Scientific herald of Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine

Typology and functions of quotations in music

Bogdan Siuta — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. The most frequent questions raised by music scholars writing about quotation concern the functions of quotation in an artistically coherent text, the origins of quotations in specific musical works, and the degree of variability of quoted material. There are also attempts to typify and classify quotations in music according to certain criteria (often subjectively and unmotivatedly chosen). However, understanding the technique of quotation, its functions and mechanisms of meaning formation, as well as the nature of the musical-speech mechanism of quotation, has largely been pushed to the margins of scholarly inquiry. Among the outlined range of issues, the typology and functions of musical quotation remain the least studied. These issues therefore constitute the main focus of the present study. Special attention is also paid to the crucial role of precedent phenomena in the formation of semantic fields and semantic blocks when interpreting artistic information involving quotations in music perception. The main objective of the study is to propose a typological model of quotation in musical texts in accordance with its functions and the mechanisms involved in the development of artistic texts. The methodology of the study includes culturological methods (to characterize the general circumstances and socio-cultural context of quotation functioning), comparative methods (to identify common and divergent features among different types and groups of quotations), structural-functional and genre analysis, as well as theoretical generalization.

Main results and conclusions. The article examines the problem of the functioning and typology of quotation in music and the current state of its theoretical understanding. The features of citation and the nature and specificity of musical quotation are analyzed. The main scholarly approaches to the study and classification of musical quotation are reviewed. The most widespread typological models are characterized, and their advantages and limitations are identified. The scientific definition of quotation proposed in previous studies is clarified, and criteria for the systematization and classification of musical quotations are formulated with regard to historicalstylistic and musical-speech specifics, as well as perceptual features. Quotation in music is analyzed from the perspectives of text theory and intertextuality, and the characteristics of stylistic, cultural, verbal, and media quotations are outlined. The criteria for typologizing musical quotations are defined as follows: format of reproduction or reactualization in the metatext, position within the text, prototext and readability, function, and features of musical language. Methods and means of introducing quotations into musical texts are examined. For the systematization of all types and varieties of musical quotations and the mechanisms of their functioning, the format of reproduction is considered the determining factor. On this basis, quotations are divided into exact, inexact, and semantic. The dependence of quotation types and functions on the stylistic features of musical works and on the possibilities of combining different semiotic systems in artistic musical texts is demonstrated. Attention is also drawn to the decisive role of precedent phenomena in the formation of semantic fields and semantic blocks in the perception of music.

Dedication as a semantic code of musical work

Valentyna Redya — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. In musical art, dedication functions as a specific semantic layer situated on the margins of the musical text, capable of shaping perception, activating extratextual connections, and forming a distinct field of meanings. The relevance of the topic lies in the need to conceptualize dedication as an important semantic programming code of a musical work — a silent yet effective element of its semantic organization that influences reception, interpretation, and the overall semantic field of the musical text. Within contemporary musicological discourse, which increasingly focuses on uncovering latent layers of meaning, the study of dedication expands understanding of the interaction between the composer’s intention, cultural context, and performing interpretation.

The main objective of the study is to reveal the potential of musical dedication as a semantic programming code capable of influencing the semantic field, interpretation, and reception of a musical work.

The methodology. The methodological basis of the research is Gérard Genette’s concept of paratext, in which dedication is interpreted as an element of the peritext — one of the semantic “thresholds” mediating the interaction between author, work, and recipient. This approach allows dedication to be understood as a semantically charged code influencing the interpretation of the musical text. The study employs a combination of methods: the hermeneutic method (to reveal implicit meanings and the “quiet semantics” of dedication actualized in the processes of reading and performance); the semiotic method (to analyze dedication as a sign structure integrated into the system of artistic codes); the contextual method (to examine historical, cultural, and biographical conditions of dedication); and the interpretative method (to explore the role of dedication in shaping performing concepts). Their integration enables a multidimensional understanding of dedication as a peritextual, semantic, and interpretative phenomenon.

