Russian music of the first half of the 19th century. Russian musical culture of the 19th century

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries (before 1917) was a period no less rich, but more complex. It was in the 90s of the 19th century and at the beginning of the first decade of the 20th century that the best, peak works of P.I. Tchaikovsky and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov were created. But M.P. Mussorgsky and A.P. Borodin did not live to see this time, and in 1893 P.I. Tchaikovsky also died. They are being replaced by students, heirs and continuers of their traditions: S. Taneev, A. Glazunov, S. Rachmaninov. But no matter how close they are to their teachers, new tastes are clearly felt in their work.
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the work of Russian composers was recognized throughout the civilized world. Among the younger generation of musicians who entered creative life at the end of the last - beginning of this century, there were composers of a different type. Such was Scriabin, somewhat later Stravinsky, and during the First World War - Prokofiev. The Belyaevsky circle also played a major role in the musical life of Russia at that time. In the 80-90s, this circle turned out to be the only musical center where the most active musicians united, looking for new ways to develop art.
Musical culture also developed in other countries, for example, in France, the Czech Republic, and Norway.
In France, the style of musical impressionism and symbolism emerged. Its creator is composer Claude Achille Debussy. The features of impressionism, as one of the leading musical movements of the early 20th century, found expression in the works of M. Ravel, F. Poulenc, O. Respighi and even in the works of Russian composers.
In the Czech Republic, music is flourishing. The founders of national classics in the Czech Republic are Bedrich Smetan and Antonin Dvorak.
The founder of Norwegian classics is Edvard Grieg, who influenced the work of not only Scandinavian authors, but also European music.
The music of the 20th century is distinguished by an extraordinary diversity of styles and trends, but the main vector of its development is a departure from previous styles and the “decomposition” of the language of music into its constituent microstructures.
Musical culture of Russia at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century
The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries was marked by a deep crisis that gripped the entire European culture, resulting from disappointment in previous ideals and a feeling of the approaching death of the existing socio-political system. But this same crisis gave birth to a great era - the era of the Russian cultural renaissance at the beginning of the century - one of “the most refined eras in the history of Russian culture. This was the era of the creative rise of poetry and philosophy after a period of decline. At the same time, it was an era of the emergence of new souls, new sensitivity. Souls opened up to all kinds of mystical trends, both positive and negative. At the same time, Russian souls were overcome by premonitions of impending catastrophes. The poets saw not only the coming dawns, but something terrible approaching Russia and the world...
During the era of cultural renaissance, there was a kind of “explosion” in all areas of culture: not only in poetry, but also in music; not only in fine arts, but also in the theater... Russia of that time gave the world a huge number of new names, ideas, masterpieces. Magazines were published, various circles and societies were created, debates and discussions were organized, new trends arose in all areas of culture.
In the 19th century Literature becomes the leading area of ​​Russian culture. Along with it, the brightest rises in the musical culture of Russia are observed, and music and literature are in interaction, which enriches certain artistic images. If, for example, Pushkin in his poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” gave an organic solution to the idea of ​​national patriotism, finding appropriate national forms for its implementation, then M. Glinka discovered new, potential options in Pushkin’s magical fairy-tale heroic plot - his opera grows from within to multinational musical epic.
The work of Gogol, which is inextricably linked with the problem of nationality, had a significant influence on the development of the musical culture of Russia in the last century. Gogol's stories formed the basis of the operas "May Night" and "The Night Before Christmas" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Sorochinskaya Fair" by Mussorgsky, "Blacksmith Vakula" ("Cherevichki") by Tchaikovsky, etc.
Rimsky-Korsakov created a whole “fairy-tale” world of operas: from “May Night” and “The Snow Maiden” to “Sadko”, for which the main thing is a certain ideal world in its harmony. The plot of "Sadko" is based on various options Novgorod epic - stories about the miraculous enrichment of a guslar, his wanderings and adventures. Rimsky-Korsakov defines “The Snow Maiden” as an opera-fairy tale, calling it “a picture from the Beginningless and Endless Chronicle of the Berendey kingdom.” In operas of this kind, Rimsky-Korsakov uses mythological and philosophical symbolism.
If opera occupied the main place in Russian music during the times of Mussorgsky, Borodin and Tchaikovsky, then by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th it faded into the background. And the need to make any changes has increased the role of ballet.
But other genres, such as symphonic and chamber music, began to develop widely. The piano work of Rachmaninov, who himself was a great pianist, is extremely popular. Rachmaninoff's piano concertos (like Tchaikovsky's and Glazunov's violin concertos) are among the pinnacles of world art. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the work of Russian composers was recognized throughout the civilized world. Among the younger generation of musicians who entered creative life at the end of the last - beginning of this century, there were composers of a different type. Already their first works were written in a very unique way: sharply, sometimes even daringly. This is Scriabin. Some listeners were captivated by Scriabin's music with its inspired power, while others were outraged by its unusualness. Somewhat later Stravinsky performed. His ballets, staged during the Russian Seasons in Paris, attracted the attention of all of Europe. And finally, already during the First World War, another star was rising in Russian - Prokofiev.
Russian theaters are gaining enormous popularity. Maly Theater in Moscow and Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. A notable feature of the culture of this period was the search for a new theater.
Thanks to the activities of Diaghilev (philanthropist and exhibition organizer), the theater receives new life, and Russian art has wide international recognition. The “Russian Seasons” performances of Russian ballet dancers organized by him in Paris are among the landmark events in the history of Russian music, painting, opera and ballet art.
The troupe included M. M. Fokin, A. P. Pavlova, V. F. Nezhensky and others. Fokine was a choreographer and Artistic director. The performances were designed by famous artists A. Benois and N. Roerich. Performances of “La Sylphides” (music by Chopin), Polovtsian dances from the opera “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “Firebird” and “Petrushka” (music by Stravinsky) and so on were shown. The performances were a triumph of Russian choreographic art. The artists proved that classical ballet can be modern and excite the viewer.
Fokine’s best productions were “Petrushka”, “The Firebird”, “Scheherazade”, “The Dying Swan”, in which music, painting and choreography were united.
Actor, director, theorist of stage art, together with V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1898 created and directed the Art Theater.
It is necessary to mention the “Russian Symphony Concerts” organized by Belyaev for many seasons, as well as the “Russian Chamber Evenings”. Their goal was to introduce the Russian public to works of national music. Concerts and evenings were led by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and his talented students A.K. Glazunov and A.K. Lyadov. They developed a plan for each upcoming season, drew up programs, invited performers... Only works of Russian music were performed: many of them, forgotten, previously rejected by Russian musical society, found their first performers here. For example, the symphonic fantasy of M.P. Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” was first performed at the Russian Symphony Concerts almost twenty years after its creation, and then was repeated many times (“according to public demand,” as noted in the programs).
A very remarkable phenomenon in Russian musical life at the end of the 19th century was the so-called private opera of S. I. Mamontov in Moscow. Savva Ivanovich Mamontov himself, being a wealthy entrepreneur like Belyaev, organized an opera troupe in Russia. With her, he staged the first productions of Russian operas - “Rusalka” by A. S. Dargomyzhsky and “The Snow Maiden” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov - which enjoyed significant success among the Moscow public. He also staged the opera “The Pskov Woman” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. With this opera, which was not performed anywhere, the theater went on tour to St. Petersburg.
On turn of XIX-XX century there has been a revival of interest in ancient music. Little by little, the construction of organs in Russia begins. At the beginning of the 20th century, they could literally be counted on one hand. Performers appear who introduce listeners to organ music of previous eras and centuries: A.K. Glazunov, Starokadomsky. This time is an important stage in the history of the violin. A group of virtuosos appears - composers and performers who reveal previously unknown possibilities of the violin as a solo instrument. New remarkable works appear, among which essays occupy a prominent place Soviet composers. Currently, the concerts, sonatas, and plays of Prokofiev and Khrennikov are known throughout the world. Their wonderful art helps us feel what an amazing instrument the violin is.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and especially in the pre-October decade, the theme of expectation of great changes that should sweep away the old, unjust social order runs through all Russian art, and in particular music. Not all composers realized the inevitability, the necessity of the revolution and sympathized with it, but all or almost all felt the pre-storm tension. Thus, the music of the twentieth century develops the traditions of domestic composers - romantics and composers of the “Mighty Handful”. At the same time, she continues her bold search in the field of form and content.

(Cassette No. 9. Side A)

Romantic musical art is a large-scale, complex and contradictory phenomenon. It united both reactionary and progressive trends, moving closer to realism, and many different national schools and individual styles in their aesthetic, stylistic, genre and intonation settings.

Having declared itself at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries, romanticism - including musical - went through a long path of development until the end of the 19th century, often combining largely opposing aesthetic views.

The romantic vision of the world in art was prepared by many circumstances. Its most important socio-historical premise is a reaction to the results of the French bourgeois revolution, disappointment in the ideals of brotherhood and unity of peoples, in the ideals of universal, all-human happiness. The rational, clear, logical and optimistic attitudes of the Enlightenment no longer corresponded to the atmosphere of gloom and depression that marked the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries.

The earliest romantic trends arose in the literary schools of Germany (Jena school) and England at the end of the 18th century. In painting at the turn of the century, romantic tendencies colored the work of French painters - Gericault and Delacroix and German masters - F. O. Runge, K. D. Friedrich. In literature and painting, the romantic direction towards mid-19th century V. has basically exhausted itself. In music, however, romanticism was destined for a much longer life.

In the 20s of the XIX century. romantic attitudes begin to take shape in the works of E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, F. Schubert.

30s – 50s - the time of creative maturity of musical romanticism, marked by the work of R. Schumann, F. Chopin, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt. The most complex and controversial was the late stage of the development of romantic music, associated with the names of R. Wagner, J. Brahms, F. Liszt, A. Bruckner, G. Mahler and representing a synthesis of realistic, classical and romantic features. The 90s became the pinnacle of romantic musical art in Finland and Norway - in the works of J. Sibelius and E. Grieg. Italian romanticism had an extremely unique appearance, inextricably linked with realistic attitudes in the works of G. Verdi, G. Puccini, P. Mascagni.

With all the richness and uniqueness of individual and national styles and trends, romantic musical art contained within itself a fairly clear aesthetic and figurative system.

The chronological connection with the Age of Enlightenment and at the same time the awareness of musical romanticism as a reaction to it formed a completely special, ambiguous attitude towards it. A similar situation also developed in other types of art. The poets of the “lake” school of England - Wordsworth, Coleridge - sharply criticized the ideas of the Enlightenment and classicist aesthetics and imagery, Shelley and Byron - supported the tradition of revolutionism, the civic orientation of art.

A kind of connecting link between classicism and romanticism in Germany was the Sturm and Drang movement, the work of Grillparzer, Fr. Gelderling. German musical romantic art was particularly strongly associated with the classical heritage.

However, the specificity of musical romanticism is by no means exhausted by the unique connection with the previous artistic tradition.

The picture of the world in the minds of the romantics and the place of man in it are extremely unique. In place of a coherent, optimistic worldview, in place of a single pan-human idea, comes a world split into two spheres opposite to each other. One of them is a cruel, rude, misunderstanding and rejecting world. The second is the world of fairy tales, dreams, magical fanaticism, the embodiment of an idealized dream.

The sharp differentiation of the previously unified picture of the world was caused, on the one hand, and entailed, on the other hand, the emergence of a completely new interpretation of the image of a person. The hero, a fighter for the happiness of all mankind, a titan, suffers a severe defeat in his struggle. He is replaced by a small man - one of many, forced to live in the real world, but dreaming of an ideal world. The principle of duality determines the specific worldview of romantic musicians and, in many ways, their musical language. At the same time, in romantic musical art a different type of hero is formed - an exceptional personality who perceives the world deeply and tragically. The works of many romantics also reflected the revolutionary ideas of the era associated with the processes of the national liberation movement in European countries (the works of Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz).

The exceptional attention of the romantics to the subjective principle, to lyrical imagery, to the full disclosure of human individuality (in comparison with the dominant objectivity of classicism) became the reason for radical changes in the interpretation of genres, themes and musical language. The essential component of the imaginative world of the romantics was nature - in its diversity and grandeur.

As the antithesis of pure instrumental music, in the work of the romantics there arose a desire for a synthesis of the arts. New musical genres are being formed, based on the close connection between music and literature. This is a poem, a ballad, a leaf from an album. Into the sphere musical creativity literary techniques of presentation and plotting permeate.

A consequence of the synthesis of music and poetry was such a specific feature of musical romanticism as programmaticity. It was reflected in the literary programs of musical works - subtitles, as well as in the creation of literary scripts for the works by the composers themselves. Thus, the musical creations of the romantics often had a dual essence - actually musical and verbal, two planes of functioning of the work. Such literary programs were often necessary to explain such unusual romantic musical images.

