Austrian violin art. Chamber and instrumental works of composers of the Vienna Classical School

"Music Lessons" No. 16. Mozart. Chamber- instrumental creativity.

Hello. We again dedicate the next issue of the Music Lessons program to the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a representative of the Viennese classical school 18th century, which found its highest expression in his face. The Age of Enlightenment found its Olympus musical development in creativity Viennese classics- Haydn, Mozart, Gluck. The music of the Viennese classics is related to antique art common aesthetic and ethical features: depth and vitality of ideas, sublimity and balance of images, harmony and clarity of form, naturalness and simplicity of expression. The ideologists of the Enlightenment saw the harmony and beauty of the art of Hellas as an artistic reflection of the free and harmonious human world. Mozart is a musical encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, striking in its versatility. During his short life (incomplete 36 years), he created more than 600 works.

The thematic catalog of Mozart's works, compiled by Koechel (it was published in Leipzig in 1862), is a volume of 550 pages. According to Koechel's reckoning, Mozart wrote 68 sacred works (masses, oratorios, hymns, etc.), 23 works for the theater, 22 sonatas for harpsichord, 45 sonatas and variations for violin and harpsichord, 32 string quartets, about 50 symphonies, 55 concertos and etc., a total of 626 works.

Pushkin succinctly and accurately described the work of Mozart in the little tragedy “Mozart and Salieri”: “What depth! What courage and what harmony!

Today we will pay more attention to the composer’s chamber and instrumental work, and our musical part of the program opens with a fragment of the most popular “Little Night Serenade” performed by the Arabesque quintet

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The time of Mozart's life coincided with the awakening in Europe of great interest in spiritual and mystical teachings. In the relatively calm period of the middle of the 18th century, along with the desire for enlightenment, the search for an intellectual and social-educational order (French enlightenment, encyclopedists), there was an interest in the esoteric teachings of antiquity.

On December 14, 1784, Mozart entered the Masonic Order, and by 1785 he had already been initiated into the degree of Master Mason. The same thing happened in the future with Joseph Haydn and Leopold Mozart (the father of the composer), who came to the degree of Master in 16 days from the date of entry into the lodge.

There are several versions of Mozart joining the Masonic brotherhood. According to one of them, Emmanuel Schikaneder, his friend and future librettist of The Magic Flute, was the guarantor for admission to the Viennese lodge called “In the Name of Charity”. Later, on the recommendation of Mozart himself, Wolfgang's father, Leopold Mozart, was admitted to the same lodge (in 1787).

After becoming a Master Mason, Mozart within a short time created a lot of music intended directly for work in the lodge. As Albert Einstein points out:

“Mozart was a passionate, convinced Freemason, not at all like Haydn, who, although he was listed as such, from the moment he was accepted into the brotherhood of “free masons”, never participated in the activities of the lodge and did not write a single Masonic work. Mozart not only left us a number of significant works written specifically for Masonic rites and celebrations - the very thought of Freemasonry permeates his work.

Musicologists note the characteristic features of these works: "a simple, somewhat hymnical warehouse, chordal three-voice, somewhat rhetorical general character."

Among them are such works as: “Funeral Masonic Music”, Adagio for an ensemble of wind instruments (used to accompany ritual Masonic processions); Adagio for 2 clarinets and 3 horns (for entry into the lodge brothers); Adagio and Rondo for flute, oboe, cello and celesta and others.

The opera The Magic Flute (1791), the libretto for which was written by the freemason Emmanuel Schikaneder, is most saturated with the views, ideas and symbols of Freemasonry.

In the symbolism of the opera, a declaration of the basic Masonic principles is clearly traced. Both in the first and second acts of the opera there are clear echoes with Masonic symbols denoting: life and death, thought and action. Mass scenes are woven into the plot, literally demonstrating Masonic rituals.

According to musicologist Tamar Nikolaevna Livanova, Doctor of Art History, professor at the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnessin Institute,

“Mozart even brought the episodes associated with the image of Sarastro closer to musical style their Masonic songs and choirs. Not to see in all the fantasy of The Magic Flute, first of all, Masonic preaching means not to understand the diversity of Mozart's art, its direct sincerity, its wit, which is alien to any didactics.

The main key of the orchestral overture is the key of E-flat major. Three flats in the key are symbols of virtue, nobility and peace. This tonality was often used by Mozart in Masonic compositions, and in later symphonies, and in chamber music, which we are talking about today.

But, in fairness, we note that there are also other points of view on the relationship between Mozart and Freemasonry. In 1861, a book was published by the German poet H. F. Daumer, a proponent of the Masonic conspiracy theory, who believed that the image of the Masons in The Magic Flute was simply a caricature.

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Leonard Bernstein, an American pianist and conductor, needs no introduction. (By the way, his parents come from the Ukrainian city of Rivne.) Bernstein is the only conductor who twice recorded the full cycle of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, the complete cycle of Tchaikovsky's symphonies, his recordings of Haydn and Mozart are especially valuable. Sounds like piano concert No. 17 in G major, soloist and conductor - Leonard Bernstein.

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Peru Mozart owns a huge number of works in ALL genres of instrumental music. Symphonies, serenades, divertissements, string duets, trios, quartets, quintets, piano trios, ensembles with wind instruments, violin and piano sonatas, fantasies, variations, rondos, works for piano in 4 hands and two pianos, concertos with orchestra accompaniment for various instruments (piano, violin, flute, clarinet, horn, flute and harp).