The main results and conclusions. The term musical dedication requires broader application within musicological discourse, given the diversity and prevalence of dedicatory practices in compositional creativity. Dedication can no longer be viewed merely as an auxiliary verbal element; it increasingly emerges as a meaning-forming factor of the musical work. It functions, first, as a mode of programmability shaped by historical and sociocultural contexts, and second, as a manifestation of dialogicity and intertextuality, always oriented toward an Other — an addressee, memory, or cultural horizon. In this sense, dedication acts as a mechanism of semantic coding that activates extramusical layers of meaning within the sounding work itself.

The concepts of “quiet semantics” / “semantics of presence” designate the acoustic realization of the threshold between the work and its reception. The notion of “dedication as text” (when the musical work itself becomes a form of dedication) is proposed as an analytical extension of musicological methodology. Further research perspectives include the study of dedication’s functions, its impact on performing interpretation, and the controversial issue of its possible correlation with genre. Musical dedication thus represents a complex object of study that requires further theoretical refinement and analytical exploration.

Somatic intelligence in the structure of the pianist’s emotional expressivity in ensemble performance

Mariia Obolenska — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. Ukrainian professional music education lacks body-aware practices aimed at harmonizing the physical, mental, and creative dimensions of a musician's activity. Addressing this gap requires a critical reassessment of the traditional pedagogical model and the integration of contemporary interdisciplinary methods that consider the body as an equal component of musical thinking and performance culture. Another layer of the problem is the dominant focus in traditional training on developing solo performance skills emphasizing individual work on technique, sound production, and stage endurance. Ensemble performance is often treated as an "add-on" to solo skills, with the assumption that a musician proficient in their instrument will automatically adapt to the ensemble context. In reality, chamber music imposes qualitatively different demands. This is where the concept of somatic intelligence becomes relevant as the ability to consciously control the body, perceive it both as a tool of expression and as a channel for interaction with other musicians.

The main objective of the study is to justify the role of somatic intelligence as a body-aware competence of the pianist in ensemble performance that enhances self-regulation within emotional interaction with partners. The methodological basis of the article relies on a set of general and specialized methods and approaches, including a comparative approach, modeling and a systems approach.

Results and conclusions. A comparative analysis of the most widespread somatic techniques (Alexander, Feldenkrais, Timani, Piano-Yoga, Piano-Somatic) has been conducted to assess their relevance for ensemble interaction. The definition of somatic intelligence in ensemble pianists has been clarified as the capacity to bodily perceive and synchronize one’s psychophysiological responses with the emotional state of a partner, thus facilitating a shared interpretation of the musical work. Particular attention is paid to touch as a source of sensorimotor pleasure that acts as both a motivational factor and a basis for expressive articulation. The ability to anticipate partners’ actions and adjust dynamics and tempo relies heavily on bodily regulation. Somatic intelligence is the internal foundation that integrates the physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of chamber performance.

Semantics «Zoroastre» as an allegory of spiritual choice: philosophical meanings of the Jeanne-Philippe Rameau’s tragédie lyrique

Vira Artemieva — 2026-02-12

The relevance of the study. The tragédie lyrique Zoroastre by Jean-Philippe Rameau is examined as an artistic model of spiritual choice between Light and Darkness. The two versions of Zoroastre (1749 and 1756), created in collaboration with Louis de Cahusac, present a unique case of large-scale dramaturgical transformation. Special attention is paid to Zoroastre as a new type of hero – a bearer of spiritual knowledge, moral responsibility, and an active enlightening mission.

The main objective of the study is to identify the features of the philosophical and symbolic concept of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s tragédie lyrique Zoroastre within the context of late Baroque aesthetics and Enlightenment ideas.

The methodology. The research applies comparative-textual and historical-stylistic methods to examine both versions of the libretto. Structural-dramaturgical analysis is used to trace modifications in the sequence of scenes, character interactions, and the development of conflict. Elements of contextual analysis help interpret the philosophical and symbolic dimensions of the work within the broader framework of Enlightenment aesthetics.