The attention of the Romantics to the genres of vocal music is also one of the manifestations of the connection between literature and music in Romantic art. The vocal sound perfectly corresponded to the subjective orientation of romanticism. The intonation basis of the music of the romantics becomes deeply lyrical song intonations, which determine the specificity of vocal lyrics and penetrate both symphonic and piano music. In this regard, the so-called Schubert song symphonism was formed, a new piano genre in the work of F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy - a song without words.

The songfulness and vocal quality of romantic music was also associated with the deep interest of the romantics in historical - legendary-fairy-tale themes and in folklore, but in an idealized - patriarchal refraction. This can also be regarded as an attempt to find a life ideal in the past without finding it in the present. Folklore in romantic music often acquired a poetic appearance. For the first time in the history of world musical art, folk dances - polonaise, krakowiak, mazurka, Kamarinskaya - in the works of Chopin and Glinka, combining with the intonations of folk songs, become the basis of musical works.

One of the fundamental qualities of musical romanticism is the exceptional individuality of musical styles. This entailed a multiplicity of individual interpretations of genres, including those that were previously almost canonical - symphonies and sonatas. The 4-part symphonic cycle, based on song melody and improvisational expression and presentation of musical - lyrical - images, is reinterpreted into a large-scale symphonic work with the number of parts depending on the specific intention of the author - from 2 in Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony to 5 -ti in Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique. The sonata genre is based on a free, fantasy presentation of musical themes and is transformed into the fantasy sonata genre (in the work of F. Liszt). However, the classical version of both the sonata and symphonic genres in romantic music is preserved (the symphonic work of I. Brahms). A completely new genre of symphonic music is also being formed - the one-movement symphonic program poem.

An individualized, personal vision of the world led to the emergence of new musical genres. In conjunction with the trend of development of home music-making, chamber performance, not designed for a mass audience and perfect performing technique, this gave rise to the emergence of the genre of piano miniatures - impromptu, musical moments, nocturnes, preludes, many dance genres that had not previously appeared in professional music. The property of the musical language of romanticism, along with songfulness, was a great attention to colorfulness and colorism (which entailed changes in the interpretation of chords and tonal relationships).

Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828, Austria).

Musical romantic art revealed itself most fully on Austrian and German musical soil.

One of the outstanding representatives of Austrian musical romanticism is Franz Peter Schubert. A contemporary of Beethoven, Schubert, however, with his work belonged to a new era and a new musical style, which, at the same time, bore a significant imprint of the classical heritage.

Schubert's work is organically connected with the musical life of Vienna, which at that time was truly the musical capital of the world. All new products were demonstrated at the court opera house opera genre– works by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini. Of great importance in Viennese musical life were paid open concerts, which were organized by the society of friends of music and the association of amateur musicians.

Famous performers toured Vienna and many charity concerts took place. The home concerts of non-professional musicians were also very popular among the Viennese. But in all these cases, masterpieces of world musical art were not always presented to the audience, which largely corresponded to the reactionary atmosphere of that time.

It was the heyday of the Metternich system that became the heyday of Schubert's talent. The composer did not, however, embody his awareness of the inertia and reactionary nature of the regime in images of struggle - revolutionary, transformative, and in images of a nationwide upsurge. His figurative world is the world of the soul of a small person, ordinary in his everyday life, but deeply feeling and suffering in this cruel and unfair world. But Schubert’s lyrical hero does not oppose himself to society. This reflects the organic synthesis of romantic and classical trends in the composer’s work. In many ways, his connection with the art of classicism was reflected in Schubert’s exceptional attention to the poetic heritage of the great classic of German poetry Goethe, which became the basis for many of the composer’s vocal works.

The democratic orientation of Schubert's work is due to the reliance of his musical style on folk song and dance. The folk origins of his music are the foundation of the objective nature of the lyrics (while the aesthetics of many romantic musicians have a clear subjective overtones).

The leading genre in Schubert's work is song. In the history of world musical culture, there have never been examples of such close attention to this genre and its introduction into the sphere of high professional music, its transformation into a conceptual artistic phenomenon.

The scale of the composer’s song creativity is amazing - more than 600 samples of the genre, created to texts by Goethe, Schiller, Mayrhofer, Müller, Heine. Most of all, the composer was attracted by love lyrics, motifs of loneliness, folk genre images and pictures of nature. Schubert's song genre is represented by many of its variants - these are miniatures that are unpretentious in content and musical language, and large-scale dramatic monologues based on a contrasting comparison of different characters.

The pinnacles of Schubert's songwriting are “Margarita at the Spinning Wheel” (1814), the ballad “The Forest King” to the words of Goethe (1815), “The Wanderer” to the poems of Schmidt (1816), “The Double” to the poems of Heine (1828 G.)

Schubert became the creator of a new genre - the story song cycle. These are works such as “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” (1823) and “Winter Retreat” (1827) with lyrics by W. Müller, “Swan Song” (1828) with lyrics by Relshtab, Seidl, Heine.

Schubert's symphonic work is a vivid example of the synthesis of classical and romantic features.

In the early symphonies, the classic 4-movement cycle is filled with romantic lyrical imagery. The originality of the composer's symphonic style was fully reflected in the 8th Symphony in B minor - “Unfinished” (1822)

With strong support for the achievements of the Viennese classical symphonic school, Schubert in this work created a new type of symphonism - lyric-song, psychological, one of the important aspects of which is the romance of nature.

The “Unfinished” cycle consists of 2 parts (although according to some information, Schubert conceived this work as a 4-part one). But already within the framework of the 1st part, the composer reflected the problem of the psychological drama of the individual that worried him, the typically romantic theme of loneliness, the tragic conflict between the individual and society.

Romantic imagery determines all the parameters of the musical fabric - from thematicity, intonation and structure of the musical fabric to the form of musical themes and parts as a whole.

The concentrated expression of the idea of ​​the work is the theme of the introduction - a tragic question, eternal romantic melancholy, languor, initial hopelessness and tragic predetermination of human fate. Repeatedly appearing in the 1st movement, this theme acquires the status of the semantic core of the symphony.

The lyrical world of images determines the unconventional appearance of the work’s themes. Instead of the active effectiveness so characteristic of some themes of the first movements of the symphonic genre in the classical version, there is songfulness and vocal intonations that create the image of the romantic quest of a restless soul. Within the framework of the 1st part, Schubert freely combines romantic methods of developing musical themes and classical ones (in many ways inheriting the traditions of Beethoven's symphonism).

The 2nd part of the symphony is devoted to depicting bright images of nature.

It should be noted that in the 1st half of the 19th century the “Unfinished” symphony was not known; its manuscript was discovered only in 1865.

Quintet in A major (1819)

The Quintet in A major is one of F. Schubert's most popular works for chamber ensemble. The quintet is dominated poetic images nature, simple, bright lyrics.

The basis of the 4th part of the quintet was Schubert’s song “Trout” - very graceful and playful. In the finale of the work, the composer also uses the rhythms and intonations of Austrian, Slavic, Hungarian and Italian folklore.

Impromptu in F minor.

8 impromptu songs were created by Schubert in 1827. A completely new piano genre - impromptu - was a miniature fantasy for Schubert, free in form and content from any canons and based on the widest figurative circle.

The F-minor impromptu is based on the alternation and development of 3 main images - lyrical-dramatic, peacefully light and contemplative, philosophically in-depth.

Landlers from the cycle op. 67.

Schubert's creative heritage includes many highly professional interpretations of folk and everyday genres of dance music. One of them is Ländler, a German everyday three-beat dance, a predecessor of the waltz.

Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856, Germany)

The work of R. Schumann marked the flowering of musical romanticism in Germany. 30s – 40s XIX century – the time of formation and definition of the composer’s creative style – became a rather unusual page in the history of romantic art. On the one hand, romantic ideals were actively affirmed in the works of Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner. On the other hand, in the art of music, the tendency to follow the classical canons was strengthened - in the works of Mendelssohn and Brahms.

These two sides of the musical-historical process in Germany became the basis of Schumann’s work. Very sensitive to the revolutionary atmosphere in the country, the composer reflected the rebellious and rebellious mood of the time in the special emotionality of his works, in the freedom of expression of the creative spirit and will. Revolutionary events of 1848-1849 directly influenced the creation of such works by Schumann as “4 Marches for Piano”, male choirs “Three Songs of Freedom”, overture “Manfred”.

However, the revolutionary images in Schumann’s work are only a component of his rich creative world. Schumann is the very expression of German musical romanticism with its emotionality, the desire for an unattainable ideal of spirituality and beauty, with its painful irony, and at the same time - with sincerity, softness and penetration. Schumann's music is both a fireworks display of brilliant passages and the most peaceful lyrical episodes. This is his entire artistic world - initially dual, reflected in the images of the composer’s literary heroes - Florestan and Eusebius (on their behalf, in his critical articles, Schumann reflected on the fate of modern German music).

And therefore, Schumann’s hero - in comparison with Schubert’s heroes - is much more emotional, since he himself contains the features of two romantic worlds. Hence a much sharper and more impulsive musical language - with an abundance of contrasts, frequent disharmony and truly romantic explosiveness.

Schumann's work is equally ambivalent in terms of genre priorities. Gravitating to reflect the momentary, momentary states and moods, being a “lyricist of short moments” - in the words of B. Asafiev, he strove for the genre of piano miniatures. On the other hand, the desire for intimate, soulful lyrics that did not tolerate fuss led him to the creation of large-scale cyclic forms, consisting of miniature, integral sections within themselves. The genre of the piano cycle also gave the composer the opportunity to fully embody the spirit of free creativity that was always his ideal.

Perhaps among the romantic musicians there is no artist for whom literature and music merged more firmly than for Schumann. Previously, romanticism followed the path of musicalizing literature; with the beginning of Schumann’s creative activity, this process followed the path of deepening their synthesis. The pinnacle of this path was completely new genres - musical short stories, cycles of musical “stories”.

The natural expression of the romantic ideal of the synthesis of arts for Schumann was both the desire for programming and his interest in literary critical and musical critical activity. And in this aspect of his work (as in the composer’s) there is clearly an evolution towards realism.

In his youth, Schumann's idol was the writer Jean Paul. It was his works that became the basis for the aesthetic duality so characteristic of Schumann, which reveals itself in the presence of two contrasting images-characters in the composer’s literary and musical works. Most of all, in the prose of Jean Paul Schumann, he was attracted by the spirit of lyricism and humor, romantic dreaminess bordering on sentimentalism, the principle of cyclicity, interruption of narrative plans.

Somewhat later, Schumann was attracted by Hoffmann's ideals - the heightened perception of reality, the nakedness of the conflict between the spiritual and the real, the sharpness, unusualness, and sometimes grotesqueness of characters, the principle of romantic, painful irony.

The later years were marked by the aesthetic closeness of Schumann's ideals to the views of Heinrich Heine, the desire for objectification, and the involvement of the epic principle in the creative orbit.

The phrase of one of the most prominent aesthetics of musical art, Novalis: “The ordinary is given a higher meaning, the familiar is given a mysterious appearance, the familiar is given the dignity of the unfamiliar, the finite is given the appearance of the infinite” - fully characterizes R. Schumann’s understanding of romantic art. The transformability of phenomena has an underlying attraction to reflecting life in all its diversity. This was also reflected in the fact that, being a romantic in his creative vision of the world, Schumann was at the same time an active representative of the creative intelligentsia of Germany.

In 1834 he created the New Music Magazine in Leipzig. The orientation of this periodical, where Schumann was the author, editor, and publisher (the magazine was weekly), was clearly educational. In his articles, Schumann created a kind of spiritual brotherhood, the Davidsbund, which defended innovative trends in musical art, supported young talents and at the same time sharply condemned philistinism and philistinism in art, the routine of German society. In this, Schumann was very close to the Young Germany movement, but unlike him, the composer and his magazine did not have a specific political program.

A brilliant composer, a brave innovator, Schumann was also a magnificent pianist. Naturally, his creative quests were primarily captured in the genres of piano music.

One of Schumann's early works for piano is the cycle of pieces “Butterflies”. It represents a unique response to Jean Paul's novel Boyhood. In this cycle - a series of dances and portrait sketches - the characteristic features of Schumann's cycles are already clearly defined - portraiture, sharpness, imagery of musical language and the internal contrast of the images of the plays.

Among Schumann's program piano cycles are such wonderful works as “Fantastic Passages”, “Forest Scenes”, “Children's Scenes”, “Carnival”, “Davidsbundlers”, “Kreisleriana”.

“Carnival” - 1834 - one of Schumann’s peaks in the field of piano music. This is a large-scale, colorful picture of a folk festival in which the Davidsbundlers (members of the fictional literary and social circle “Brotherhood of David”, created by Schumann on the pages of his magazine) oppose the philistines (reactionary cultural figures).

In essence, this is a carnival of masks - “Pierrot”, “Harlequin”, “Columbine”, “Pantalone”, fantastic characters, images of Schumann’s favorite heroes – “Florestan” and “Eusebius”, musical portraits of the composer’s contemporaries – “Chopin” and “Paganini”.