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A fragment of one of these concerts is performed by flutist Patrick Gallois and harp player Pierre Fabris. Conductor Sir Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor. The amazing fate of this 88-year-old musician. He performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, worked with Toscanini, Karajan, led the orchestras of Los Angeles, Minnesota, Studgar Radio, was knighted in 1985. And a few words about the orchestra - Oquestrdella Sviceria Italiano (Orchestra of Italian Switzerland). This team was founded in 1933 in the Swiss city of Lugano. Pietro Mascagni, Arthur Onneger, Paul Hindemith, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and many other outstanding musicians performed with him as conductors. So, Mozart sounds, Concerto for flute and harp.

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And now we will be transported to the Vatican, to the hall "Aula Paolo-6th", which is not far from St. Peter, for the celebration of the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict the 16th. But first I will introduce you to the soloist. This is Hilary Hahn, about whom they say that it is rare to hear such an accurate and mathematically verified violin playing. A game imbued with restrained emotions that completely subjugate the instrument. This is the greatest skill in pure form! This is a rare talent! Born in 1979 in Virginia, Hilary began playing the violin a month before her fourth birthday. She studied in Philadelphia with Yasha Brodsky himself. At the age of 12, he made his debut with the Baltimore Orchestra. Twice Grammy Award winner. Hilary Hahn plays with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor is Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramirez. He was born in 1981 and made a dizzying career.

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The Violin Concerto No. 17 in G major sounds, the recording was made in the Vatican on April 16, 2007.

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“Mozart’s melody,” Turgenev said, “flows for me quite naturally, like some beautiful stream or spring flows.”

Another world-famous writer, Stendhal, in the project of his own epitaph, asked that the following words be placed on his tombstone: "This soul adored Mozart, Cimarosa and Shakespeare."

This is where we end next issue"Music Lessons" in order to meet again with the enchanting music of Mozart in the next program. See you soon!

Brahms' chamber music is perhaps the richest and most diverse area in the composer's heritage. It contained all the main ideas of his work, from the early stage to the late, fully and consistently reflecting the evolution of style. All Brahms' concepts of cycles are presented here in various manifestations: dramatic and elegiac, lyric-genre and pastoral. “The very concept of cycles,” points out L. Kokoreva, “the deep intellectualism of music appear as carriers of the most characteristic features Austro-German culture".

Interest in the chamber-instrumental genre led to Brahms's characteristic penchant for fine decoration. artistic details. Moreover, according to M. Druskin, the composer's productivity increased in critical years, when Brahms felt the need for further development and improvement of his creative principles. It is possible to outline three periods in the development of Brahms' chamber-instrumental style, which on the whole correspond to the main periods of his work, although they do not partially coincide with them.

The decade 1854-1865 accounts for the largest number works. Nine different chamber ensembles were created during these years: Piano Trio, two string sextets, three piano quartets The third piano quartet was completed much later, but was conceived in 1855., Cello Sonata, Horn Trio, Piano Quintet; in addition, many other works destroyed by a demanding author. All this speaks of the great creative activity of the young composer, of his tireless, persistent search for discovering and consolidating his artistic individuality. Chamber music served as an "experimental field" in this regard - for the pianoforte and, especially, for instrumental ensembles, although in the same years Brahms worked a lot in the field of vocal genres. This period ends with the "German Requiem". This is the first large-scale work of the composer in terms of conception and implementation. He enters a period of mature skill.

The decade 1873-1882 accounts for a smaller number of chamber works - only six: three string quartets, the First Violin Sonata, the Second Piano Trio, the First String Quintet (moreover, in two - in quartets - music written in the previous period was used). Other artistic tasks worried Brahms during these years: he turned to major symphonic ideas. Composer reached highest point your creative development.

In 1885 Brahms completed the Fourth Symphony. He felt a huge rush creative forces, but at the same time, there were also moments of crisis. This is one of the important turning points in his biography. The fruitful period of "creative autumn" is coming. It was during this period that the number of chamber compositions increased and their weight increased. In the summer of 1886 alone, Brahms wrote four remarkable works: the Second and Third (completed two years later) Violin Sonatas, the Second Cello Sonata, the Third Piano Trio; in subsequent years, the Second String Quintet, Clarinet Trio, Clarinet Quintet and two clarinet sonatas.

Three different periods determine the differences both in the figurative-emotional sphere and in the style of Brahms' chamber ensembles. This fact is pointed out by many researchers. So, in particular, M. Druskin considers the group of the first nine works to be the most diverse. During this period, the composer was in a state of creative fermentation, the musicologist writes, “he is impulsive and unstable, trying to find himself in a variety of directions; sometimes, without hesitation, it brings down an avalanche of subjective experiences that overwhelm the listener, sometimes it looks for ways to create more intelligible and objective, “generally significant” music. The area of ​​youthful fresh, impetuous romantic feelings is revealed with generous beauty in these works, among which the ingenious Piano Quintet rises.

The second group appears to be less integral. Brahms sometimes returns to the themes and images that excited him in previous years, but conveys them in a somewhat schematized form. According to M. Druskin, this refers to "the predominance of the rational principle in these works over the emotional" .