Results and conclusions. The opera occupies a special place in Rameau’s oeuvre due to its philosophical symbolism, Masonic overtones, and the absence of a traditional allegorical prologue in the first version. The comparison of the two librettos makes it possible to trace the evolution of aesthetic priorities and dramaturgical logic in mid-eighteenth-century French opera. The study demonstrates that the 1756 revision represents not merely a correction but a profound rethinking of the dramatic concept. The first version (1749) opens without a prologue and introduces, in the overture, the metaphysical conflict between Light and Darkness, emphasizing philosophical abstraction and symbolic opposition. In the revised version, the dramaturgy becomes more concentrated and theatrically dynamic: certain scenes are reduced or reorganized, narrative motivations are clarified, and the emotional trajectory of the protagonists gains greater coherence. The redistribution of roles strengthens dramatic tension and intensifies the confrontation between Zoroastre and Abramane, while the lyrical dimension of the opera becomes more expressive and theatrically effective.

Il Trionfo Dell’onore by Alessandro Scarlatti —Sui Generis on the stage of the Teatro Malibran in Venice

Adelina Yefimenko — 2026-02-12

The relevance of the study. Alessandro Scarlatti was a multifaceted and ambivalent figure; above all, he was a composer of rigorous professional discipline and a musician-scholar who aspired not only to innovation but also to order and systematic organisation. His operas prepared the classification of Italian opera into seria and buffa. It is indisputable that the principle of “the primacy of the aria as the main compositional indicator” was introduced by this author and that bel canto is inseparable from the specificity of opera seria. The relevance of studying the operatic works of A. Scarlatti, who worked in the leading operatic centres of Italy — Naples, Venice, Florence and Rome — and bridged the Baroque and early Classicism, is evident. His ability to discover new impulses for the development of the operatic genre has proved especially significant for contemporary directors. In Ukrainian musicology, the comic opera Il trionfo dell’onore is examined for the first time in the sui generis dimension, in particular in its contemporary staging at the Venetian Teatro Malibran.

The main objective of the study is to characterise the genre features and stage realisation of Il trionfo dell’onore — the master’s only comic opera — as a unique sui generis work.

The methodology. The study is based on a cultural interpretation of the emergence of the composer’s only comic opera, a comparative analysis of different versions of the libretto, and the identification of Scarlatti’s genre innovation. The method of theoretical generalisation allowed the author to interpret this genre experiment as an impulse for the formation of opera buffa and the new “Neapolitan school”.

The main results and conclusions. The comic opera Il trionfo dell’onore is analysed in the sui generis dimension. Scarlatti’s oeuvre includes more than sixty opera seria, while this work represents his only comic opera and belongs to his late period. The reasons for the long neglect of Scarlatti’s heritage are examined. The article outlines the historical impulses behind the return of Il trionfo dell’onore to the stage and analyses the libretto’s literary features and dramaturgical logic, which combine elements of commedia dell’arte with the high style of eighteenth-century literary trends. Parallels are drawn with Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte by Mozart and Falstaff by Verdi.

The contemporary Venetian production of Il trionfo dell’onore (Teatro Malibran, 2025) serves as the main analytical source, presented in Aaron Carpenè’s critical edition, staged by Stefano Vizioli and conducted by Enrico Onofri. The scenography by Ugo Nespolo reveals Scarlatti’s stylistic multidimensionality through the interaction of Baroque aesthetics with elements of Fauvism, Pop Art, Surrealism and comics featuring ornithological motifs. The 2025 production confirmed the composer’s significance for the history of musical theatre and demonstrated the revival of public interest in this tradition. It also reconstructed Scarlatti’s major achievement — the renewal of the tradition of the first Italian drama per musica — while emphasising social and psychological contrasts. The study formulates a task for contemporary opera theatres: to continue staging unique sui generis works of the epoch.

Logic of the fuhctioning of timbre-semantic dubies in W. A. Mozart`s Commedia per Musica «Le nozze di Figaro»

Olena Roschenko — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. Reproducing the theme of doubling, Mozart disrupts the logic of direct correspondences between timbral and semantic solutions in the “relationships” between operatic doubles. The identification of the logic governing the functioning of timbral-semantic doubles determines the relevance of the chosen research topic.

The Main Objective of the Study is to establish the laws of the logic governing the functioning of timbral-semantic doubles of Mozart’s commedia per musica Le nozze di Figaro.