This entire motley series of images is strictly ordered thanks to a leitmotif of 4 sounds. The Latin name of these 4 notes forms the name of the town of Aš in the Czech Republic (Bohemia), where Ernestine Fricken, the subject of Schumann’s youthful adoration, lived. The same letters are also included in the spelling of the composer’s surname. All the plays are variations on this theme.

(Cassette No. 9. Side B)

"Arabesque" op. 18 for piano.

Arabesque is a romantic genre of piano art, a miniature with exquisite melody with many decorations and whimsical rhythm. This work was created by Schumann in 1839 and is a cycle of quite virtuosic pieces of different characters.

Vocal lyricism is one of the remarkable areas of Schumann's work. The appeal to vocal sound was dictated by the romantic nature of the composer’s creative nature, his desire for a synthesis of the arts - music and literature.

Continuing Schubert's traditions in the field of vocal music, Schumann turns to the genre of the song in all its diversity and to the genre of the vocal cycle. But at the same time, Schumann, unlike Schubert, always gravitated towards the musical embodiment of modern romantic poetry.

The most fruitful and significant period in Schumann's vocal work was the 40s. XIX century By this time, the composer created such masterpieces of vocal lyricism as the cycles “Myrtha” (at the station of Goethe, Rückert, Heine, Byron, Burns, Moore, Mosen), “Circle of Songs” (at station Eichendorf), “Circle of Songs” ( based on the text of “Youthful Sorrows” by Heine), “Love and Life of a Woman” (at the station of Chamisso).

The pinnacle of the composer’s vocal creativity was the cycle “The Poet’s Love” based on the text from Heine’s “Lyrical Intermezzo”, created in 1840.

The plot of the cycle is a story of poetic love: from the first feeling to disappointment and loss of the beloved. Each of the songs in the cycle is a whole, complete image in which emotions find romantic sincerity, classical simplicity and clarity of embodiment. The dramaturgy of the work is unique - a steady movement towards a tragic denouement, an unstoppable increase in tragedy. Beginning with an emotional climax, images of joy and rapture of life, the work ends with images of deep sorrow and typically romantic irony - the groan of the soul.

Symphony No. 4 in D minor op. 120 hours 1, 3, 4.

Schubert created 4 symphonies and several symphonic overtures.

The composer's symphonic works date back to the 40s, when new, romantic principles and imagery had actually already been established in the field of the symphonic genre. But in many ways, Schumann’s symphonies are based on classical examples, in particular Beethoven’s lyric-genre symphonies. A subtle national flavor takes on special significance in Schumann's symphonic works.

The composer worked on the 4th symphony for a long time. Created in 1841 in a very short time, 10 years later it underwent a radical redesign. The author himself called this work “Symphonic Fantasy for Orchestra.” Unlike Schumann's other symphonies, romantic images reign supreme in the 4th.

Concerto for piano and orchestra in A minor op. 54, part 2, 3.

The composer's work on this work was chronologically "broken". The 1st part was created in 1841, the 2nd and 3rd - in 1845.

The first part of the concert is a series of poetically inspired lyrical images, brilliant in skill and technique. The author himself designated this part as fantasy.

The parts of the concert are interconnected by the intonation kinship of thematic theme.

The 2nd part is an elegant miniature, in which capriciousness, whimsical melody and rhythm attract attention.

Part 3 is in many ways close to Schumann’s carnival images in its brilliance, solemnity and festivity.

(Cassette No. 10. Side A)

Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849, Poland).

Mid-19th century - a time of active formation of national composition schools. The development of Polish professional music is inextricably linked with the name of the great pianist and composer Fryderyk Chopin. All his work is marked by a strong connection with Polish folk music. The patriotic orientation of the composer's aesthetics and style, unlike many other romantic musicians, was not of a peaceful and contemplative nature. Chopin's patriotism was revolutionary and effective, largely determined by the tense atmosphere of the national liberation struggle of Poland in the mid-19th century. And despite the fact that Chopin left his homeland early and lived mainly in France, folk and revolutionary images became the basis of his music.

The most famous pianist, a magnificent virtuoso, Chopin, naturally, relied on the genres of piano music in his work. Continuing the traditions of Schubert in terms of the development of everyday dance genres, Chopin paid great attention to the genres of waltz, polonaise, krakowiak, mazurka, poetizing truly folk dance music.

One of the genres in the composer's work was the piano concerto. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor is one of Chopin’s early works, which, however, embodied the most indicative features of his style - the brightness of the images, the melodiousness of the melodies, the closeness to folk dance origins. The concert in Warsaw in 1830, where Chopin performed this work with stunning success, became a kind of farewell to the composer’s homeland. Chopin never visited Polish soil again.

Piano Sonata in B flat – minor, op. 35, part 1 (1839 – 1840) does not have a literary program, so characteristic of the musical culture of romanticism. But the natural development of images - relief, brightly theatrical - creates a kind of musical “plot” - dramatic, closely associated with patriotic ideas. Sonata in B-flat minor is a lyrical drama in which the image of the hero, his tragic fate identified with the fate of the people, their desire for freedom.

Scherzo for piano in C sharp – minor, op. 39. The scherzo genre was previously used in symphonic music as the genre basis of one of the parts of the symphony - in particular, in Beethoven's 3rd symphony. In the era of romanticism, the scherzo gained independence as a piano genre based on the juxtaposition of contrasting images.

Ballad for piano in F major, op. 36. Romantic art, striving for contrast and brightness of images, their emotionality, formed many new genres. One of them, genetically related to literature, was the ballad. This genre first appeared in the vocal work of Schubert - the vocal ballad “The King of the Forest” on Art. Goethe. In Chopin's music, a piano version of the genre emerged, the development of which continued in the works of Liszt, Grieg, and Brahms.

Chopin's ballads are often associated - both in plot and figuratively - with the ballads of A. Mickiewicz. They are based on deeply realistic, folk images telling about dramatic fate the composer's homeland. Chopin's ballads are a series of contrasting images - tragic, mournful, lyrical, peaceful, pastoral. The form of ballads does not fit into the framework of known genres and represents a free, improvisational synthesis of sonata, variation, rondo form, etc.

Preludes No. 22 in G minor, No. 23 in F major.

The ancient genre of prelude finds new life in the work of F. Chopin. The prelude attracted the composer's attention with its improvisation, freedom, lack of normative genre frameworks and breadth of figurative range. This fully corresponded to the desire of romantic art for the individualization of genres and the anomortativity of musical language.

The immediate predecessor of Chopin's "24 Preludes" was the cycle "The Well-Tempered Clavier" by J. S. Bach, in which preludes and fugues were written in each of the known keys. The main principle of the succession of preludes in Chopin's cycle is the contrast of images, but in some cases several preludes are connected by a single figurative core. Often in preludes features of other genres “slip through” - polonaise, mazurka, nocturne.

Mazurka for piano in A minor, op. 59, no. 1.

The national originality of Chopin's work was most clearly reflected in his piano incarnations of folk dances - polonaise, krakowiak, mazurka. Polish folk dance became for the composer the basis of a rich world of images. These are lyrical and dramatic mazurkas, often taking the form of landscape sketches.

The mazurka is based on a sharp rhythm and a perky character. But Chopin, as a rule, almost never used genuine folk melodies in his mazurkas, creating his own interpretations of the most typical intonations and rhythms on a folklore basis.

(Cassette No. 10. Side B)

Nocturne in C minor op. 48, no. 1.

Nocturne (night) is the most popular genre of romantic music. In Chopin's work, this genre takes on the form of a small piano work, free in form, in which lyrical images often develop along the line of increasing dramatic tension.

Some nocturnes “outgrow” the framework of lyrical miniatures, becoming small piano poems. One of these works is the Nocturne in C minor.

Polonaise in A-flat major No. 6. Compared to other dance genres in Chopin’s work, polonaises are larger and more monumental. Their main content is heroic, festive images.

Waltz in A flat major op. 69, No. 1. Waltz is a favorite genre of everyday music of the 19th century. In Schubert's work, it becomes an independent genre of solo piano music and loses its dance purpose. This process gets further development in Chopin's music, where the waltz becomes a large-scale concert piece of a virtuosic nature.

Etude for piano in C minor op. 25, No. 12. The etude genre previously had a purely technical, auxiliary meaning. Etudes were used to develop the performer's technical playing skills. Chopin saw in etude an independent and highly artistic musical genre. But at the same time, Chopin's etudes always retained - as a necessary feature of the genre - the highest technical level and reliance on the repetition of any complex technical technique of piano playing.

Several collections of etudes created by the composer are diverse artistic interpretations of the genre, arranged according to the principle of figurative contrast of pianistic techniques. The Etude in C minor was called “revolutionary”. Created under the impression of the revolutionary events in Poland, it is a passionate, excited monologue, filled with patriotic pathos and a heroic upsurge of feelings.

Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904, Czech Republic).

The development of the Czech national musical romantic school is associated primarily with the names of Antonin Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana. The work of Antonin Dvorak was largely due to the rise of the patriotic movement, the growth of national self-awareness in the conditions of national and social oppression in the Czech Republic, which was under the rule of the Habsburgs.

80-90s The 19th century, which marked the heyday of Dvořák’s creative talent, was a period of extremely rich artistic life in Prague. An important role in the formation of the national art school was played by the opening of a number of music and pedagogical institutions and the expanded access of Czech authors to the dramatic and musical scene.

Patriotism, democracy, along with lyricism and subjectivity in the vision of the world are characteristic features of Dvorak’s aesthetics. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he had a universal gift for composition, allowing him to address virtually all genres - opera, oratorio, symphony, concert, vocal and solo instrumental music.

Continuing the traditions of the founder of Czech musical classics - B. Smetana, Dvořák develops the national identity of the opera genre. Among his operas are folk musical comedies “Stubborn”, “The Cunning Peasant”, “Jacobin”, historical and romantic “Alfred”, “Dmitry”, “Armida” and folk fairy tales - “The King and the Coal Miner”, “Devil's Wall” ", "The Devil and Kacha", as well as Dvorak's most famous and popular opera - "Rusalka".

Among Dvořák’s significant works is the “Slavic Dances” cycle for orchestra, which captures all the richness of images, melodies and rhythms of not only Czech, but also Ukrainian, Slovak, and Polish dances.

Dvorak paid much attention to the sonata-symphonic genre. From 1865 to 1893, he created 9 symphonies.

Symphony No. 9 (in the first edition No. 5) has the program title “From the New World”. It was created in 1892 under the impression of the composer’s stay in New York, where he was invited as conductor and head of the conservatory. The ideological and meaningful core of the work was Henry Longfellow’s poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” based on the legends and traditions of Indian tribes. The composer was familiar with the poem even before arriving in the USA. But despite the indirect reflection in the symphony of the typical intonations of Negro spiritual songs, the symphony at its core is a deeply national, original work that reflects all the richness of Czech folklore.

In the finale of the symphony, the democratic spirit of the people manifested itself with particular completeness, since the main musical themes this part recreates the typical melodic turns of the Czech folk music– Hussite march, round dance, song lyrics and dance.

Bedřich Smetana (1824 - 1884, Czech Republic).

B. Smetana is the founder of the Czech classical music school. Creating a truly national musical art, Smetana turned to the most popular and relevant genres of the era - symphony and opera. His creative heritage includes works for choir, piano, string orchestra. But in works of any genre in Smetana’s work, nationality and democracy come to the fore as the most important qualities of his style.

Seeing in the opera genre the highest example of the synthesis of music and literature, the most favorable soil for reflection national ideas, themes, images, Smetana developed two directions of this genre - heroic (operas “Dalibor”, “Branderburgers in the Czech Republic”, “Libusze”) and comic (“The Bartered Bride”, “Two Widows”).

Dvorak's symphonic works are extremely popular, especially the cycle of 6 large symphonic poems “My Homeland”. Each of the poems has a programmatic subtitle and represents diverse interpretations of the patriotic idea. These are musical landscapes, and memories of antiquity, legends about legendary heroes, memories of the people’s struggle for liberation.

The piano cycle “Sketches” (1858) is an example of a piano cycle of miniatures – a typically romantic genre. The work is based on the national theme that defines Smetana. The miniatures of the cycle vividly depict the features of Czech folklore.

(Cassette No. 11. Side A)

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 - 1847, Germany).

Mendelssohn's work occupies a special place in the history of German romantic musical culture. In the era of the dominance of romantic ideals, Mendelssohn proclaims the ideals of the classics - on a new, romantic basis. In the composer's work, lyrical romantic images acquired classical balance, restraint and objectivity, and epicness.

Sincere reverence for the heritage of Bach, Handel, and Beethoven enriched the composer’s work with specific writing techniques, completeness and rigor of expression of musical thought, integrity and consistency of musical form.