The third group again forms the pinnacle of Brahms' chamber-instrumental creativity. The completeness and diversity of figurative and emotional content is combined here with mature skill. Attention is drawn to the strengthening, on the one hand, of the heroic-epic line, and on the other, even more personal, subjective. Such a contradiction is an indicator of the crisis years in the last period of Brahms's life.

Let us briefly dwell on the characteristics of individual works.

Brahms is the author of seven string ensembles - three quartets, two quintets and two sextets In the Quintet op. 115 the clarinet part, at the direction of the author, can be replaced by the viola. Thus, this work can also be considered written for a string ensemble. These compositions, different in their colorful possibilities, attracted the composer in various periods of his work: sextets were written in the years 1859-1865, quartets in 1873-1875, and quintets in 1882-1890. The content of the early and late compositions - sextets and quintets - is simpler, closer to the old divertissements of the 18th century or orchestral serenades of Brahms himself, while the music of quartets is more profound and subjective.

Other aspects of reality are displayed in string quartets. Brahms once admitted in a conversation that before the beginning of the 1870s he wrote about twenty works for string quartet, but did not publish them, and destroyed the manuscripts. Of the surviving two - c-moll and a-moll - were published in a revised form under the op. 51 in 1873; three years later the Third Quartet in B-dur, op. 67.

By the time of the creation of three string quartets (1873-1875), Brahms had already accumulated rich experience in the field of chamber instrumental creativity and entered the period of its brightest flowering. Three string quartets, written one after another in the early 1870s, are marked by traits of full maturity, high artistic skill, and virtuosic technique of mastering the quartet score. These are masterpieces chamber music Brahms. deep and complex psychological processes revealed in them in a tense-dynamic style with the utmost concentration and laconism. The significance of the idea and the intensity of development allow us to speak of the genuine symphony of these works, inheriting the traditions of Beethoven, points out L. Kokoreva: “Deep internal connections with classical music- Beethoven's heroic and dramatic ideas, philosophical lyrics - are refracted individually, in the purely Brahms dramaturgy of the cycle. Romantic impetuousness and passion give way to strict restraint of expression.

String quartets, as well as piano quartets, form a triptych of contrasting works that embody three of the most important Brahmsian concepts: dramatic, lyrical-elegiac and pastoral-genre. Written in anticipation of the symphonies, the quartets were an important milestone on the way to them: it was within the framework of string ensembles that the composer's symphonic style matured. From this comes the inner relationship of the two genres, the interconnectedness, as well as the interpenetration of the two principles - chamber music and symphonism, resulting in the quality of Brahms' music. The intimacy of the symphonies lies in the psychological complexity, the subtleties of gradations in the transmission various shades emotional content, while the quartets are symphonized in the full sense.

A special closeness is felt between the quartet c-moll op. 51 and a symphony in the same key, the first parts of which are written in the same emotional key. The future symphonic cycle is also anticipated, writes L. Kokoreva, that instead of the scherzo, which has so far prevailed in ensembles, a kind of intermezzo appears here in the Allegretto tempo, which gave the quartet a uniquely individual look. In the c-moll quartet, the line of dramatization of the finale is continued, which will later become a hallmark of a mature symphonic style. But even among the most mature opuses of Brahms, the c-moll quartet stands out for its rare laconicism, concentration of thought, unity of the cycle, the individual parts of which are interconnected by the development of one idea, a special integrity within each part.

Second quartet a-moll op. 51 in the triad of string quartets performs the function of a lyrical center and is distinguished by a soft soulful tone, melodious, transparent texture. After the dynamic contrasts of the c-moll quartet, its impulsive and tense culminations, and rapid development, one can feel the smoothness of the relief, the soft plasticity of the melodic contours, and the unhurried flow of music here. Schubert's principle in it is opposed to Beethoven's, which prevails in the first quartet. However, this applies only to the first three parts, in which the rich and peculiar world of Brahms' lyrics is consistently revealed. The finale is full of indomitable energy, dramatic power and is the semantic outcome towards which all development is directed.

Third quartet B-dur op. 67, created by the composer in 1875, two years after the first two, opposes them with its joyful, light tone. Pictures of forest nature, cheerful lively rhythms, song melodies permeate this composition, where Agitato Allegretto non troppo (third movement) in d-moll stands in contrast to the whole joyful worldview, embodied in three parts.

Two quintets - F-dur, op. 88 and G-dur, op. 111 - written for a homogeneous composition - two violins, two violas and a cello. A melodious, courageous character is inherent in the First Quintet; joyful ease in the spirit of I. Strauss - to the Second. The second quintet belongs to the best chamber compositions of Brahms.

Sonatas are endowed with varied content - two for cello (1865 and 1886) and three for violin and piano (1879, 1886 and 1888).

From the passionate elegy of the first movement to the melancholy, Viennese in its turns minuet of the second movement and the fugue finale with its assertive energy - such is the circle of images of the First Cello Sonata e-moll, op. 38. The Second Sonata in F-dur, op. 99; it is all riddled with acute conflict.

