics - bright theatricality, inclination for humour and grotesque, paradoxicality of thinking, figurativeness, and ensemble significance of a piano accompagnement. With the benefit of hindsight, we find this composition bright, and daring, and forward-looking. Nevertheless, it is rarely played and poorly studied. The purpose of the article is to draw attention to this original and bright opus of an ingenious Russian composer.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.5.32839

Abstract:   The article studies the problem of cultural tradition in the late period of the creative work of a Moscow composer Vladimir Rubin. The aim of the research is to reveal the tendency to the restoration of links with the historical past in Rubin’s spiritual compositions using the example of the oratorial tetralogy (the oratorios “The Song of Ascension”, “The Songs of Love and Death”, the vocal-symphonical cycle “The Guardian Angel”, and the oratory “Be Gracious”). The author detects Rubin’s artistic principles which are based on the traditions of the European music of the classicism and romanticism periods, Russian liturgical chant and Russian composing school. The research methods include the system-complex method, theoretical, historical-cultural, empirical, logical, and the method of extrapolation. The scientific novelty consists in the study of Vladimir Rubin’s oratorial work in the context of him inheriting the cultural and historical traditions. The author is the first to disclose the neo-mythological mind of the composer and the dialogics of the musical language and hypothesizes about the peculiarities of tessitura and register usage for the purpose of spatio-temporal organization of music fabric. The author concludes about the inclusion of Rubin’s large vocal-symphonical works into the framework of Russian spiritual music in general and spiritual oratorio in particular.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2023.2.40870

EDN: HITSMA

Abstract: The research object of this article is Finnish musical culture. The subject of the study is the life and work of composer, teacher, conductor, and educator Erkki Melartin (1875–1937). The purpose of the article is to recreate the personal and creative portrait of Melartin as one of Finland’s most outstanding musicians during the first half of the twentieth century. The author examines in detail the composer's biography in close connection with all types of his activities and describes the main directions of the composer's creativity. The author pays special attention to Melartin's administrative activities as the head of the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy), his conducting, and his pedagogical work. The main conclusions of the study are that Erkki Melartin made a tremendous contribution to the development of culture and musical professional education in Finland; his impressive compositional heritage (with many influences of other composers and Karelia folklore) has bright and distinctive features; Melartin is the author of the first national opera (Aino) and the first large-scale national ballet (Blue Pearl). Among his students: Aarre Merikanto, Yrjö Kilpinen, Vyane Raitio, Ilmari Hannikainen, Uuno Klami, Sukho Ranta, and Helvi Leiviskä —those who later formed the elite of the Finnish School of Composition in the twentieth century. The article, a first in Russian musicology, publishes detailed information about the composer's life, work, and social activities. The main conclusions of the study: Erkki Melartin made a tremendous contribution to the development of culture and musical professional education in Finland; his impressive compositional heritage (with many influences of other composers and folklore of Karelia) has bright and distinctive features; E. Melartin is the author of the first national opera ("Aino") and the first large-scale national ballet ("Blue Pearl"). Among his students: Aarre Merikanto, Jurje Kilpinen, Vyane Raitio, Ilmari Hannikainen, Uuno Klami, Sulho Ranta and Helvi Leiviska – those who later formed the elite of the Finnish school of composition of the twentieth century. The article for the first time in Russian musicology publishes detailed information about the life, work and social activities of the composer.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.1.29040

Abstract: The research subject is the work of Fine Arts Society which existed in Saratov in 1889-1903. The author finds out that the Society actively popularized all types of arts among citizens. The department of music organized vocal and instrumental music concerts which were interesting for local melomaniacs. The most significant event was the opening of a music school which provided music education and the educational programme which declared the Italian method of voice-training. The research methodology is based on the analysis of unpublished materials of the State Archive of Saratov region, the Central State Historic Archive of St. Petersburg, and rare sources. Based on the reconstructed image of the Society’s work in terms of the political situation in the city of that time, the author proves that among the reasons of the Society closing were: gradually rising competition with Saratov Branch of The Imperial Russian Musical Society, supported by authorities, and the popularity in democratic circles of Saratov citizens.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2021.1.34332