The classical and romantic merged into an inextricable whole in Mendelssohn's works. The fruitfulness of this path was subsequently proven by the symphonic works of Johannes Brahms.

In the field of literature, a unique ideal for F. Mendelssohn was the work of both the romantics and the classics - Jean Paul and Heine, Goethe and Shakespeare.

The synthesis of classical and romantic features led to the emergence of new genres in Mendelssohn’s work - the “lyrical-landscape” symphony (continuing the traditions of Beethoven’s 6th “Pastoral” symphony and Schubert’s “Unfinished” symphony), the lyrical instrumental concert (based on the achievements of Mozart and Beethoven) , a romantic oratorio.

Based on the achievements of Schubert and Schumann in the field of programmatic piano miniatures, Mendelssohn creates a new piano genre - “a song without words.”

This new type of piano miniature could not be more clearly proof of the dominance of the song principle in the work of the composer - as a romantic artist. In his works, such truly romantic attitudes are also revealed - such as the desire for a poetic improvisational presentation of musical thought, the expansion of the lyrical sphere in the sonata-symphonic cycle - and, as a consequence of this, the emergence of specific techniques for the development of musical thematics.

The composer's creative world - unlike many of his romantic contemporaries - was peacefully lyrical, classically strict and pure, objectively balanced. In many ways, the formation of the composer’s worldview and aesthetics was determined by his life, devoid of collisions and tragic disappointments. Coming from a wealthy banking family, Mendelsohn received an excellent education. The intellectual elite of Germany of that time gathered in his parents' house. Since childhood, Mendelssohn was familiar with Hegel, Humboldt, Heine, Weber, Spohr, and Paganini. From the age of 12, Mendelssohn communicated with Heine, which, of course, could not but influence the formation of the worldview of the future composer, his rejection of the subjective extremes of romanticism.

Mendelssohn received an excellent education, knew languages ​​perfectly, had many friends in different countries, but with all his heart he always belonged to Germany. At the same time, he was painfully aware of all the shortcomings and imperfections of his contemporary domestic culture - especially musical. This determined the exceptional importance of musical and educational activities for him.

His greatest merit as an educator is the return to life of the music of J. S. Bach. It was under the direction of Mendelssohn that the Berlin Singing Chapel in 1829 - 100 years after its creation - performed Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

Having started writing music at the age of 10, Mendelssohn very early - in the octet (1825) and in the overture “Dream in summer night"(1826) - brings his style to perfection, the unity of which is preserved throughout his life. Working in Düsseldorf and Leipzig, Mendelssohn devoted all his energy to promoting classical musical art and the best examples of modern music. Orchestras under his direction performed the most complex works by Cherubini, Palestrina, Handel, Lasso, Pergolesi, Mozart, and Beethoven.

In 1843, Mendelssohn organized the first German conservatory in Leipzig. For about 12 years he led the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Along with piano “songs without words,” Mendelssohn was the creator (continuing the traditions of Beethoven) of another new genre - the romantic symphonic overture, giving it independence and significance. The formation of a new genre was greatly facilitated by the fact that truly romantic - lyrical and fantastic - images were embodied in a classically harmonious and orderly form.

The independence of the overture genre in Mendelssohn's work was facilitated by the fact that they were created not as introductions to a dramatic or musical theater performance, but as complete musical works.

This is the overture “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1826). In Shakespeare’s play, Mendelssohn was attracted, first of all, by the sparkling humor, fantasy, brightness and vitality of the images. The overture was created during Beethoven’s lifetime and, in comparison with the grandeur and scale of his symphonic works, the young composer’s small overture did not seem to be a masterpiece to his contemporaries. But on the path to creating a new romantic version of the genre, Mendelssohn was the first. Subsequently, it was the symphonic overture that would become a specifically romantic genre. Thus, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the most important work not only in the composer’s creative heritage, but also in the history of musical romanticism.

“Magnificat” No. 6 “Gloria” (“Glory to God in the highest”).

A significant area of ​​Mendelssohn's work is vocal and choral works - the oratorios "Paul" and "Elijah", as well as the "Magnificat" - a solemn laudatory large-scale spiritual work on a traditional Latin text.

Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826, Germany).

Carl Maria Weber is one of the founders of German musical romanticism. Along with the creator of the first German romantic opera “Ondine” E. T. A. Hoffmann, Weber laid the foundations of the German national romantic opera theater with his work. Advocating for the revival of German opera, Weber enriched the truly national traditions of musical and dramatic theater with new, typically romantic images and musical intonations.

His operas - “The Magic Shooter” (sometimes they use a different name for the work - “The Free Shooter”), “Euryanthe”, “Oberon” are in many ways similar. First of all, thanks to the fabulously legendary plot, the bright individual, psychologically in-depth characteristics of the heroes, the exceptional significance of the lyrical principle and images of nature, the creation of two musical worlds to embody two spheres of images - real and fantastic. The most important quality of German opera, formed in the works of Weber, is the unity of music, action and scenography.

Carl Maria Weber was also an active public figure. In 1811, he organized the “Harmonic Society”, which had as its goal the promotion of national art.

Opera "Oberon", overture.

The opera Oberon was created in 1826 based on Wieland's story. The work was commissioned by the English Covent Garden Theater and the composer was offered a rather weak poetic work by the English poet James Robinson Planchet as a libretto. Despite the obvious dramatic mistakes in the libretto, Weber created an amazing work - a whole world of fairy-tale fantasy - naiads, gnomes, elves.

The opera is based on the German national musical theater genre Singspiel, in which musical and spoken numbers alternate.

One of the most striking episodes of the opera is the overture on the most dramatic themes of the opera. Weber's achievements in the field of the symphonic overture genre largely contributed to his gaining independence in the work of the Romantics (in particular, in the work of Mendelssohn).

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897, Germany).

The second half of the 19th century was a rather difficult stage for German musical art. On the one hand, romantic tendencies deepened, entailing a mood of increasingly aggravated subjectivism and anomorativity of musical language. On the other hand, progressive trends were becoming more and more active.

In an atmosphere of ideological and artistic crisis, classical realistic traditions acquired new relevance, concert activity intensified, the traditions of home chamber music-making were strengthened, philharmonic and other musical societies were formed - Bach's, Handel's, and various music festivals and celebrations were held.

In this diverse and variegated palette, the name of Johannes Brahms occupies a very special place, thanks to the synthesizing focus of his style. In his work, Brahms combined classical and romantic traditions, traditions coming from the deep philosophy of Bach and traditions originating in folk music. The synthesis of these directions is so deep and organic that it affects all levels of the musical fabric - both form and content.

However, the spheres of influence of these traditions are still distinguishable. Brahms's aesthetics and worldview are certainly classical in their fundamentals - balanced, rational. But the forms of its reflection - musical language, drama - have a clearly romantic basis. All this is naturally combined with the deepest penetration into the very foundations of folk Slavic, German, and Hungarian melodic music.

Connections with national culture are not limited to just relying on folk intonations and genres. Along with several collections of folk songs - over a hundred - the composer’s work also includes vocal works based on the words of the classics of German poetry - Goethe, Schiller, Hölderling.

The democratic orientation of Brahms’s work was also reflected in his close attention to traditional everyday German and Austrian cultures - these are many waltzes, piano miniatures, and the famous “Hungarian Dances”.

It should be noted that, paradoxically relying on late romantic musical trends, Brahms refuted them with all his work. During the period of the declared synthesis of music and words (on the one hand, these are Wagner’s musical dramas, on the other, Liszt’s program symphonism), Brahms asserted the classicist independence of music as an art form, its ability to embody the aesthetic principles of the era through its own means.

Brahms's creative heritage is enormous - more than 200 songs and romances, many choral and vocal symphonic works, sonatas for piano, violin, cello, clarinet, instrumental ensembles - trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, 4 symphonies, 2 piano concertos.

One of the composer’s large-scale and significant vocal-symphonic works is “German Requiem”, created in 1861-1868. In the original version, the work was supposed to be a 3-part cantata, but then the number of parts grew to 7.

As a genre of sacred music, the requiem is based on traditional Latin text. But Brahms departs from this genre setting and uses text in German. The main sphere of images of the requiem is lyricism and epic. This is the only example of the genre of that time, which is based not on the theme of the Last Judgment and punishment for sins, but on the theme of consolation, calming the soul, and purification. In many ways, these features of the ideological concept of the work are due precisely to the lyrical and contemplative orientation of the non-traditional text.

The 2nd part of the requiem is the sphere of concentration of the darkest, tragic images of the work. In the ominous funeral march, bright images of hope and joy seem to “flare up”, fading under the inexorable rhythm of the funeral procession.

Brahms's symphonic work most clearly reflected the synthesizing nature of the composer's style. Brahms' symphonies affirmed classical traditions during the period of unconditional dominance of the genre of the romantic programmatic one-movement poem.

The ideological basis of the 1st symphony was Beethoven's concept - with the effective nature of the first movement, with the leitmotif role of the fundamental themes, with an almost exact quotation of the theme of “joy” from Beethoven’s 9th symphony.

The 2nd Symphony demonstrated the strongest connection between Brahms's style and the traditions of Haydn and Schubert. The famous Soviet musicologist I. I. Sollertinsky called the 3rd symphony a “pathetic ode.” Musicologist B. Asafiev saw the specificity of this work in the fact that each of the four parts of the symphony comes to a calm and lyrical conclusion.

The 4th Symphony (1885) became the pinnacle of Brahms' symphonic work. The aesthetic basis of the cycle, according to Sollertinsky, is “the movement from elegy to tragedy.”

In the 1st part of the work, romantic lyrical images dominate - simple, sincere, embodied in music with truly classical simplicity and clarity.

Concerto for piano and orchestra in B-flat major, part 2.

The concert genre occupies a fairly important place in Brahms's work. Composer in to a greater extent focused on the classical traditions of the genre (in particular, the traditions of Beethoven) than on the romantic ones, despite the extreme popularity of the concert genre among the romantics.

The originality of Brahms' piano concertos lies in their maximum proximity to the symphonic genre and significance epic images and in the inextricable synthesis of lyricism and drama.

The Concerto in B-flat major was written in 1881 under the influence of a trip to Italy. In this concert, thanks to the 4-movement structure (as opposed to the traditional 3-movement), the composer's desire to bring the concert and symphonic genres closer together was clearly revealed.

The 2nd part of the work is a world of expression, rebellious, dramatic images.

Brahms's vocal music is the vastest sphere of his creativity. He created about 200 songs and romances, many arrangements of folk songs, 20 duets, 60 quartets, and a large number of choral works.

It was in the field of solo vocal music that the folk basis of his style was most revealed. In folklore, Brahms saw not frozen, ancient art, but eternally living, new, constantly renewed. The result of his many years of work on collecting and processing musical folklore was a collection of 49 German folk songs (1984)

Brahms created his vocal works based on both folk and original texts. Among the masterpieces of Brahms' song lyrics are such works as “4 Strict Tunes” (a kind of solo cantata), songs based on poems by Klaus Groth and Georg Friedrich Daumer, “15 Romances from Magelona” on Art. Tika.

“Serenade” is one of the examples of the composer’s vocal creativity, demonstrating such a specific quality as soulful lyricism and a folk basis of melody.

(Cassette No. 11. Side B)

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886, Hungary).

The process of forming national music schools in the romantic era was continued by the work of F. Liszt, with whose name the formation of the Hungarian music school is inextricably linked.

F. Liszt is a major romantic composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, and musical and public figure. The composer left his homeland very early and returned to Hungary only at the end of his life. But, despite the fact that he spent many years in France and Germany, a sense of national pride and national identity was always inherent in him.

Hungarian themes took a strong place in Liszt’s work: the cantata “Hungary”, several notebooks of “Hungarian National Melodies and Rhapsodies” (21 pieces), 3 symphonic poems - “Lament for Heroes”, “Hungary”, “Battle of the Huns”, 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies etc.

The intonations of Hungarian folk melodies and the characteristic techniques of folk ensemble instrumental performance penetrated into other works of the composer, forming a new melodic style that creatively transforms folk melodies and combines with the best achievements of romantic and classical musical art. This synthesis was largely due to the fact that the artist Liszt saw his task not only in creative, but also in active social and propaganda activities. Being a brilliant virtuoso pianist, he performed both his own works and the works of classics, and advocated in every possible way for the democratization of the art of music, for bringing it closer to a wide circle of listeners.

The tendency to democratize art, the desire to make it accessible to any listener and the typically romantic ideal of the synthesis of arts are the reasons for the close connection of literary and musical principles in Liszt’s work, the formation of a new understanding of programming - a generalized psychological one. And it is precisely in the programs of Liszt’s works that the direction of the evolution of his work and his aesthetics is most noticeable, often leading to abstract philosophizing and mysticism.

The significance of the composer’s creative achievements is immeasurable.

He created new genres of symphonic music - program symphonic romantic monothematic poem, program monothematic romantic symphony, piano poem.