Violin sonatas can serve as living evidence of the inexhaustible creative imagination of Brahms - each of them is uniquely individual. First sonata G-dur, op. 78 attracts with poetry, wide, fluid and smooth movement; it also has scenery moments. Second sonata A-dur, op. 100, songful, cheerful, succinctly and collected. Unexpectedly, Grieg's influence is revealed in the second part. In general, the lack of great development and drama distinguishes it from other chamber works by Brahms. The differences from the Third Sonata in d-moll, op. 108. This is one of the most dramatic, conflicting works of the composer, in which the rebellious-romantic images of the Second Cello Sonata are developed with great perfection.

The perfect expression of the Sturm und Drang period in creative biography Brahms gives the Piano Quintet in f minor, op. 34. According to M. Druskin, this work is the best not only in this period, but, perhaps, in the entire chamber-instrumental legacy of the composer: “The music of the quintet reaches a genuine tragedy. Each part is saturated with images of action, disturbing impulses and passionate anxiety, masculinity and unyielding will. Brahms turned to the composition in 1861, having conceived it for string composition. But the power and contrast of the images blocked the possibilities of the strings. Then an edition for two pianos was written, but it did not satisfy the composer either. Only in 1864 was the necessary form found, where the string quartet was supported by the piano.

By the end of his life, Brahms returned to the same theme, each time solving it differently, in the Third Violin Sonata and in the Third Piano Trio. But in the last four chamber compositions (1891-1894) other themes and images are embodied.

In the context of Brahms' chamber-instrumental creativity, his piano trios deserve special attention.

First trio for piano, violin and cello H-dur, op. 8 is written by a 20-year-old author. It captivates with the youthful freshness of the invention, romantic excitement.

It should be noted that in concert halls and educational institutions this trio sounds in the second edition, created by the composer in 1890. Encouraged by his friend, the well-known Austrian musicologist E. Hanslik, Brahms turned to his early opus and subjected it to a radical alteration. In the new edition, the principle of the arrangement of parts and their main themes were retained from the original version; the second movement, the Scherzo, remained almost unchanged. Saved in the second edition serial number opus, the author thereby emphasized his desire only to improve the work written in his younger years. However, he improved from the positions of an already mature master, extremely demanding and strict with himself, and, in essence, composed almost three-quarters of the Trio anew. The main differences between the two versions relate to issues of conception, principles of dramatic development and shaping, and methods of presenting the material.

Trio Es-dur op. 40 for piano, violin and horn in Es was written in 1865 and first published in 1866 by Breitkopf & Hartel. In musicological literature, the opinion is sometimes expressed that the Trio (or individual parts of it) was created in the 1850s and thus belongs to the early period of the composer's work. This assumption, however, is not sufficiently convincingly argued, A. Bonduryansky believes, without a doubt, the Trio was written by the hand of a mature master: “It does not contain traces of that oversaturation of the form with musical material, which we encounter in the early compositions of Brahms, in particular in the first version of Trio H -dur op. 8. On the contrary, the Trio Es-dur attracts precisely by the correspondence of content and form, by the desire for laconism and simplicity of expression, which are inherent in the composer's later opuses, for example, the trio op. 87 and op. 101" A. Bonduryansky gives another - conceptual and dramatic - argument in favor of the fact that the Trio was created in 1865. This year in the life of Brahms is associated with one of the most tragic events - the death of his beloved mother. The composer's direct response to this event was his "German Requiem" op. 45, written in the same year. But even in the Es-dur Trio there is a desire to develop mournful images - from the elegiac episodes in the first part to the genuine tragedy in Adagio mesto. .

Trio for piano, violin and cello C-dur op. 87 (1880-1882) belongs to the next period of the creative biography of J. Brahms. Since the late 1870s, the composer has been at the zenith of his fame. In 1876, the University of Cambridge awarded him honorary title doctor of music, a year later the London Philharmonic Society (Philharmonic Society) honors the Gold Medal. Since 1880 he has been an honorary doctor of the University of Breslau. Brahms' concerts as a pianist and conductor are held with great success in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Hungary and Poland. A sign of recognition of his merits as a composer and musical figure were invitations to the post of musical director in Düsseldorf (which R. Schumann had occupied two decades earlier) and to the post of cantor of the church of St.. Thomas in Leipzig.

The eve of 1878 was marked by the premiere of the Second Symphony, performed in Vienna under the baton of Hans Richter. The performance of the same symphony in September 1878 in Brahms' hometown of Hamburg, at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Philharmonic, was a true triumph for the composer. In the autumn, Brahms and the famous violinist Joachim, who were bound by close friendly ties, set off on a big concert tour around Hungary, and in February 1880 - to Poland. Almost at the same time, Brahms began work on the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in C-dur op. 87. Close creative and friendly communication with Joachim during this period, according to A. Bonduryansky, influenced the idea of ​​the Trio.

Completed in June 1882, the Brahms Trio in C major continues the Beethoven-Schubert tradition in this genre of chamber music. Researchers note the commonality of the principles for constructing the cycle as a whole, its individual parts, Brahms' use of the methods of presenting musical material developed by his great predecessors, and even the intonational similarity of some themes. At the same time, remaining committed classical traditions in the field of form, Brahms saturates the content with a special romantic worldview inherent in him.