The methodology includes the dialectical method to reveal the manifestation of the laws of logic in commedia per musica; inductive and deductive methods; systemic-structural and semantic types of logical analysis aimed at revealing the specificity of the functioning of timbral-semantic doubles; a hermeneutic approach to recognize to identify hidden meanings; analysis of intonational dramaturgy; mythooperological analysis, which contributes to identifying the laws of mythological thinking in comic opera.

Results and Conclusions. Mozart’s comedy through music is examined from the standpoint of reproducing the logic of the functioning of timbral-semantic doubles formed around the archetypes of the bridegroom and the bride — the paired archetype of the wedding couple. The archetype of the bridegroom is supplemented by the role of the avenger; the internal structure of the bride archetype is based on the interaction of the hypostases Engel and Schelmin. The image of Susanna corresponds to a coloratura embodiment of the soubrette role, while Barbarina represents a «pure» embodiment of the soubrette. The interpretation of Susanna allows her to be placed on the same «performative pedestal» as the Countess, as a second prima. The ambiguity of Cherubino’s Hosenrolle corresponds to the theatrical tradition of interpreting the Travestie-Rolle. In the functioning of timbral-semantic doubles in Mozart’s opera, the interaction of the laws of classical logic (identity and contradiction) and the logic of myth (metamorphosis and the principle of the non-excluded third) is observed. Myth-making acquires the significance of a genre-defining feature of the opera, extending to comic models, which expands the subject boundaries of mythooperology.

Postopera: The Stage Space of Composer and Director Creative Collaboration

Maiia Rzhevska — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. The nature of contemporary artistic processes necessitates an analysis of the specific forms of communication among participants involved in the preparation and presentation of a musical-stage work at various stages: the formulation of the director’s and scenographic concepts, the creation of the musical-literary text, and its transfer into the stage space.

The purpose of the article is to outline the specific features of creative interaction between the composer and the director in the development of musical-stage projects that belong to the phenomenon of postopera. Research methodology. The study is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach consistent with the nature of the phenomenon under investigation. The following methods are employed: structural-functional analysis; comparative methods (descriptive and analytical); and methods of systematization and typologization.

Results and conclusions. A classification of recent opera productions is proposed according to the director’s approach to the musical-literary text: the director as interpreter of the composer’s concept; the director as author of the opera production (Regieoper); and the director and composer as co-authors of the opera production (Postopera). It is noted that a distinct trend toward productions corresponding to the postopera mode began to take shape in the last third of the twentieth century and continues to develop. The creative principles of composer S. Silverman and director/librettist R. Foreman are outlined, and the features of the performance Elephant Steps (1968) are characterized. The genre-stylistic features and production contexts of the comedy post-rock opera What to Wear (2006; revival 2026) (R. Foreman in collaboration with composer M. Gordon) are examined. The example of F. Glass’s A Madrigal Opera («a work with an open ending») demonstrates the potential of unrealized theatrical projects. The synthesis of operatic genre possibilities and the performative resources of circus art in the creative tandem F. Glass—T. Björfors (Circus Days and Nights, 2021) is analyzed; mechanisms of intercultural communication between artists from the USA and Europe are identified, including through the activities of The Watermill Center founded by R. Wilson. It is argued that the postopera mode, now a significant component of contemporary theatre, manifests itself in experimental musical-stage projects distinguished by innovative creative solutions and modes of functioning, thereby expanding the boundaries of operatic art

Strategies for actualizing the cultural canon in Kyiv Modern Ballet’s La Traviata

Iuliia Bentia — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. This article examines strategies for actualizing the cultural canon in La Traviata, a contemporary ballet by Kyiv Modern Ballet choreographed and staged by Radu Poklitaru (2025) based on Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. The topic is timely given the intensified rethinking of the classical repertoire in Ukrainian stage culture amid wartime conditions and profound social transformation, alongside renewed debates about cultural continuity and the place of European heritage in Ukrainian artistic identity.