His works established new principles of musical development - monothematic, the principle of genre and figurative transformation of themes.

He transformed piano art along the lines of symphonization and orchestral sonority.

Liszt's vocal creativity is quite large-scale. These are songs based on poems by Goethe, Heine, Hugo, and the words of Hungarian songs. The composer also turned to the poetic works of authors of the 18th century and the Renaissance (in particular, to the sonnets of Petrarch). In addition to secular vocal music, Liszt also wrote sacred works - the Granskaya mass (written in honor of the consecration of the cathedral in Gran in 1856) and the Hungarian Coronation Mass (which was created in honor of the coronation of the Austrian emperor by the Hungarian king).

The oratorio “The Legend of Saint Elizabeth” is one of the best vocal and instrumental works of Liszt (1857-1862). At the center of the oratorio is the image of Elizabeth, a devoted daughter of the Hungarian people.

The last part of the oratorio, “The Solemn Burial of Elizabeth,” glorifies the selflessness and humility of the main character.

Liszt's symphonic and piano music are two of the most extensive areas of the composer's work, areas in which he showed himself primarily as a brilliant innovator.

The middle of the 19th century was a time of the most active renewal of symphonic music - genre, structural, figurative and content. Many new varieties of the symphonic genre are emerging - a programmatic lyric-genre symphony (in the work of Schubert), a programmatic concert overture (in the work of Mendelssohn) ... In the work of Liszt, two completely new versions of symphonic music are formed - a symphonic program one-part romantic poem and a program monothematic romantic symphony.

Liszt created 13 program symphonic poems. These works are united by a common form - free fantasy one-movement, free implementation of sonata principles of development of musical thematics, use of variation principles of development of musical material, frequent adherence to the principles of a 4-part symphonic cycle.

With all the variety of themes and plots in Liszt’s poems, Liszt gives a clear preference to heroic themes - “Prometheus”, “Mazeppa”, “Hamlet”, “Lament for Heroes”.

Almost always, the composer preceded symphonic poems with detailed literary programs, the embodiment of which in music had, as a rule, a generalized psychological character.

Focusing on the full disclosure of one, leading image, Liszt comes to the creation of new principles of form-building, to special musical themes, which, in the process of various genre transformations, reveal all their potential figurative and meaningful possibilities. In this case, two most important components of the composer’s musical thinking arise - monothematism and the principle of genre and figurative transformation of themes.

With all the freedom of presentation of musical thought and the unconventionality of its development, Liszt often turns to the laws of the sonata form - as the most philosophical and capacious in content.

The symphonic poem "Mazepa" was created in 1851. As in many of Liszt's heroic symphonic poems - "Tasso", "Preludes", in "Mazepa" the core of the work - both ideological and figurative - is one leading typical heroic-dramatic image of a person - a fighter, a titan, a unique personality who suffered a lot and endured a lot. Almost all heroic poems, including “Mazeppa,” are constructed according to a monothematic principle, which determines the genre and figurative transformation of the main theme.

The poem “Preludes” in its first version was an introduction to 4 male choirs based on the poems of the French poet Joseph Autrand “4 elements - Earth, Winds, Waves and Stars” (1844)

Only much later did Liszt create a program for this work based on Lamartine’s religious-mystical poem (“From New Poetic Reflections”), which tells about the vanity and futility of human life. But, despite the philosophically vague program, Liszt imbued the musical work with very specific, effective content that practically did not correspond to the literary source. Lamartine’s work became for Liszt only an impetus for his own reflections, in the center of which were heroic and optimistic images. The poem alternates between images of philosophical reflection (a typically romantic theme of a “question” that initially has no answer), heroic, dreamily lyrical images, developing into a victorious, triumphant anthem.

Liszt was one of the greatest pianists of his time and the greatest composer of piano music. In the field of piano creativity, Liszt's innovation was clearly reflected - harmonic, melodic, innovative interpretation of traditional genres and the creation of new ones, the formation of orchestral, symphonic sonority of the piano.

In Liszt's piano heritage, along with romantic genres, there are also classical ones. These are 2 sonatas - “Fantasy-Sonata after Dante” and the B-minor Sonata, which interpret the traditional genre extremely freely.

Liszt was the creator of a new piano genre - rhapsody. Previously, this genre existed in composer practice, but it was a paraphrase on themes from various operas, without claiming independence and significance. Liszt creates his rhapsodies as original works based on folk song and dance music. It should be noted that Liszt’s interest in folklore was due not only to the patriotic aspirations of the composer himself, but also to the atmosphere of active discussion of folklore problems in French culture of that time. In many ways, Liszt’s interest in folk art was also caused by the enthusiasm of his teacher Antonio Reicha. This Czech musician argued that without relying on folk art it is difficult to create a significant work.

For Liszt, folklore becomes one of the pillars of his work: folk music in his understanding is not a frozen archaic, but an effective, living, progressive art. Therefore, the themes of the composer’s rhapsodies are mainly based on folklore sources (with the exception of only a few). Very often, Liszt combined within one work the themes of ancient verbunkos (the national virtuoso style of performance and folk Hungarian music), csardas and urban everyday modern songs.

It is interesting that almost all the themes of the Hungarian Rhapsodies and “Hungarian National Melodies and Rhapsodies” were drawn by Liszt from the folklore of the Hungarian gypsies. Liszt himself called his rhapsodies a gypsy epic. The ideal that Liszt sought to achieve was ease, freedom of presentation - from the freedom of spirit and performance of Hungarian-Gypsy orchestras. The sequence of themes in Liszt's rhapsodies - with all its freedom - still has binding moments: the principle of contrast in the alternation of episodes and the principle of growth - tempo, dynamic, etc.

The fundamental genres in Liszt's piano heritage were also program miniatures, paraphrases, etudes, and concertos.

Liszt's concertos are a new page in the history of the genre. Being closely related to symphonic poems, concertos are also based on the principle of monothematicism.

The 1st concert for piano and orchestra was completed in 1856. The work is dominated by heroic, bravura and lyrical (both dreamy and expressive) images.

Like many romantic musicians, in his piano work Liszt turned to genres that did not have a strictly fixed structure and figurative content. One of these genres is sketch. Following the traditions of Chopin, Liszt develops the etude genre not only as an educational, technical, auxiliary, but primarily as a highly artistic genre. In Liszt's work, the etude turns into a large-scale piano work of a virtuosic nature, containing a variety of images - heroic, dreamy-lyrical, fairy-tale-fantastic, dramatic. Liszt originally intended to create a cycle of 48 etudes in all keys. But he wrote only 12 sketches (1826), which clearly had a pedagogical, technical orientation. After numerous editions and revisions, the 5th edition of the cycle appeared in 1851, called “Etudes of the Highest performing skills" In this edition, 10 of the 12 etudes acquired program titles: No. 1 – “Prelude”, No. 3 – “Landscape”, No. 4 – “Mazeppa” (the thematic theme of this etude later became the basis of the symphonic poem of the same name), No. 5 – “Will-o’-the-wisp” , No. 6 – “Vision”, No. 7 – “Eroica”, No. 8 – “Wild Hunt”, No. 9 – “Memories”, No. 11 – “Evening Harmonies”, No. 12 – “Blizzard”.

Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869, France).

The name of Berlioz and his work have always caused fierce debate among his contemporaries. His works sounded too new, too unusual, in which the composer, first of all, pushed the boundaries of the concept of music (thanks to the creation of a new type of melody, gravitating towards instrumentality and the embodiment of the mass principle). The origins of this lie in the specifics of French romanticism itself, which combined the desire for intimate lyricism, fantastic and humorous images and civil, revolutionary themes.

With the emergence of Berlioz's symphonic works, it became possible to talk about the formation of a truly French national romantic symphony. The origins of French symphonic music are in the instrumental intermissions of the operas of Rameau and Gluck, and the overtures of Cherubini. Continuing these traditions, Berlioz enriched symphonic music with vivid theatricality, visibility and concreteness of images.

French musical culture has always strived for clarity and reality of images. It should be noted that these traditions were formed back in the 17th - 1st half. XVIII century in the works of composers of the French harpsichord school. And to a large extent this was facilitated by the programmatic nature of the harpsichordists’ works. Berlioz is often called the “inventor of the program” of symphonic works. The composer's innovation and artistic "sensitivity" were manifested in the fact that he intuitively foresaw the aesthetic necessity of merging literature and symphonic music.

Berlioz and Liszt became the founders of two areas of programming in the art of music. Liszt tended to reflect the generalized ideological and psychological content of the work. Berlioz strove to reproduce plot and narrative in his work.

However, Berlioz's innovation lies not only in the programmatic nature of his symphonic works. What is historically new in his symphony is the modernity of the content, the creation of the image of a modern artist. All this gave rise to new principles of form-building, the nature of thematicism and the principles of its development. This is especially clearly reflected in the composer’s melodic language. Berlioz's melody had a very special - instrumental - character (in contrast to the vocal melodic style that dominated among the romantics), combining truly romantic lyricism, sincerity, trepidation and pathos of French revolutionary songs (Berlioz owns an orchestral version of "La Marseillaise"). The desire to reflect French street music on a large professional stage was due to Berlioz’s protest against bourgeois philistinism, averageness, his desire to revive heroic images in romantic music, the dream of a mass audience and truly popular, democratic art.

That is why the basis of Berlioz’s work was the symphonic genre, which implies a large audience. The composer's program symphonies - "Fantastique", "Harold in Italy", "Romeo and Juliet" - are inextricably linked with the national culture of France, primarily due to their exceptional theatricality (they also offer stage embodiment). Considering himself a continuator of Beethoven's traditions, Berlioz creates a completely special figurative world - motley, ambiguous, imbued with effectiveness. The composer's innovation also affected the area of ​​interpretation of the sonata-symphonic cycle, sometimes expanding to 5 movements, sometimes based on the principles of monothematism.

In the field of orchestral writing, Berlioz draws on the achievements of composers of the French Revolution, who wrote for very large orchestras with an expanded group of wind and percussion instruments. Berlioz's orchestra is rich in colors; the composer often creates a special timbre dramaturgy, uses new, unconventional playing techniques, and includes unusual, previously unused instruments in the orchestra.

Berlioz's vocal and choral heritage is very large-scale, and many works for choir take on a completely new genre look from the composer. This is a lyrical scene - according to the composer himself - “The Death of Orpheus”, “The Damnation of Faust” by Berlioz was defined as a dramatic legend.

"Requiem" (1837) was created in honor of the memory of the heroes of the July Revolution. By his convictions, Berlioz was an atheist, and the traditionally spiritual genre of the requiem acquired a new meaning in his work. This is the highest example of civil poetry. Using the canonical Latin text of the requiem, Berlioz strives primarily to embody its emotional and dramatic content. "Requiem" is extremely original. His new melody is pathetic, oratorically upbeat, combining pathos and soulful lyricism. The performing composition is also unusual in its grandeur - 200 choristers, 140 orchestra members, additional wind instruments and an extremely expanded percussion group.

Part 2 “Day of Wrath”, section “Trumpet of the Eternal”.

“Fantastic Symphony” (Episode from the life of an artist).

Part 5 – “The Sabbath of Witches.”

The “Fantastic Symphony” was created in 1830-1831. and was a declaration of the romantic ideals of French culture in the symphonic genre.

The author himself prefaced the symphony with an extensive program-script, in which he outlined the plot of the work in detail. This script is largely autobiographical. From this point of view, Berlioz continues the tradition of the lyrical musical intimate diaries of Schubert and Schumann, embodying the eternal - but especially relevant in romantic art - theme of the artist’s loneliness and his discord with reality.

The plot of the work is based on the fantasies and visions of a young musician who is driven to suicide by hopeless love. An attempt to poison himself with opium is unsuccessful and the unhappy lover is plunged into an unreal world in which he sees the appearance of his beloved everywhere. This image is embodied by an extremely expressive, restless theme, which becomes the leitmotif of the work and in each part takes on a new look, undergoing various transformations.

Each of the parts of the symphony has its own program name. Part 1 – “Dreams, Passions”, Part 2 – “Ball”, Part 3 – “Scene in the Fields”, Part 4 – “Procession to Execution”, Part 5 - “A Dream on the Night of the Witches' Sabbath.”

The last part of the work is a large-scale orchestral “theatrical” scene in which contrasting episodes alternate. Embodying the demonic principle in music, Berlioz - on a new level - turns to the traditions of dark fantasy in the work of K. M. Weber. The leitmotif of the work - the theme of the beloved - undergoes a radical rethinking in the finale. From a dream of a distant ideal, it turns into a caricatured, vulgar, shrill dance, a “lowering” image.

Thus, it is in the finale that the general idea of ​​the symphony is affirmed - the idea of ​​​​the disappointment of a romantic artist in life.

A little later, Berlioz, in an attempt to rethink the symphony and create a new ideological concept, wrote a kind of “continuation” - a new part called “Lelio, or a return to life.” The genre is lyrical monodrama for voice, choir and orchestra. But the music of this part was a reworking of the composer’s early works, was rather weak, and the original, 5-part version of the symphony was entrenched in performance practice.