Trio for piano, violin and cello c-moll, op. 101 (1886) is at the level of the best chamber works of Brahms. It reveals not only the brilliance, the richness of the composer's imagination, but also exceptional compositional skill. In the C-minor Trio, the complete correspondence of content and form is achieved; musical thoughts are extremely significant, the presentation is extremely concise. The variety of performing techniques used by the composer is also admirable. Each of the members of the ensemble is given the opportunity to demonstrate their own, solo skills, and at the same time, the music of the composition requires the concentration of the will of all three in order to achieve a single goal.

The c-moll trio was first performed in Budapest on October 20, 1886 by the author, E. Hubay and D. Popper and immediately received recognition. The enthusiastic responses of Brahms' contemporaries noted the scale of the idea and brevity of presentation, figurative richness and amazing concentration of form.

Trio for piano, clarinet in A and cello a-moll op. 114 can rightly be called the "swan song" of the composer in the piano trio genre. And not only because after him Brahms no longer turned to the trio, but also because in this work all the best that is so attractive trio found a vivid expression. German artist, - the romantic originality of images, the passionate element of Hungarian folklore, the calm tranquility of German Lieder. Here, the finally established principles of constructing the form of the composition, the desire for symphony chamber genre.

As already mentioned, this work owes its origin to the clarinetist Richard Mülfeld, soloist of the Meiningen Orchestra. His art captivated the composer. Thanks to the soft sound of the instrument, the gentle quivering of the tone, Mülfeld earned the nickname "Fraulein-Clarinette" "Clarinet Girl" (German), which Brahms "awarded" him. It was the extraordinary musical and artistic merits of the clarinetist that prompted the composer to create four opuses for this instrument. In addition to the Trio op. 114 is the Quintet op. 115 for string quartet and clarinet and two sonatas, op. 120 for clarinet and piano.

In clarinet ensembles, J. Brahms achieves a new quality of images and dramaturgy, at the same time summing up all his work. The general atmosphere of these works is lyricism, the general intonation nature is chant, song, length of lines: “The final role of the song-lyrical beginning in the composer’s work is affirmed in recent writings", - indicates E. Tsareva. The specificity of the clarinet perfectly matches this quality. The skill of the ensemble is brought to perfection here. Each tool is used in accordance with its specifics. To reveal the emotional originality of the works, the timbre of the clarinet turned out to be especially expressive. This wind instrument lyrical song melodies, intense dramatic recitation, virtuoso passages in different registers, colorful figurations, trills, tremolo accompanied by were entrusted. Matte, deaf in the low register, on average - surprisingly reminiscent of a human voice, telling or complaining, the timbre of the clarinet is very suitable for the elegiac coloring that prevails in the lyrics of the late Brahms. The clarinet either merges with the strings, giving their sound a certain detachment, or envelops them in light moving arpeggios, or solos in improvisational melodies.

With these works, Brahms said goodbye to the chamber-instrumental genre. Two years after the end of these sonatas, in 1896, Brahms created two more, his last works, but in other genres: “Four Strict Melodies” for bass and piano and “And Choral Preludes for Organ” (published posthumously).

None of Brahms' contemporaries expressed himself in the field of chamber instrumental art so naturally, with such completeness and artistic perfection, as Brahms did. Subsequently, under the influence of the strongest impulse emanating from his work, chamber music successfully developed in the work of Smetana and Dvorak, Frank and Grieg. A kind of parallel in Russian music at the turn of the century is the work of Taneyev.

It can also be said that this line of Brahms' art, which he developed so carefully and consistently in the second half of the 19th century, gives rich shoots in modern music. Brahms, as it were, threw a bridge from the Viennese classics to the new classicism of the 20th century, with its special inclination towards intimacy. M. Reger is a direct follower of Brahms at the beginning of our century. He was followed by the outstanding master of the chamber ensemble P. Hindemith, who left as a legacy an extensive chamber literature, including quartets, duet sonatas for almost all string and wind instruments. The special technique of the Brahms chamber ensembles, with its polyphony, thematic saturation of the fabric and the detailing of the texture, and most importantly, such an interconnection of elements that allows all development to be derived from one grain, had a great influence on compositional principles thinking of Schoenberg and his school and found a direct continuation in the early chamber ensembles Schoenberg, Berg and Webern.

The romantic beginning dominates in Rachmaninov's chamber instrumental music. Any image, feeling, emotion in him is poeticized, elevated above the ordinary world. Romantic pathos, romantic daydreaming, romantic impulse - this is what always distinguishes his inspired art. Romanticism is also manifested in Rachmaninov in the subjective nature of his work, in which everything seems to be passed through the prism of a personal attitude to reality, through the prism of his strong, imperious individuality. And the very drama of his music is perceived mainly as a drama of personality in the whirlpool of life conflicts. Hence the monologism of his style. At the same time, Rachmaninov's works are distinguished by the exceptional figurative concreteness of thematism, melos, and texture, which are called upon to express the content of music with the utmost precision, and this concreteness has the character of such a typification that allows us to speak of the features of realism.