Abstract: The author considers L. Berger’s vocal cycle “The Beautiful Miller Maid” in the connection with the latest composition by Schubert, determined by the usage of poetic texts of W. Müller. The research subject is the system of internal linkages both in poetic texts and the music of songs of the vocal cycle: the tone logic and thematic and genre design. The author takes into account the new features of the genre Lied in Berlin singing style, which is the point of contact between a folklore song and an author’s work. The intensification of the author’s element leads to the emergence of a dialogue tensity in a text simulating a “Lied im Volkston”. In the cycle, symphonic and structure linkages become apparent  bringing it closer to the type of a vocal cycle as a diary that would be typical for the works of F. Schubert and R. Schumann. Such a design is based on the organization of the cycle around the figure of a Miller as a central character and a defining role in the cycle of images of Müller’s poetry. The analysis of the cycle allows concluding that the vocal cycle by L. Berger develops this genre in the direction of Schubert’s masterpieces far more so than Beethoven’s cycle “To the distant beloved”. The key idea of the research is as follows: the initial linkage to the play (Liederspiel) is overcome in the design of Müller and Berger, and the decisive role in this concept  is the one of the composer.   

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.2.37816

Abstract: The article tells about the first didactic development in the history of Russian music pedagogy on elementary music theory, created in the 1930s by Rostov composer and teacher Tikhon Ivanovich Sotnikov for the independent development of musical and theoretical knowledge. The author of the article points out that the need to create such an educational and methodological manual for self-study was dictated by the current situation in the cultural life of the USSR since the 1930s, when there was an active growth of amateur artistic activity in the country. The gradual complication of the repertoire of collectives required the growth of musical literacy of its participants. Analyzing the historical situation, the author states that despite the developing system of music education, there were not enough schools and qualified music teachers nationwide. The situation was aggravated by the war years, when many libraries and archives were destroyed, and even the search for educational literature presented a significant problem for those who wanted to study musical literacy. The table and thematic cards developed by Sotnikov for independent studies contained not just brief information on musical literacy, but also made it possible to train theoretical knowledge in practice without the participation of a teacher. In addition, the versatility of the Rostov composer's development was also in the fact that his methodology for independent studies could be used in tandem with any of the textbooks on music theory that existed at that time. The idea was highly appreciated by professors of the leading musical universities of the USSR and was recommended for publication nationwide. In conclusion, the author of the article comes to the conclusion that in the context of the historical situation of the mid-twentieth century in the USSR, Sotnikov's development was not just relevant, but with timely publication could have a revolutionary significance for the development of musical culture in the country, and its significance for the history of music pedagogy is undeniable.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2018.2.26544

Abstract: The article illustrates the factors that determine the use of travesti with due regard to historical and cultural standards of the era, as well as the factors determined by specific artistic tasks of the author. The second case includes situations of representation of certain age characteristics of the hero/heroine, parody-grotesque and infernal images. The author marks a connection of the last two situations with carnival aesthetics. It is the first time in musicology that this problem is addressed. As examples, the article uses  operas by S. Landi, D. Vinci, F. Cavalli, G. Handel, W. Mozart, L. Rossi, J.Rameau. The methodology of the work is based on complex consideration of the phenomenon under study. In conclusion the author notes that it represents an integral quality of musical theatre of the era under study that exists according to its laws, paradoxical and motivated by its own artistic logic at the same time. The article is intended for a wide range of readers - from professionals studying the opera art of the past and the present days to readers interested in general issues of theatre and opera.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2022.6.39562

EDN: ADGNXP

Abstract: The purpose of this work is to present a scientific overview of the research on the palace music of the Qing Dynasty during the “Golden Age” and to identify new aspects of the study of this unique phenomenon of artistic culture. The relevance of the topic raised is due to the growing role of Chinese culture in the global processes of cultural integration, when the problem of preserving objects of traditional non-material culture is exacerbated (and the palace music of the Qing Dynasty of the 17th-18th centuries is one of them). The author believes that the presence of gaps in Russian musicology on the problems of Qing music for a long time was caused by objective difficulties in communication with the Chinese scientific community and the lack of access to archives and libraries in connection with well-known political events, such as the fall of the Qing Empire at the beginning of the 20th century and cultural revolution of the 60s and 70s, when the study of imperial culture was not encouraged. Nevertheless, the modern openness of the Celestial Empire to scientific contacts already today makes it possible to introduce the achievements of Chinese science of recent decades into the corpus of Russian musicology. The author sees the prospects for the study of Qing musical culture in the study of the cultural and historical context in the aspect of the continuity of dynastic traditions, in the study of the architectural spaces of sounding music in the aspect of their acoustic features, functional purpose and symbolic meaning, as well as in the continuation of source studies, which imply the comprehension of the content of musical and theoretical writings of the Qing era.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2019.1.29132