(Cassette No. 12. Side A)

Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868, Italy).

Italian musical romanticism - in comparison with German and Austrian - had a specific appearance. Its unusualness was largely determined by the relevance of civil, patriotic ideas, connections with the Italian people's liberation movement, with the activities of the Carbonari, with protest against French oppression and with the uprisings of the 1820s. Huge importance in the 1830s. had the activities of the organization “Young Italy”, aimed at raising the liberation movement. 1840s brought with them the revival of the Italian state. This period - the Risorgimento - was marked by the formation of a new literary school based on the ideas of the people's liberation struggle. The works of Ugo Foscolo, Manzoni, Rosetti are reflected historical topics and stories aimed at reviving interest in national history, to embody patriotic and heroic themes. In music, the romantic ideals of a liberating, fighting Italy acquired a slightly different expression.

First of all, the opera genre finds itself in a very difficult and ambiguous position. Opera by this time was burdened with many cliches, stereotyped situations, and traditions of virtuoso singing. In addition, opera is recognized as an entertainment genre. Being the most democratic, mass and popular genre in the musical culture of Italy, opera at the same time turned out to be the most suitable for embodying advanced and innovative attitudes. But the next obstacle on this path was censorship.

The honor of transforming the traditional image of the Italian opera house and creating a new romantic Italian opera belongs to Gioachino Rossini.

Rossini wrote 38 operas, including such masterpieces of the operatic genre as “The Thieving Magpie,” “Moses in Egypt,” “The Barber of Seville,” and “William Tell.”

« Barber of Seville", and "William Tell" became the pinnacles in the evolution of Italian opera. “William Tell” is actually the first historical-heroic opera of the 19th century. “The Barber of Seville” is a brilliant conclusion to the centuries-long development of Italian comic opera. Rossini gave particular preference to this genre. The opera was created in 1816 based on a libretto by Sterbini (based on a play by Beaumarchais). Differences from the literary source consisted of an almost complete rejection of social emphasis, an emphasis on the comic element, and democratization tendencies. Despite the French basis of the plot, the characters of the opera represent typical images of the Italian theater - the genre of commedia dell'arte.

Despite the importance of solo performance, the opera lacks excessive vocal virtuosity and the coloratura so beloved by the Italian public. The melodic style of the work is exquisite in its naturalness and gracefulness, filled with the rhythms and intonations of modern urban everyday and folk music. Such is the famous overture to the opera.

Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893, France).

Opera "Faust", act 2, scene 3 - Mephistopheles' serenade.

In the middle of the 19th century, a new operatic genre was formed in French musical art - lyric opera, which marked significant changes in the aesthetics of French operatic music. Romantic interest in the exaggeration of feelings and the image of an exceptional personality is losing relevance. These trends are being replaced by an interest in the life of the common man in his ordinariness and everyday life, and a desire to embody sincere, simple lyrical feelings. These changes entailed the emergence of new features of the musical language - democracy, simplicity of intonation, reliance on the melody of modern urban and folk songs and dances.

The genre of lyrical opera finally took shape in the work of Charles Gounod, whose legacy includes 12 operas, including “The Reluctant Doctor,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Faust.”

The opera “Faust” was created in 1859. The basis of the work was Goethe’s deeply philosophical creation, but only in its lyrical aspect. The ideological core of the opera is the personal drama of the main character, Margarita; the images of Faust and Mephistopheles play rather a supporting role. “Faust” is a brilliant series of bright, individual musical characteristics of the heroes - unique musical “portraits”. The image of Mephistopheles acquires a very characteristic interpretation for the 19th century: images of evil are embodied in musical art as theatrically conventional ones. Mephistopheles' Serenade is an evil mockery, a kind of “inverted” love song, characterizing the image, first of all, evilly ironic.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901, Italy).

Opera has always been the dominant genre in the musical life of Italy. But in the 40-50s. XIX century - after finishing creative career Rossini – this genre once again finds itself in a difficult and crisis situation. The explosive revolutionary atmosphere saturated the melody of operas with the intonations of revolutionary and patriotic songs. But these progressive trends were drowned out by the strictest censorship. One of the most democratic genres - opera - demanded new, relevant themes and plots, which, in turn, was hampered by many outdated canons of the genre. A unique way out of this crisis is the actualization of historical subjects that embody modernity in a disguised and “smoothed” way.

Besides, existing system seasons of opera troupes relied practically on productions of new works, which led to the need for very fast work composers. Of course, this could not but affect the skill of artists and singers, and the value of the operatic works themselves. Italian opera was gradually shackled by craftsmanship, routine and mediocrity.

The operatic work of G. Verdi marked a new, brilliant page in the history of Italian opera, its turn to realistic themes and plots, the democratization of the operatic language, and the formation of deeply philosophical dramatic concepts.

The opera “Nebuchadnezzar” (“Nabucco”, 1840) was the clearest reflection of revolutionary and patriotic ideas in opera music. Based on a biblical story, it turned out to be in tune with modern times with the desire to embody the people's suffering. The musical language of the opera was largely based on the intonations of revolutionary songs. The tendency to embody a mass, popular principle determined the exceptional dramatic significance of choral episodes. One of them is chorus No. 13 from Act 3.

In the 40s XIX century Verdi also created such wonderful examples of the operatic genre as “The Lombards in the First Crusade”, “Ernani”, “Macbeth”, “The Battle of Legnano”.

Opera "Troubadour". Act 2, No. 4.

The opera “Il Trovatore” belongs to the famous triad of Verdi’s operas of the 50s. (“Rigoletto”, “La Traviata”). Significant changes took place in the composer’s work of this period – ideological, figurative, and substantive. The failures of the revolutionary movement in Italy determine a new interpretation of patriotic and heroic themes, which the composer solves in a social “cut”, strengthening the personal element in the dramas of his heroes. For the first time in Verdi’s work (and in the musical art of the 1st half of the 19th century), the theme of social inequality arises. Verdi is primarily interested in the fate of ordinary people, which forms a special psychological focus of the composer’s work of this period.

The opera “Il Trovatore” was written in 1850-1851. based on the play by Spanish playwright A. Gutierrez. The creators of the libretto are Salvatore Cammarano and Leon Emanuele Bardare. The libretto of the opera, like its literary source, was a romantic drama with an extremely complicated tragic plot and many melodramatic scenes. Verdi, in this rather illogical work with weak and far-fetched dramaturgy, was attracted primarily by the spirit of rebellion, the desire for freedom and the heroic appearance of the main character of the work.

The opera "Aida" was written in 1871 by order of the Egyptian government in honor of the opening of the Suez Canal. The plot was developed by the famous French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette and Camille du Locle, the libretto was written by Antonio Ghislanzoni. The historical plot takes on an exclusively modern sound in Verdi, the images of the heroes are real and psychologically reliable, and the central idea of ​​the opera was no less modern - the idea of ​​the national liberation movement, the depravity and destructiveness of wars that destroy human destinies. “Aida” is an amazing example of the operatic genre, in which ethical problems, personal drama and the drama of moral duty are intertwined.

One of the central problems that worried researchers of Verdi’s work was the problem of the embodiment of folklore in Aida. While working on the work, Verdi repeatedly sought advice from Auguste Mariette, and he himself studied the history and art of Egypt. But in the music of the opera there are practically no hints of folklore sources. The oriental flavor is embodied very “transparently” - in romantic, colorful harmonies, in subtle orchestration.

Act 4, scene 2. Duet of Radames and Aida. One of Verdi’s contemporaries characterized this episode of the work’s heroes’ farewell to life as follows: “Not so much sounds as tears.” In this duet, the melodic style of the opera - bright, individualized, lyrically expressive - reached its culmination.

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883, Germany).

In the middle of the 19th century. Significant changes are taking place in German musical culture. In the 50s XIX century Two main music schools were formed in the country: Weimar or New German (Liszt, Wagner) and Leipzig (representatives of “moderate” romanticism - Karl Reinecke, Franz Abt). Over time, the confrontation between these schools takes on a slightly different form; Brahms and Wagner are opposed to each other. The New German School saw its task as the all-out propaganda of Wagner’s work, his “music of the future.” In the 70s The “Wagner Society” also emerges.

Wagner became practically the last representative of romanticism in German music. And like many of the romantic artists, his work often contradicted his own aesthetic declarations.

A subjective idealist by his convictions, he embodied in his music completely real psychological images (although they were often colored by fantasy and mysticism), a protest against the existing reality that infringes on the creator with its routine and philistinism, the drama of human feelings, the contradictory nature of life and its frequent hostility to man. Like many romantics, Wagner was a universal artist - not only a composer, but also an excellent conductor, a sharp and insightful critic, a talented musicologist, and librettist.

Wagner's path to opera ran through intensive conducting activities in Magdeburg and Riga.

The period of his work in Dresden as the chief conductor of the opera house (since 1842) was of great importance in the formation of the composer’s aesthetics and style. At this time, the foundations of his aesthetic views were laid, representing an ambiguous synthesis of the ideals of “Young Germany” - the renewal of art, the contemplative philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach, the ideas of utopian socialism, the ideas of anarchism. In addition, all the composer’s work from that time on reflects the rejection of the capitalist system, philistinism and philistinism.

The opera “The Flying Dutchman”, which arose during this period, marked the final formation of the composer’s innovative style, in which henceforth an appeal to national themes, plots and images came to the fore, the desire to create a holistic dramaturgy of the work - and for this purpose independent work as a librettist. The most important thing for the composer was to turn to the fabulous and legendary sphere, to the realm of myth - a universal artistic whole that combines artistic creativity, morality, history, lyricism, drama and epicness. With its allegory and universality, myth teaches and instructs, updating historical subjects. Turning to myth as the focus of the long-standing historical, ethical, artistic experience of mankind, as a concentrate of spirituality, fully confirms Wagner’s special understanding of art - as an all-conquering, supreme purifying force.

The Flying Dutchman draws heavily on the traditions of German romantic opera, primarily due to the merging of the lyrical and fantastic, real and surreal worlds. At the same time, the work became one of the first stages in the formation of a deeply philosophical concept of Wagner's operatic work and the transformation of the opera genre into the genre of philosophical musical drama. At the center of the ideological concept of the opera is one of the fundamental ethical and aesthetic features of Wagner’s creative world - an appeal to the idea of ​​atonement for sin with love, which alone can help a person overcome the materiality and commercialism that binds him. IN " The Flying Dutchman“For the first time, a female character so characteristic of Wagner’s operas appears - half-fantastic, half-real, associated with higher powers and possessing a great gift of foresight.

From the point of view of musical language and dramaturgy, “The Flying Dutchman” was an innovative work in which the principles of the composer’s leitmotif system were formed. Saturating the entire work with the constant implementation of short, extremely meaningful fundamental themes-symbols, Wagner brings opera and symphony as close as possible.

Wagner abandons the traditional number structure of the opera (dividing it into episodes closed within themselves). In an effort to intensify the musical action and make it continuously developing, Wagner makes the main structural unit of the opera not an aria, but a large-scale scene consisting of several vocal episodes that develop into one another.

Opera "Lohengrin", introduction.

The libretto of the work was created in 1845, the musical text - in 1846-1848. The libretto of Lohengrin - like many other works of Wagner - is a combination of several storylines from the legends of the Grail Knights - fighters for justice. The main idea of ​​the work has an ethical orientation, in the center is the problem of the eternal struggle between good and evil. Symbolic and mythological motifs are of great importance in opera.

Lohengrin is the composer's most lyrical opera. Like The Flying Dutchman, the opera pits two musical worlds against each other, characterizing good (Lohengrin) and evil (Ortrud). As a rule, themes of evil rely on a downward movement, sharp, expressive intonations. The more complex the ethical and aesthetic content of the themes that outline the negative principle, the more complex their melodic, harmonic, orchestral embodiment. The sphere of goodness is recreated in the opera with the help of chorale intonations (let us remember that the chorale was a kind of embodiment of the spirituality of German culture, its symbol), simple harmonies, and clear and transparent orchestral writing.

In "Lohengrin" the structure of Wagner's operatic genre is finally formed, based on the free alternation of scenes of end-to-end development.

Along with leitmotifs, in this work Wagner actively uses leittimbres (linking an image with the sound of an instrument or group of instruments), which leads to a kind of symphonization of the opera.

Despite the brightness and authenticity of the crowd scenes, a specific feature of Wagner's opera theater is outlined in Lohengrin - the predominance of the psychological principle over the plot, emotions over action.

Opera "Die Mastersingers of Nuremberg". Act 3 “Procession of the workshops”.