Rachmaninov's chamber legacy includes several instrumental ensembles. In the unfinished quartet of 1889, there are only two parts - Romance and Scherzo. The quartet is completely student-like, testifying to the diligent copying of Tchaikovsky. However, already in it the beauty of the lyrical melody of the Romance attracts attention. Much more peculiar is the First Elegiac Trio. The yearning romance of its main theme makes one recall the opera Aleko. The Second elegiac trio in d-moll, dedicated to the "Memory of the great artist" - P.I. Tchaikovsky). Structurally, it completely repeats the famous Tchaikovsky Trio, written for the death of N. Rubinstein. Similarly, in it a dramatic sonata allegro, preceded by a mourning elegy, similarly, the central section is formed by variations and, like in Tchaikovsky, at the end, a mournful apotheosis on the main theme of the first movement.

In the trio, much portends a mature Rachmaninov, for example, the features of a monologism. The theme of the Elegy, exhibited successively by cello and violin, is a monologue in which the composer's typical tendency to stay in one state for a long time reveals itself. The elegiacism itself becomes “rachmaninoff-style” personal, moreover, not closed, not hidden, but trustingly pouring out. artistic sense the image created by the theme is a psychological drama that does not receive an outlet, a resolution. Rachmaninov's energy boils in the allegro as well, showing itself in powerful ups and downs and dramatic climaxes.

Rachmaninov's chamber-instrumental ensembles either preserve the classical scheme (Cello Sonata) or subordinate it to the poetic-romantic principles of formation (trio). Their dramaturgy is conflict, this conflict is revealed only in the process of emotional utterance. The dynamically accumulated power of emotions poured out in passionate melodies is the very essence of his dramaturgy. Hence the two unfinished string quartets (1889, the second in sketches, 1910-1911). First elegiac trio in g minor (1892), Second elegiac trio in d minor (1893), Sonata for cello and piano (1901). In everything, there is a tendency to cross-cutting development, the closing of the voices of the ensemble, their pathetic monologues, "duets" or juxtapositions. Much is also determined by formative factors, for example, the stratification of fabric into a melodic layer and accompaniment. The latter is usually very active in terms of dramaturgy, intensifying the emotional tension of the melody with excited dynamics. A feature of the style is the maintenance of one type of texture for entire sections of the form.

Piano music was the true element of Rachmaninov's creativity. In it, he most fully expressed his artistic ideals, and not so much in the sonata genre (although both of his piano sonatas possess the bright emotionality and drama inherent in the composer), but in the genres of prelude and etude. We can say that Rachmaninoff created a new type of these genres - the "Rachmaninov" prelude and the "Rakhmaninov" etude-picture.

Both genres have a clearly expressed lyrical-dramatic aspect. "Rakhmaninov" in them - in the synthesis of an expressive, romantically sublime emotional structure with a realistic concreteness of visual images. At the same time, the pressure of emotions is so great that it sort of pushes the limits of small forms, giving them monumentality, which is facilitated by instrumentalism, full-sounding in song overflows of melody, embracing all registers of the keyboard in powerful climaxes, ringing like bells in chords. Much in the style of preludes and etudes is explained by the peculiarities of the composer's harmonic thinking. With a general diatonic warehouse, Rachmaninov's harmony is enriched with alterations and chromatisms, but at the same time there is also a tendency to delay at individual steps of the mode. Prolonged playing with one harmonic function gives his music spatiality, a kind of languor of unfolding its periods.

The nature of Rachmaninov's preludes changed in the course of his creative evolution. Early plays are more "sociable", lyrical; in them, reliance on genre moments and song melody is noticeable. However, even in them we have before us an artist of the 20th century. Already here, not only the lyrics, but also the genre are dramatized, acquire the features of psychologism, are passed through inner world artist and begin to serve as a means of expressing his spiritual mood. Let's take the famous cis-moll Prelude: the "alarm" beginning is sometimes interpreted as a bell. Even if you agree with this, then the bells here are special. It has nothing in common with Mussorgsky's (or, even more so, Glinka's) bells. It heralds a psychological drama, which is confirmed by the agitated lyrics of Agitato, revealing its true (subjective) meaning. The "beats" of the deep octaves at the beginning of the Prelude do indeed sound "alarm", but by no means in terms of the tocsin of bells. Rather, their bells in general context the work takes on the character of a certain sign-symbol of ecstatic, "alarm" emotional emotion.

The presence of symbolism in Rachmaninov's music should by no means be denied. Quite often, one or another component of the composition plays the role of a certain generalized “sign”, brought to the level of a symbol. One of these generalizing categories is bell-likeness, which manifests itself in different ways in different genres. In "The Bells" it is a symbol of spirituality associated with religious motifs extrapolated into the ethical sphere, in the quoted Prelude it is a symbol of spiritual mood, in the third part of the First Suite for two pianos (with an epigraph from Tyutchev's poem "Tears of people, oh tears of people") the dull-sounding basses in the second piano part are clearly associated with the bells of the funeral service. As a formidable tocsin and as a requiem symbol, the bell ringing is one of the dominant leitthemes in the preludes of all periods, penetrating into the genre of etudes-paintings.