The main objective of the study is to identify and characterize the artistic strategy through which Kyiv Modern Ballet and its founder Radu Poklitaru engage canonical Western European texts, using La Traviata as a representative case. The production is also considered within the broader context of Ukrainian stage reinterpretations of Verdi’s opera in recent decades. The methodology combines cultural and art-historical analysis. The article also employs a comparative approach, juxtaposing a classical work from the mid-nineteenth-century operatic repertoire with a contemporary ballet production.

The main results and conclusions. The study demonstrates that the production retains the opera’s central ethical idea—self-sacrifice in the name of love—while substantially shifting dramaturgical emphases through the condensation and reorganization of the plot, prompted by the “wordless” nature of dance and the need to externalize psychological motivation non-verbally. Musical montage (a soundtrack assembled from excerpts of different opera recordings/performances), multimedia video scenography, a carefully composed lighting dramaturgy, and unisex costuming create a new scenic coherence and articulate a three-layered structure of action: the characters’ inner world, the fragile world of love, and a cold social environment. The ballet is interpreted as an auteur artistic statement and a productive intergenre transformation of the canon that reactulizes a classical work for contemporary Ukrainian audiences.

Vocal and stage image of Count di Almaviva in the opera «The marriage of Figaro» by W. A. Mozart: the dichotomy of traditional and modern

Artem Kurinyі — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. The study explores the problem of forming a vocal and stage image in opera art using the example of the part of Count Almaviva from the “commedia pe musica” “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The focus is on the algorithm of the soloist's work on the image in the conditions of coexistence of the traditional performing school and modern director's theater. Familiarization with the various dramaturgical solutions of this masterpiece opera allows for a competent performance analysis of the vocal and stage image of the colorful antagonist — Count di Almaviva, whose character in different productions encompasses various gradations from a depraved courtly ladies' man to a dramatic Verdiesque image. The study of the features of the extrapolation of this bright character from the plane of the traditional to the dimension of the experimental contributes to a deeper and better penetration of the opera performer into this image, and therefore to the reproduction of his characteristic essence on stage.

The main objective of the study is to identify the specifics of the formation of the vocal and stage image of Count di Almaviva in the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" and to outline the dichotomy of the traditional and the modern in its interpretation in the conditions of the current director's theater.

The methodology. The methodological foundation of the study is based on a comprehensive approach that incorporates methods of comparative analysis, the historical approach, and the critical-analytical method. The interpretation of the part of Count di Almaviva is considered in the context of an experimental directorial version implemented at the Kyiv Opera, which is positioned as an artistic phenomenon determined by the influences of the Western European opera process of the late 20th - first quarter of the 21st century.

The main results and conclusions. It has been established that, given the immutability of the musical material and the variability of the director's concepts (the spatiotemporal resolution of the plot, approaches to interpreting the images of Mozart's characters), the semantics of the vocal and stage image of Count di Almaviva demonstrates a clearly expressed dichotomy. It combines the immutable universal, timeless with the specifics of a certain space-time. The image of Count Almaviva appears as a complex model of the interaction of traditional Mozartian style and current theatrical thinking, which opens up new opportunities for the performer's interpretative freedom.

Flemish and Franco-Flemish traditions of harpsichord making: history and modernity

Olha Shadrina-Lychak — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. The harpsichord-building traditions of the Flemish and FrancoFlemish schools, as well as the harpsichords that represent them, are rarely the subject of study by Ukrainian musicologists. However, it is precisely such instruments and their copies that are an important component of the modern practice of historically informed performance. The affiliation of the harpsichord of Johannes Ruckers, 1632 (Neuchâtel) to the Franco-Flemish school actualizes to introduce information about it into domestic scientific circulation, as it will allow us to draw conclusions not only about the specifics of the functioning of the aforementioned schools in a historical perspective, but also about possible ways to involve original harpsichords in today's concert practice and educational process.

The main objective of the study is to consider the specifics of the Flemish and FrancoFlemish schools of harpsichord building, as well as to identify the features of approaches to working with harpsichords in a historical perspective.

The methodology includes the following methods: cultural analysis to contextualize the space of the functioning of the harpsichord as a musical instrument; historical analysis to trace the evolution of harpsichord making; descriptive analysis to determine the characteristic features of harpsichords of the Flemish and Franco-Flemish schools; comparative analysis to identify similarities and differences between them; theoretical generalization to draw conclusions.