The opera Die Meistersinger of Nuremberg is one of Wagner's best works. This is a rather unusual work for the composer - realistic in its fundamentals, approaching the genre of comic opera. The main focus of the plot is the glorification of folk-national ideals and the art of medieval burgher singers - the Meistersinger. But despite the brightness and individuality of the characters, the opera is somewhat “overloaded” with rather lengthy discussions about art. The work was created in 1867.

Opera "Tannhäuser". Act 1, scene 2. Grotto of Venus. Tannhäuser's Hymn.

The opera was created in 1843 - 1845. Wagner independently wrote the libretto based on several medieval knightly legends. But the image of the main character, according to the composer, was extremely modern: like many romantic creators, Tannhäuser could not find satisfaction and happiness for himself in this world.

The ideological and aesthetic core of the work is the theme of atonement for sin through heroism. Tannhäuser is looking for the meaning of life in the sensory world - in the arms of Venus, and in the spiritual world - in the circle of pilgrims. Two worlds of emotions and feelings determine the emergence of two musical worlds. The music of the Grotto of Venus is sensual, whimsical and expressive melodic, refined and colorful harmonies. The spiritual world (pilgrims and Taigenser-loving Elizabeth) is characterized by choral melody, simple and clear harmonic consonances.

In "Tannhäuser" the composer's leitmotif system is formed, in which symbolic images, ethical concepts, and mythological motifs are of fundamental importance. The characteristic features of the vocal style are outlined - the “infinity” of the melody, the “flowing” of intonations. In addition, Wagner no longer makes any distinction between singing and recitative, recitation and cantilena. Traditional operatic forms - arias, duets - are replaced in the opera by extremely free monologues and dialogues.

In connection with the reliance on the leitmotif - as the most important dramatic means - the importance of the orchestral principle increases immeasurably, so leitmotifs are predominantly performed by the orchestra.

Wagner also created a unique opera tetralogy “The Ring of the Nibelungs”, “Das Rheingold”, “Walkyrie”, “Siegfried”, “Twilight of the Gods” (or “Twilight of the Gods”), as well as a brilliant opera that fully reflected all the originality of late German romanticism - “Tristan and Isolde.”

Wagner is one of the original musicologists of the 2nd half. XIX century His musical and aesthetic views are largely related to the philosophy of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. His most significant musicological works are “Pilgrimage to Beethoven”, “Art and Revolution”, “Artwork of the Future”, “Opera and Drama”, “My Life”.

(Cassette No. 12. Side B)

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875, France).

In the second half of the 19th century, two trends became more and more evident in opera culture. One of them, realistic in its aesthetics, was associated with the work of G. Verdi. The other, associated with the work of R. Wagner, was essentially late romantic, leading to the formation of the genre of musical drama.

In French music, the traditions of operatic realism found their brightest embodiment in the work of Georges Bizet. Turning to various genres of musical art, the composer first of all sought to create real, life-like images in tune with the era (in this his aspirations were similar to the active social position and aesthetics of the “Mighty Handful” in Russia).

Bizet was an excellent pianist and paid a lot of attention to piano music. But his name entered the history of world musical culture primarily in connection with his music for the theater. These are the operas “The Pearl Fishers”, “Djamile”, “The Beauty of Perth”, music for A. Daudet’s drama “The Arlesian” and the composer’s crowning creation – the opera “Carmen” (1874).

The literary source of “Carmen” - the short story of the same name by P. Mérimée - was radically rethought through the efforts of librettists - Méillac, Halévy and Bizet himself. First of all, this concerned the appearance of the main characters, who appeared in a poetic form, devoid of all “degrading” moments. And therefore, the idea of ​​human freedom, freedom of choice, purity and naturalness of feelings dominates in opera. Bizet’s innovation also lay in the fact that modern people became the heroes of the opera, contrary to the traditions of the genre.

In addition, folk scenes were also included in the libretto, which transformed the dark, tragic romance of the literary source into a humanistically, positively resolved drama. The folk principle is the most important aspect of the aesthetics of Carmen, shaping the optimistic concept of the tragedy, the interpretation of images, and the peculiarities of the musical language of the work.

The opera uses only a few authentic folk songs. But the entire fabric of the opera is permeated with the most characteristic intonations and rhythms of Spanish folk music. Many episodes of the opera are based on folk genres - habanera, seguidilla, tarantella.

In Carmen, Bizet, relying on all the richness of folklore melodies, freely used the traditions of the classical, numbered structure of the opera and innovative trends in creating large-scale, dramaturgically purposeful scenes, permeated with the unity of intonation development.

The running theme of the entire work is the leitmotif of Carmen (in two versions), which becomes a symbol of freedom of spirit.

Act 4. The duet of Jose and Carmen is the last duet of the main characters. The tragedy of Jose's feelings, rejected by Carmen, is greatly enhanced by the contrast of the festivity of the folk scenes. The “discrepancy” between the personal and general plans of the narrative creates a dramatic situation that is phenomenal in tension, at the same time vital and real, which corresponded exclusively to the realistic aspirations of the composer.

(Cassette No. 13. Side A)

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) – Norwegian composer, conductor, pianist, musical figure. Grieg is one of those artists whose role turned out to be decisive for the development of national culture. Having started his creative life in a small “provincial” country, the composer, with the power of his genius, elevated Norwegian music to the heights of world classics. Grieg's style is marked by bright individuality and national character. From the first steps of his creative life, he strove to master the “native speech” of Norwegian music. The composer freely implements the modal and intonation features of Norwegian melodies. Having absorbed the influence of German romanticism in his youth, Grieg then showed his individuality more and more clearly. Gifted by nature with a special sense of color, he introduced a lot of new things in the field of harmony and texture. His inherent qualities of subtle pictorial representation permeate his music special feeling light, air and space. The colorful harmony in Grieg’s works brings the composer closer to his French contemporary, Claude Debussy, a representative of impressionism. Continuously enriching his style, Grieg pursued the main goal - to raise national art to the level of outstanding world phenomena.

Grieg's extensive legacy includes the main musical genres: stage and choral music, symphonic works, chamber ensembles, piano works, romances. Primarily a miniaturist, Grieg showed himself most fully in the field of piano and chamber vocal music. These genres reflected the best aspects of his talent, his subtle and soulful lyricism. Grieg's piano work is multifaceted. It reflected images of nature, poetic pictures of folk life, and hidden movements of the human soul. His short piano pieces can be compared to lyrical poems, in which the fullness of impressions is expressed in a few words.

Grieg's piano works are closely related to his chamber ensembles. The composer had a keen sense of the nature of bowed instruments, which have a long tradition in Norway.

Grieg's interpretation of orchestral and symphonic genres is unique. All of his orchestral works, with the exception of an early unreleased symphony, belong to the type of suite or program miniature. Grieg's best orchestral works are associated with the literary program, inspired by the works of G. Ibsen and B. Bjornson. The suites from the music to G. Ibsen's drama "Peer Gynt" (1888-1896), in which Grieg gave his own interpretation of the plot, enhancing its lyrical features and introducing landscape moments, enjoy worldwide fame. Here, the three main lines that define the character of Grieg’s music for “Peer Gynt” - folk life, fantasy, lyricism - appear in organic synthesis. The fantasy of Peer Gynt - the world of trolls and mountain spirits - was perceived by Grieg with great spontaneity, in the spirit of a Norwegian folk tale. The folk song principle also dominates in the lyrics of “Peer Gynt” - warm, heartfelt and tender in Griegian style. What is common to all the musical paintings that make up the composition of Peer Gynt is their clearly expressed national character.

In the First Suite, Grieg included the composition “Morning” as the first number. This picture, in the words of Grieg himself, is “the mood of morning nature, where... at the first “fort” the sun breaks through the clouds.” The music of “Morning” is permeated with pastoral, idyllic melodies and breathes the freshness of the northern morning. The charm of this music lies in the subtle play of timbres and light, shining harmonic colors. A pastoral duet between flute and oboe, followed by the warm sound of strings, the singing of horns and the chirping of flutes paint a picture of awakening nature.

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957) - Finnish composer and conductor.

The master's creativity was formed in line with classical and romantic traditions. In Sibelius’s vast and varied musical heritage in genres and forms, the most significant are the large orchestral works, which created his reputation as one of the prominent representatives of world symphony. The composer was inspired by the unique flavor of Finnish musical folklore, the harsh northern nature, poetic images of the national epic "Kalevala", the historical past and problems modern life Finnish people. Without quoting folk melodies, Sibelius organically implemented the features of Finnish musical and poetic folklore, its intonation, mode-harmonic and rhythmic turns, as well as the performing traditions and techniques of Finnish rune singers. Sibelius's vocal works are mainly associated with the work of Finnish national poets.

The main place in Sibelius’s musical heritage is occupied by 7 symphonies, varied in their emotional and figurative structure and methods of musical embodiment. Sibelius interpreted the symphony as an instrumental drama, generally revealing wide circle images - heroic-epic, dramatic, lyrical, pastoral, deeply psychological.

Throughout his career, Sibelius gravitated towards programming. Among his numerous program symphonic works are the Kullervo Symphony, symphonic poems, overtures, and suites.

One of best works Sibelius - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1905), written with a keen knowledge of the nature of the instrument, a truly symphonic scope and which has occupied a prominent place in world violin literature. The composition of the concert is romantically free and at the same time strict; the music is distinguished by depth, originality, breadth of melodic breathing (especially in the violin part), brilliant and expressive virtuosity.

In the finale (3rd part) of the concert, the music seems to take away from the dramatic conflict of the previous parts and seems to resurrect long-forgotten pictures of ancient festive pagan ritual rites. Two melodies, intonation-modally and rhythmically close to folk songs, dominate this part. The first is mobile, motor, like a bewitching tune, the second imitates a crudely simple-minded folk dance, achieving enormous elemental power in its development.

The finale ends with a major coda, which is based on the motives of the main part of the first movement. This kinship creates a kind of intonation-semantic arch that crowns the entire cycle with a bright apotheosis.

Charles Camille Saint-Saens (1835 - 1921) - French composer, pianist, organist, conductor, music critic and writer, teacher, musical and public figure.

The creative principles of Saint-Saëns were formed under the influence of national traditions (harpsichordists, G. Berlioz, grand opera, lyric opera), as well as the art of J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel, Viennese classics, and the program symphony of F. Liszt. Saint-Saëns's compositional activity was distinguished by exceptional intensity: he created numerous works in many musical genres. He is the author of eleven operas (the most popular of them, Samson and Delilah, was ranked place of honor in the repertoire of opera houses around the world). However, the most striking area of ​​his creativity is instrumental music, primarily concert virtuoso music. Such works as a symphony with organ (dedicated to the memory of F. Liszt, 1886), program symphonic poems (especially the popular “Dance of Death”, 1874), 2nd, 4th, 5th piano works (1868, 1875, 1896) , 2nd cello (1902), 3rd violin (1880) concertos, “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” for violin and orchestra (1863) put him among the largest French composers.

The works of Saint-Saëns are dominated by bright poetic lyricism, moods of joy and vigor generated by the expressive dynamics of movement, rich genre sketches, peaceful contemplation, noble pathos, and restrained drama. Characteristic is a combination of a lively impulsive temperament with balance. By its nature, the art of Saint-Saëns is objective, logical, clear, the intellectual principle in it often prevails over the emotional. Typical of the composer's style are, in particular, a song-declamatory thematic style, widespread use of folk intonations and genres, and dance rhythms. The works of Saint-Saëns are distinguished by melodic richness, endlessly variable, flexible, mobile and elastic rhythm, grace and variety of texture, logical harmony and completeness of composition combined with free construction. All these features are largely inherent in one of the most popular works Saint-Saëns – Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra. It was written on the initiative of A. G. Rubinstein, with whom Saint-Saëns became close during the Russian musician’s Paris tour in 1868. At the same time, the work was performed by the author in a concert conducted by Rubinstein. The first part of the Concerto captivates with its free, relaxed improvisation and rich rhythm, the second is full of wit and grace, the finale is based on continuous movement in the spirit of a tarantella, which at the end of the movement leads to a great dynamic build-up.

Cesar Frank (1822 - 1890) – French composer, organist, teacher.

In his work, Frank combined romantic imagery with a desire for classical clarity of style. At the same time, Frank’s music is characterized by the antithesis of enthusiasm and severity, freedom of expression and clear structural organization (monothematicism), organ viscosity of orchestral writing and recitatives. Synthesizing the influences of J. S. Bach and L. Beethoven, the late romantics (R. Wagner, F. Liszt) and French folk melodic music, Frank developed his own individual style.

The most famous symphonic (symphony), chamber-instrumental (sonata for violin and piano, string quartet), organ (3 chorales) and piano (prelude, chorale and fugue) works of Frank belong to the late period of creativity (the 80s; During this period he also wrote operas, choral works, and romances). They are characterized by more direct lyrics, filled with a feeling of love for nature.