Rachmaninov's theme of spring has a symbolic meaning. This image in the composer's works is fraught with a multifaceted associative complex, in which the real picture of the awakening of nature is combined in the mind of the listener with the images of spring renewal in the broadest allegorical and philosophical meaning. We can also talk about other symbols in Rachmaninoff's music, for example, struggle and overcoming ("thunderous" preludes in c-moll and es-moll from op. 23), tragic faces of death (it is no coincidence that the Prelude in d-moll from op. Keldysh’s association with the “dance of death”), etc. The formation of the composer’s aesthetic consciousness took place in the era of the beginning flourishing of symbolism, and although he remained alien to the aesthetics of this trend, he somehow translated its principles into the character of artistic generalizations. His symbols are distinguished by the visual reality of sound expression, they are like a sign (to use modern terminology), testifying to something really concrete - "single", but causing rich associations. Keldysh is absolutely right when he writes that Rachmaninov’s preludes “are almost always based on some one moment, one gradually revealed state of mind,” however, this “one” is almost always perceived as multifaceted, as generalizing the “multiple” in itself, which is what tells him the nature of the symbol. Moreover, Rachmaninov's symbols reflected the most "hot" aspirations of the Russian intelligentsia of the time - his work actively invaded life.

The content of Rachmaninov's plays received its concretization through the romance. In the initial period, these are the genres of elegy, lyrical in the spirit of Tchaikovsky romance, traditional for Russian music; a number of plays are called Melodies, which essentially means the same romance. There are also genres that came into Russian music from Western European romantic art - nocturne, barcarolle, serenade and others. All these genres are represented in the Fantasy Pieces, op. 3 (1892), and Salon Pieces, op. 10 1894). In the First Suite for two pianos, op. 5 (1893), Rachmaninov also uses epigraphs (from poems by Lermontov, Byron, Tyutchev). In his mature period, he refuses such verbal definitions - Preludes, op. 23, they do not have them due to the more generalized nature of the images. However, the internal reliance on the genre remains: the fis-moll prelude is actually an elegy, the g-moll prelude is a march (this is noted in the tempo designation Alia marcia); The prelude in d-moll has the note “tempo di menuetto”, which attracts attention, since the appeal to old genres rarely found in the works of Rachmaninov. The specificity of the minuet is clearly audible in the rhythm of the Prelude, although it reproduces not a gallant dance, but rather a kind of heroized procession - a modern image, and by no means archaic, stylized.

With each new period, the expression of the preludes becomes more and more complex, dramatic and at the same time courageously strong-willed. In the Preludes, op. 32, most of they have an excitedly dramatic or mournfully elegiac connotation, and in this way they adjoin a new genre of creativity - etudes-paintings. How to explain the name of the genre, because the content of the etudes is the least picturesque in the pictorial sense? It seems that the name is suggested by the picturesque brightness of the images themselves. Moreover, each sketch is not a picture, but an action-drama, which has received an almost theatrical embodiment and at the same time retains a generalized figurative character: tragic, dramatic, epic, etc.

In the etudes-paintings, the writing style itself changes somewhat: open song themes give way to concise instrumental formulas or movements with concentrated intonational activity. Accordingly, the role of harmonic and timbre factors is enhanced. The piano sounds orchestral in them, and the density, massiveness of its texture gives the music a touch of special significance.

Continuing the traditions of P.I. Tchaikovsky in the sonata-symphony cycle, S.V. Rachmaninov also transfers their meaning to chamber music, in connection with which it is legitimate to speak of a sonata-chamber cycle. It is in the work of Tchaikovsky that the process of forming a new cycle takes place, which includes the principles of the sonata form of the classics in combination with the so-called method of intonational germination. Rachmaninoff summarizes and develops various techniques in achieving the integrity of the sonata-chamber cycle.

The regularities of the structure of Rachmaninov's chamber-instrumental cycles can be represented as follows: Part I - sonata form; II, III parts - three-part form; IV part - sonata form. The sonata form of movement IV can be complicated by rondo features, variation, and fugue episodes. The unity of the whole is ensured by the following set of means:

intonational-thematic connections between parts;

the commonality of the themes of the main and side parts of the first part and the finale;

using the same structures;

textural unity of separate sections;

the presence of a major finale in the main or the same key;

through tonal development, harmonic anticipation.

The artistic principle of movement “from darkness to light”, characteristic of all Rachmaninov's sonata-chamber cycles, brings them closer to the aesthetics of classicism, in particular, in the tonal-harmonic sphere - the major ending of cyclic works.

Thematic unity is one of the most important factors in the integrity of Rachmaninov's sonata-chamber cycles. It is “expressed in the connection of individual parts with each other by repeated drawing of identical themes-images” (2, p. 158). I. Bobykina notes several principles of thematic unity in Rachmaninov's symphonic works:

• 1. leittematic complex, which becomes the intonational basis of the leading themes;
• 2. fastening thematics with related intonations that have grown out of the leitme;
• 3. repeated holding of individual thematic elements in addition to the leitme.

In the structure of the sonata cycle, the sequence of parts is also important, which largely determines the figurative and emotional content of the entire work. Thus, the succession of the scherzo (part II) and the slow part (III) provides an opportunity, on the one hand, to highlight the lyrical part of the cycle, moving it to the point of the “golden section”, and on the other hand, to increase the contrast towards the end of the work.

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Chamber-instrumental ensembles occupied a place in Taneyev's work that had never before belonged to this sphere of creativity in Russian music: the "world of composers" was embodied to a much greater extent in their operas or symphonies. Taneyev's chamber cycles not only belong to the highest achievements of his work, but belong to the heights of domestic pre-revolutionary music of the chamber genre as a whole.