The methodology includes the following methods: cultural analysis to contextualize the functioning of the harpsichord as a musical instrument; historical analysis to trace the evolution of harpsichord making; descriptive analysis to determine the characteristic features of harpsichords of the Flemish and Franco-Flemish schools; comparative analysis to identify similarities and differences between them.

The main results and conclusions. The Flemish and Franco-Flemish schools of harpsichord making are examined in a historical and cultural context. Information is provided on the activities of the Ruckers-Couchet dynasty. The specific features of Flemish harpsichords, the peculiarities of their design and decoration are described. The kinship between Flemish and French sound aesthetics is emphasized, which made the emergence of the Franco-Flemish school possible. The ravalement procedure is described and attention is focused on the mandatory preservation of the original Flemish soundboard as the main factor in ensuring the standard sound of the harpsichord. Based on historical evidence, conclusions are drawn about the highest appreciation of FrancoFlemish harpsichords by contemporaries and the special cultural significance of this tradition of harpsichord building. The strong connection and interdependence of the type of harpsichord and the corresponding national harpsichord (composer and performer) school is indicated. The Johannes Ruckers harpsichord, 1632, kept in the Museum of Art and History of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), is described as a representative of the Franco-Flemish school. Information is provided on the activities of the Florentine antiquarian and harpsichord forger Leopoldo Franciolini. Modern approaches to working with preserved original instruments of the 16th—18th centuries are identified. The feasibility of involving original harpsichords in concert practice and the educational process, whose condition allows it, is emphasized. Examples of cultural and educational events involving original harpsichords are described, including the “Marathon Scarlatti 555” (2023) with instruments from the François Badoud collection. The special attention of modern harpsichord makers to Franco-Flemish models is emphasized. It was emphasized that Ukraine has copies of such instruments, in particular those built by Ukrainian master Dmytro Tytenko and highly appreciated by the world's leading harpsichordists.

Vectors of musical Americanism in the Concertо for clarinet and string orchestra by Aaron Copland

Olena Antonova — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. The study examines Aaron Copland, an outstanding representative of the American school of composition, whose music is perceived in his homeland as the embodiment of the national spirit and character. However, the composer is not well known in Ukraine, which highlights the need for a thorough study of his work, both in terms of its overall evolution and in analytical terms.

The main objective of the study is to characterize the vectors of musical Americanism in Aaron Copland's work and to identify the forms of their interaction in the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra. The methodological basis of the study consists of cultural studies (to characterize the historical processes in which Copland lived and worked), biographical (to highlight the stages of the composer's creative evolution), stylistic and structural-functional (for a comprehensive analysis of the Clarinet Concerto), as well as the method of theoretical generalization (to summarize the results).

Main results and conclusions. Copland's search for American idioms is traced, which ran through imitation and experimentation, fascination with European modernism and American jazz, and a turn to “proletarian” music and rural folklore of the Midwestern United States. It is emphasized that, despite the evolutionary nature of these explorations, Copland's two leading vectors of Americanism — Anglo-folk and Jazz — directly intersected in the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra (1948). The article emphasizes that this combination was conditioned by the personality of the customer — the famous American clarinetist Benny Goodman, who combined his career as a jazz musician with an interest in academic music. The form, thematic content, and stylistic coloring of the Concerto are analyzed, and the separation of contrasting figurative and stylistic spheres in the two parts of the concert cycle is pointed out. The intonational-thematic and timbral connections between the first part of the Concerto and Copland's works of the late 1930s and 1940s, which reflect rural American life, in particular the music for the films Our Town and The Story of Cummington, are highlighted. The role of the solo cadence as a transitional bridge between parts is characterized, and its improvisational features are emphasized. The integration of jazz elements into the second part of the Concerto is considered, and their predominance, primarily in metrorhythmic structures, is demonstrated. The influence of Brazilian folk music on the theme of the work was discussed. It has been proven that the organic combination of contrasting parts in terms of imagery and style is achieved by a writing technique, the essence of which lies in the gradual expansion of sound material through accumulation. The functioning of this technique in horizontal and vertical dimensions has been analyzed. It is concluded that the use of this method contributes to the unity of form and at the same time provides contrast. It is noted that the use of compositional models of different origins (in this case, his own) and the presentation of familiar musical material in a new context reflect Copland's connection with the neoclassical origins of his work