Frank entered the history of music as a representative of the so-called renewal movement. The main place in Frank's legacy is occupied by instrumental compositions; they are characterized by generalization and intellectualism. One of the largest French composer-thinkers, who absorbed the national traditions of French and Belgian music, Frank combined in his art philosophical depth with clarity, correlation between feeling and reason; he was distinguished by such national French qualities as subtlety of taste and brilliance of expression.

Among Frank's orchestral works, the symphony in D minor stands out - one of his best works. It very organically combines the features of romanticism and classicism. The artist’s focus is on the human personality with its complex inner world. Hence the prevailing lyricism, increased emotional expression of music, its psychological depth, so characteristic of the works of the late romantics. But with all this, Frank does not destroy the objective laws of the strict architectural structure of the classical form, but expands and enriches the genre of the symphony, as was typical of his contemporaries.

In the musical images of the work, both Beethoven’s heroism and Liszt’s philosophy are “melted” to a certain extent. But Frank is characterized by exceptional spontaneity of expression, emotional warmth, penetration, and a penchant for figurative concreteness, which gives his music a characteristic and uniquely individual coloring.

In the first movement and finale, Frank uses a lush, dense orchestra, more typical of operatic than symphonic scores of the time. Perhaps the composer’s habit of organ sonority was reflected in the “density” of some pages of the score, and in his sometimes commitment to “thick”, low bass notes.

Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) - French composer.

Debussy's significance for world musical culture is determined mainly by the works of his middle period of creativity, when his talent blossomed as the largest representative of impressionism in music. Debussy develops a very original individual style, which manifests itself in almost all genres to which the composer turns, including synthetic ones (for example, the opera “Pelléas et Mélisande”, music for G. D’Annunzio’s mystery “The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian”, etc.) . However, predominantly instrumental music demonstrates the most striking results of his creative search. Debussy created an impressionistic melody, distinguished by delicacy and flexibility of nuances, but at the same time by a certain vagueness and uncertainty. Its most important qualities are fragility, capriciousness, blurred contours. The essence of Debussy's impressionistic polyphony is the overlapping and interweaving of coloristic strokes. Rhythm combines a variety of details, countless smallest shades with a departure from clear and broad rhythmic generalizations. Debussy constantly strives to create the effect of “flickering” of harmonic colors and resorts to diverse combinations of harmonies. At the same time, Debussy's music combines the instability of musical images with clarity and simplicity of form.

Debussy constantly wrote program music, but this is a typically impressionistic program, proclaiming veiled imagery, full of unclear hints, capable of exciting the imagination. Debussy's programming usually avoids plot; where this plot is outlined, it is of a hidden nature.

Debussy diversified the ability of music to extremely refined and vaguely exciting reflection and embodiment of shades of human emotions and natural phenomena.

Debussy's outstanding work is the orchestral triptych “Nocturnes” (1897-1899), in which he achieved a direct and truthful transmission of impressions and free poetic sound writing. Debussy understood the unusual nature of his works and provided the program of the first concert with the author's comments:

The title – “Nocturnes” – here takes on a more general and even more decorative meaning. We are not talking about the usual form of nocturne, but about everything that connects this word with certain impressions and sensations of light.

“Clouds” is a picture of a still sky with slowly and melancholy passing clouds, floating away in gray agony, gently shaded with white light.

“Celebrations” is a movement, a dancing rhythm of the atmosphere with bursts of sudden light, as well as an episode of a procession (a dazzling and chimerical vision) passing through the festival and merging with it; but the background remains - it is a holiday, a mixture of music with glowing dust, forming part of the overall rhythm.

“Sirens” – the sea and its infinitely diverse rhythm; then, among the waves silvering under the moon, the mysterious singing of sirens appears, scatters with laughter and fades away.

The creation of “Nocturnes” testified to the expansion of the range of images of Debussy’s work.

A similar trend extended to his piano works. This is especially true of his two notebooks of preludes (1910, 1913) - Debussy's outstanding achievement in the field of piano music. The preludes contain the quintessence of his pianism; they are, as it were, an encyclopedia of the composer’s creative techniques, where one can find features reminiscent of his most diverse works. Each of the preludes is a finished picture of high artistic perfection, polished to the smallest detail. The entire cycle of 24 preludes demonstrates the variety of creative problems solved in them.

For example, the third prelude “Wind on the Plain” is interesting: the music conveys not only a sense of space, not only movement, but also a feeling of alarm and restlessness that runs like a red thread through the entire work. “Wind on the Plain” is one of Debussy’s masterpieces of pianistic writing; Every detail is carefully weighed and reduced to the essentials. At the same time, there is so much originality in this meagerness of texture - in the reverent passages that set off the simple and noble melody in the first bars, in the composer’s favorite chains of parallel chords that create the effect of spatiality. “Wind on the Plain” can serve as a striking example of the diversity of Debussy’s pianistic writing, who was equally adept at strict laconicism and full-voiced presentation.

Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) - French composer, one of the greatest musicians of the first half of the twentieth century.

In his works, the composer glorified nature, the “eternal ideals” of harmony and beauty, drawn from antiquity and the Renaissance, from fairy tales. Ravel's temperamental music is marked by a sense of proportion, restraint of expression and a certain intellectualism.

Ravel's work has undergone a complex evolution from a joyful perception of the world, intoxication with beauty in early works– to the drama of recent years. Having been influenced by the aesthetics of impressionism, Ravel went far beyond its scope. His work intertwined various aesthetic and stylistic trends: classicist, romantic-impressionist and neoclassical (in the late period). They were most clearly manifested in his instrumental music.

Interest in folklore (French, Spanish and other countries) is one of characteristic features Ravel’s work, which first appeared in the piano piece “Habanera” (1895, later included in “Rhapsody Spanish”). Flexibility and plasticity of melodic lines come from the characteristics of the French folk epic. Ravel's role in the renewal of French pianism was great. In the virtuoso-impressionist piano piece “The Play of Water” (1901), he created, starting from the pianistic achievements of Liszt, a new type of piano writing, which he later developed. At the same time, continuity with the French classics of the 18th century is established in Ravel's piano work. The musical language of many of Ravel’s works is associated with Spanish culture (the opera “The Spanish Hour”, “The Spanish Rhapsody”, “Bolero”). Ravel reaches the heights of orchestral mastery in “Rhapsody Espagnole” (1907), marked by the modal and rhythmic originality of the melodies (usually short, but very prominent). The composer mainly uses Moorish-Andalusian themes here (only the Malagueña theme is of Basque origin). The score of “The Spanish Rhapsody” is characterized by sophistication and brilliance of orchestral colors. The idea of ​​conveying the effect of plein air sound dictates the use of numerous different orchestral echoes, influxes and dissolutions of motifs.

“Spanish Rhapsody” is not just a series of genre-picturesque plays. Its parts, being in a certain tempo and figurative relationship with each other, form a unique cycle: the hidden “Prelude of the Night”, a genre scene of a moving nature - “Malagena”, languid “Habanera”, incendiary “Extravaganza”.

Dance occupies a large place in Ravel's work. The composer used a wide variety of dance genres in a very original way: minuet, habanera, waltz, and later the foxtrot, blues (2nd movement of the sonata for violin and piano). The emotional structure of the orchestral “Waltz”, written during the First World War, is indicative. Here the principle of constant escalation of drama is consistently applied: the rapture of dance develops into frenzy, themes are transformed, and sound grotesque. The end of "Waltz" is perceived tragically, as a fall into the abyss.

One of the pinnacles of French symphonism of the twentieth century is M. Ravel’s “Bolero” (1928). The utmost clarity of concept is combined with the virtuoso use of the orchestra. The entire work is built on the repetition of one theme, which consists of two parts: the first is rooted in Basque folklore, the second in Moorish-Andalusian folklore. With great skill, Ravel varies thematic material. This is the secret of the inexhaustible interest for the ear of the extended (34 bars) melody and its seemingly endless variety. The development of musical material occurs primarily through timbre. In "Bolero" (as in "Waltz") dance serves as a means of "generalization through genre."

Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946) – spanish composer and pianist.

The work of M. de Falla continued the line of development of the national Spanish school in music, begun by figures of Spanish culture at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. In his compositions, the composer expressed the Spanish character in its national content and musical form, free from local restrictions. Falla's distinctly individual style is characterized by conciseness of form, exquisite precision of musical presentation, concentration of musical thoughts, intense expressiveness and at the same time restraint of emotions, richness and variety of rhythms, rich, relief thematic, colorful (in later works - ascetic severity) orchestration.

Falla's work is quite diverse in terms of genre, but his orchestral and musical theater works are most famous. The symphonic suite for piano and orchestra “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” and the one-act ballet “Love is a Witch” (1915) are Falla’s central works of the mid-1910s and at the same time, along with his second ballet “The Tricorne” (1916) and Chamber Concerto (1926), the composer's most popular and frequently performed works.

“Nights in the Gardens of Spain” concentrates the best features of the mature style of the composer of the middle period. This score is exquisitely luxurious and at the same time economically austere, where the most impressive effects are achieved by very simple means; she put Falla on a par with the leading European masters of the orchestra - N. Rimsky-Korsakov, C. Debussy, M. Ravel.

In the one-act pantomime ballet “Love is a Witch,” Falla draws bright pictures life of Spanish gypsies. The content of the ballet is as follows. The gypsy Carmelo and the young gypsy Candelas love each other, but their happiness is hampered by the ghost of Candelas's deceased lover who appears at night. To get rid of his persecution, Carmelo persuades Candelas' friend, the flighty Lucia, to flirt with the ghost. The trick succeeds, the ghost is enchanted by Lucia and leaves the lovers.

Melodies bright in their primordial wildness, sharp harmonic contours, naked timbres, sharp emotional contrasts, bizarre rhythms - these are the predominant features of the ballet; everything in him is full of spontaneous temperament, strength, everything is fresh and unusual. Among the most popular pages of the ballet are “Dance of Fear” (No. 5) and “Ritual Dance of Fire” (No. 8), which recreate the now almost extinct melody, rhythms and general color gypsy dances Andalusia. Finally, what is unusual, and in Falla’s time innovatively daring, is the inclusion of three independent vocal numbers in the ballet: “Song of Love’s Longing,” “Song of the Will-o’-the-Wisp,” and “Dance of the Love Game.” Several vocal phrases (“The day is already breaking! Sing, bells, sing, happiness is returning to me!”) also sound in the Finale (No. 13) - against the backdrop of the solemn ringing of bells welcoming the new dawn.

Bela Bartok (1881 - 1945) - Hungarian composer, pianist, musicologist, folklorist and teacher.

Bartók's work had a huge impact on the formation of a new direction in Hungarian music in the 1930-1950s, as well as on the development of young national composition schools in the countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

The central place in Bartók’s extensive legacy is occupied by instrumental works: pieces for piano, 6 string quartets, sonatas and rhapsodies for violin, concertos for piano (3), for violin (2), multi-movement works for orchestra. More episodic were his appeals to vocal and musical stage genres (ballets “The Wooden Prince” (1917), “The Marvelous Mandarin” (1919), the opera “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle” (1918).

Bartok's work contributed to a bold renewal of the imagery and intonation structure of modern music through a brightly innovative implementation of musical folklore. He consciously contrasted the aesthetic perfection of ancient peasant folklore with the spiritual impoverishment of urban culture.

Ancient peasant songs served Bartok not only as an example of the highest wisdom and beauty, but also as a source of renewal of modern musical language. The experience of folk music-making, which he carefully studied in folklore expeditions, was reflected in the peculiar modal, rhythmic, and timbre features of his own style. A characteristic feature of his creative image is also the fact that he combines the development of folklore elements with the creative development of the experience of outstanding European masters, such as R. Strauss, C. Debussy, I. Stravinsky, A. Schoenberg. At a certain stage, his works reflected tendencies characteristic of European music of the twentieth century: hypertrophied dynamism, a tendency towards hard, shock-noise sonorities and refined intellectualism. Bartók's best works are captivating with their spontaneity of rhythms, exuberant colors, sharp dramatic contrasts and lapidary clarity of thematic themes. They are typically characterized by a sharp contrast to the images of raging barbarism and terrible night visions, the bright and healthy elements of folk art.

Bartok made a rich contribution to the world violin repertoire. In addition to sonatas for violin and piano and two violin concerts he wrote two rhapsodies for violin and orchestra, a sonata for solo violin, and 44 violin duets.

The violin sonatas (1921-1922) were the culmination of impressionistic influences in Bartok's work. This is combined with elements of constructivism, which came to the forefront somewhat later in the piano sonata and in the first concert for piano and orchestra.

In the First Sonata for Violin and Piano, folk intonations appear dressed in a new harmonic outfit. In all three parts of the sonata, the composer thinks polytonally, looking for colorful harmonies and timbres, trying to overcome their staticity with the energy of ostensible rhythms, reminiscent of his famous “Barbarian Allegro”. The violin part is written masterfully, it freely uses the entire range of the instrument. Virtuosity was not an end in itself for Bartók; it is connected with the nature of the music, especially temperamental and sweeping in the first and third movements.