Abstract: The research subject is the music culture of Astrakhan region, the research object is music culture as a system. The article studies the role of a festival as a specific form of activity of regional music organizations, which are the elements of a formerly powerful system - The Composers’ Union of the RSFSR. Special attention is given to the example of Astrakhan Composers’ Union’s role in organizing the modern music festival, which, in the author’s opinion, had boosted the potential of regional music culture. The author uses the system approach to study the phenomenon of music culture as a system, historic-genetic, ideographic and problem-chronological methods to work with historic materials, and cluster-analysis to process the data and compose charts. The author formulates the conclusion about the recognition of an important role of the Composers’ Union of the RSFSR in the evolution of regional cultures, which received a stimulus for the development of a holistic music system. A festival as a form of interaction within a music culture played a special role in this process. The author’s special contribution is the study of the history of Astrakhan festival of modern music, which demonstrates that regional music culture after the 90s is still developing despite the weakness of the central organization. The present article is the first scientific work to raise the problem of a contribution of a festival movement as a specific form of activity of regional organizations.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.5.33227

Abstract: This article focuses on the initial stage of the formation of popular music culture in the first half of the 19th century. It analyzes the historical, social, and cultural context of the emergence of one of the earliest genres of popular culture—operetta—in France and Great Britain. In these countries, popular public entertainment (cafe-chantant, public concerts, music halls, burlesque theatres) created the prerequisites for the emergence of not only a new genre but also a new type of culture. Jacques Offenbach, William Schwenck Gilbert, and Arthur Sullivan became the founders of the original versions of this genre, which were based on national music and theatre traditions. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that the emergence of the operetta is described as a natural result of cultural and historical development; the author outlines the similar factors that spawned a different and, at the same time, internally close phenomena. Operetta, as a popular music phenomenon, filled the gap between opera and the genres of folk theatre, soaking up the merits of both. The novelty of the genre manifested itself both in the peculiarities of the content and the music forms and the new social function, an appeal to a fundamentally new audience that united different social classes and directly influenced the final artistic result.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.5.33248

Abstract: The research subject is the genre and symbolical specificity of the poetry cycle by Wilhelm Mueller “The Fair Maid of the Mill” which became the basis of the vocal cycle by F. Schubert. The circumstances of the cycle creation predetermine the presence of poetics of play which is determined by the fact that the plot was created as a party play (Liederspiel), and an objective orientation of authors of Mueller’s milieu towards the stylization of folk and knight poetry of the Middle Ages. The poetic cycle by Mueller is considered in the context of the traditions of romantic poetry dating back to minnesong and meistersong and reflected both in the theme and the images of the cycle, and its structure. The author analyzes the genre solution of Mueller’s cycle, connected with the presence of the plot itself and the composition framework formed by the prologue and the epilogue. The analysis of the parts out of the music concept of Schubert gives the possibility to look at the genesis of the common theme of the two cycles from a new viewpoint thus explaining the scientific novelty of the research. The author outlines additional drama and symbolical connections in the cycle which form a particular poetry-play space. The author studies esthetic and stylistic reasons which made the composer refuse some parts of the poetry cycle. It turns out that Mueller’s idea is connected with a multilayer system of “play” foundations in the development of the text, and Schubert’s solution - with the elimination of this drama range which ensures additional interconnections between “The Fair Maid of the Mill” and the later tragic cycle “The Winter Journey”. 

DOI: 10.7256/2453-613X.2020.5.33903

Abstract: The key research object is a piano duet of the 20th century, and the research object is the main features of the genre which had transformed by the beginning of the 20th century and in its course. The author proves that, compared with home music-playing, within which it emerged, and party music-playing, within which it had been during the 19th century, the piano duet of the 20th century is an all-sufficient phenomenon with its own genre features and having its place on the concert stage. Besides, the author enumerates the main achievements of the piano duet in the 20th century: Ultimate transition from an “everyday” genre to a “supra-popular” one The evolution from a necessary substitution of one piano with two for the purpose of achieving certain goals in the 18th century, to complete equality of the instruments in the 20th century; The change of the semantic and stylistic thesaurus of the piano duet in contents, forms and language of duet compositions embodiment; Clear division of guidelines, functions and duties of the composer, the performers and the audience; The change in social tendencies and the social orientation of the genre: the centripetal function (performer -- performer) typical for the 18th century duet, transformed into the centrifugal one (performer + performer - listener).