Argentine folklore traditions and modern lexican in Alberto Ginastera’s Guitar Sonata

Tetiana Filatova — 2026-02-12

The relevance of the study. The article explores the processes of reconstruction of Argentine Creole genres that arose in the historical context of everyday traditions of gaucho culture and were reinterpreted using avant-garde musical vocabulary in Alberto Ginastera’s Guitar Sonata.

The main objective of the study is to identify the mechanisms of the processes of reconstruction of Argentine Creole genres, to trace the genesis and transformations in the context of everyday gaucho traditions through the means of avant-garde musical vocabulary in Alberto Ginastera’s Guitar Sonata. The novelty of the article lies in the inclusion in the modern sector of Ukrainian musicological works of a detailed analytical coverage of the genre and style aspects of the work, as well as their updating with the linguistic resources of modern composition techniques. The methodology is based on a complex of historical, theoretical, structural-functional, systemic and comparative methods.

Results and conclusions. The composer’s genre priorities, connections with local customs, musical specificity of rhythmic patterns, intonations, performing techniques, plastic gestures, folklore idioms characteristic of tryste, vidal, milonga, malambo, gato, chacarrera are revealed. In the process of analyzing the text of the sonata, the connections of music with the motility of the traditional sound atmosphere of the inhabitants of the rural highland plains, its ritual-game and songlyrical poetics are articulated. The timbre imitations of percussion membranophones and idiophones (caha, cajon) are marked by specific guitar techniques adopted in folk music-making customs and the everyday environment of local sound landscapes. The genre nature of thematicism is considered in the dynamics of transformations due to the spectrum of individualized stylistic influences, intertextual borrowings (from Richard Wagner’s opera "The Mastersingers of Nuremberg"), the action of general compositional and technical paradigms of avant-garde vocabulary (microseriality, dodecaphony, aleatorics, metrorhythmic asymmetry of patterns, modal symmetry of octatonic structures). The genre and stylistic aspects of the material are considered taking into account the latest achievements of modern musicology, with the involvement of a basic complex of historical, theoretical, structural-functional, systemic and comparative methods. The contextual approach to the analysis of the Guitar Sonata has determined a wide field of linguistic interactions and search vectors of Alberto Ginastera’s work, deeply connected with national Argentine cultural traditions.

«The swan of Tuonela» in Kyiv (to the 160th anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius)

Olena Zinkevych — 2026-02-12

Relevance of the study. At the beginning of the 20th century, the musical life of Kyiv was on the rise. This was largely due to Alexander Mykolayovych Vinogradsky, a native of Kyiv, the longtime head of the Kyiv branch of the Russian Musical Society –– RMS (1888–1912) and the permanent leader of its symphonic gatherings. His concerts featured works not only by eminent authors, but also by a wide range of representatives of the contemporary musical process, including Emil Sauer, Karl Goldmark, Christian Sinding, Johan Svendsen, Giovanni Sgambati, and others. Among them, a new name stood out and was repeatedly heard - the young Finnish composer Jan Sibelius.

The main objective of the study. Based on the material of Kyiv periodicals of the early 20th century, the article recreates the atmosphere and circumstances of the first performance of Sibelius's works in Kyiv. This topic was not raised in the Ukrainian musicological literature.