It is well known that in the 20th century there was an increase in interest in chamber and ensemble music in different national cultures. In Russia in the second half of the 19th century, and especially towards its end, this phenomenon had a basis. For Russian art of that time, psychologism is important and characteristic. Deepening into the world of man, showing the subtlest movements of the soul are also inherent in the literature of that time - L. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, later Chekhov - and portraiture, and opera, and vocal lyrics. It was psychologism, combined with an attitude towards non-programming of instrumental music, that was embodied in Taneyev's chamber-ensemble work. Importance also had classicist tendencies.

Chamber-ensemble music is fuller, more consistent and brighter than other genres, it reveals the evolution of Taneyev's creativity. It is hardly accidental that the most clearly individual style of Taneyev, a student of the conservatory, manifested itself in the string quartet in D minor (not completed), from the point of view of both thematics and methods of development. The theme of the main part of the first part is mournful. The drooping seconds, so frequent in Tchaikovsky, sound here not elegiacly and openly emotional, but more restrained, stern. The theme, consisting of four sounds, is not singsong, but is already concise, thesis in Taneyev's way. The second beginning of the motive is immediately aggravated by a reduced fourth, in combination with other voices, wide unstable intervals arise. The presentation of the main part in polyphonic form is extremely interesting and revealing: imitation appears already in the second measure.

In the second performance (bars 9–58), the imitative nature of the exposition is emphasized by the stretta. In the third section of the development - the fugato with four complete passes (from p. 108) - an important event occurs: the theme of the fugato synthesizes both themes of the exposition.

Chamber ensembles took the main place in the years that were a continuation of the student period and preceded the creation of John of Damascus (1884). At first glance, the tasks that Taneyev set for himself at this stage look paradoxical and untimely (even in the eyes of Tchaikovsky: polyphonic technique, “Russian polyphony”), but their solution moved the composer in exactly the direction that eventually turned out to be not only the general line of his work, but also a significant trend in the development of Russian music of the 20th century. One of these tasks was the mastery of chamber writing, and initially it was based on mastering - practical, compositional, and, moreover, consciously set - the intonational structure and compositional structures of the chamber music of the Viennese classics. “The model and subject of imitation is Mozart,” the young musician writes to Tchaikovsky about his quartet in C major.

Thematic prototypes and principles of work, going back to the music of Mozart, did not exhaust the layer of Viennese classicism for Taneyev. No less important was the orientation towards chamber, and partly symphonic and piano cycles Beethoven. The very significant role of imitation polyphony is connected with the Beethoven tradition. The very beginning of the E-flat major quartet speaks of Taneyev's "polyphonic setting"; the second sentence (vol. 13 et seq.) is a four-part canon; contrapuntal techniques are found both in the exposition and in the development sections. The first fugue forms appear as well, which are included in a larger structure - in the extreme parts of the trio in D major, in the finale of the quartet in C major. Here, earlier than in the first three symphonies (in the same years), the tempo designation Adagio appears. And although these slow parts do not have the deep content of Taneyev's later Adagios, these are almost the best parts of the cycles.

Taneyev himself judged his first chamber compositions strictly (cf. diary entry dated March 23, 1907). The few reviews of the only performances of the E flat major and C major quartets were strongly negative. The ensembles of the 1970s and 1980s were published three quarters of a century after their appearance by the works of G. V. Kirkor, I. N. Iordan, B. V. Dobrokhotov.

Subsequent chamber-instrumental cycles were published during the composer's lifetime and can be regarded as examples of his mature style. It has its own more fractional internal periodization: the quartets in D minor (1886; revised and published in 1896 as No. 3, op. 7) and B-flat minor (1890, No. 1, op. 4), written before the Oresteia, with their more melodious melody; opening with a quartet in C major, op. 5 (1895) a number of the most significant string ensembles, among which a special place is occupied by two quintets - op. 14 (with two cellos, 1901) and op. 16 (with two violas, 1904); finally, following the quartet in B-flat major (op. 19, 1905) ensembles with the participation of the piano: the quartet in E major, op. 20 (1906), trio in D major, op. 22 (1908) and Quintet in G minor op. 30 (1911). But this grouping is largely arbitrary. Each of the Taneyev ensembles is a building built according to an "individual project". They express different moods, each has its own special task, its own special goal.

L. Korabelnikova

Chamber instrumental ensembles:

sonata for violin and piano a-moll (without op., 1911)

trio
for violin, viola and cello D-dur, no op., 1880,
and h-moll, without op., 1913
for 2 violins and viola, D-dur, op. 21, 1907
pianoforte, D-dur, op. 22, 1908
for violin, viola and tenor viol, Es-dur, op. 31, 1911

string quartets
Es-dur, without op., 1880
C-dur, without op., 1883
A-dur, without op., 1883
d-moll, without op., 1886, in the 2nd edition - 3rd, op. 7, 1896
1st, b-moll, op. 4, 1890
2nd, C-dur, op. 5, 1895
4th, a-moll, op. 11, 1899
5th, A-dur, op. 13, 1903
6th, B-dur, op. 19, 1905
G-dur, without op., 1905

piano quartet in E-dur (op. 20, 1906)

quintets
1st string - for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos, G-dur, op. 14.1901
2nd string - for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello, C-dur, op. 16, 1904
piano, g-moll, op. 30, 1911

Andante for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns (no op., 1883)