The main results and conclusions. The first performance of J. Sibelius in Kyiv took place on March 29, 1902 at the Extraordinary Symphonic Assembly of the Kyiv Branch of the RMS under the direction of A.M. Vynogradsky. Sibelius's premiere work in Kyiv was the symphonic poem "The Swan of Tuonel". As was practiced in Kyiv, the concert was widely announced in newspapers. Critics introduced future listeners to the Finnish school of composers, recalled the outstanding success of the symphonic concerts of Finnish music at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900), called Sibelius "the head of Finnish composers" and published the program of "Tuonel's Swan". The special status of the concert was emphasized by the fact that it was a benefit for the orchestra and all the works included in the program were performed in Kyiv for the first time. Sibelius's piece was a great success and was repeated. In his review, the leading Kyiv critic V. Chechott noted the poem's connection with the emotional sound of Finnish nature, spoke about the orchestral features of the poem, and noted its intonational connection with the theme of the Holy Grail in Wagner's Parsifal. The second performance of the poem on January 26, 1904 was also successful. Vynogradsky's "Sibelian" was completed by "Saga" (January 16, 1906). Interest in Finnish musical culture received new impetus thanks to Robert Kajanus, a Finnish composer and conductor invited to Kyiv in 1902 to conduct summer symphony concerts in the Merchant's Garden. Kajanus introduced Kyivans to the suite of music by Sibelius to A. Paul's play "King Christian II" (May 13, 1902). After 1906, due to a conflict with the City Duma, the Kyiv branch of the RMS did not hold symphonic evenings. Other societies were involved in their organization, and concerts were conducted by invited guest musicians. Sibelius was absent from their programs. The life of Sibelius's music in Kyiv continues now. But the names of outstanding conductors Alexander Vinogradsky and Robert Kajanus will forever remain in the history of the "Kyiv Sibeliana" as those who discovered for the Kievites the music of the great Finn and the first of his outstanding interpreters.

Behind the scenes of the official biography: to the 125TH anniversary of the birth of musicologist Grygory Kyselyov

Oleksandra Stepanska — 2026-02-12

The relevance of the study. Gryhoriy Leonidovich Kyselyov (1901–1952) — Ukrainian musicologist, Doctor of Philosophy in Art Criticism, scientist and Professor, whose life and work fell on the 20-50s — the period of formation and development of domestic musicological science. His early death was the result of those historical cataclysms that befell the generation born at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite the fact that the musicologist's name appears in many fundamental works, only a brief biography of a reference nature still exists.

The main objective. The purpose of the article is to expand information about the life and work of musicologist Gryhoriy Kyselyov.

The methodology. The following methods were used to conduct the research: biographical (formation of musicological interests during the years of study and subsequent scientific and pedagogical activity of G. Kiselyov), source-based (identification and processing of previously uninvolved archival complexes), genealogical (research into the origin of the musicologist), study of regional studies (Ovruch, Chernihiv), historical and memoir-based (use of various memories: family, friends, students, etc.).

The main results and conclusions. The life and musicological activity of G. Kyselyov, which fell on the first half of the 20th century, the years of the formation and development of Ukrainian musicological science, are considered. A biographical periodization of the artist is built, which reflects the historical breaks of the era. The importance of cultural and educational stages, from family upbringing in Ovruch to the M. Lysenko Institute, and musical and artistic contacts both during the years of study at the institute (M. Grinchenko, B. Yavorsky, A. Alshvang, K. Kvitka), and in future pedagogical and musicological activity (G. Veryovka, E. Skrypchynska, D. Revutsky, L. Kulakovsky etc.) is emphasized. A number of new archival documents and photographs have been published. Among them are images of teachers and students from 1929, a “report” of the musicologist on his stay in German captivity, a letter from L. Revutsky to G. Kyselyov with a description of his creative work at that time. The last period of G. Kyselyov’s life is considered, work at the Kyiv Conservatory and the M. Rylsky Institute of Fine Arts. Scientific activity in difficult conditions of the late 40s and early 50s is noted. The close relationship with Lev Kulakovsky (creation of the textbook “Musical Literacy”), creative contacts with Klymentiy Kvitka (preparation of a dissertation) and Levko Revutsky (writing a brochure for the composer’s 60th anniversary). The pedagogical work of the musicologist at the Department of Music History and the attitude of his students to him, who in the future formed the foundation of Ukrainian musicological science, are highlighted. Prospects: the archival complexes of the musicologist Gryhoriy Kyselyov, which are stored in various institutions in Kyiv, are mostly unprocessed. The study of these materials can help expand the perspective of historical views on the difficult period of the formation of Ukrainian musicological science, establish personal, friendly and business contacts between prominent representatives of Ukrainian musical culture and musicologists.