Journal articles on the topic 'Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra'

Until the world première of Joe Duddell's Ruby on 25 July, I had yet to hear a percussion concerto which didn't trip itself up. I thought it was in the nature of the beast: the orchestra develops some material, which is then passed to the percussion, at which point all development perforce stops. Duddell (b. 1972) solved the problem by turning it on its head, and limiting the orchestral material to what the solo percussionist could handle; the downside is that he necessarily limits the expressive scope of the orchestra. Ruby – the title is simply a rhyming-slang working label that stuck: it's the final part of a trilogy of works written for the percussionist Colin Currie – opens with a vibraphone pattern that suggests a lyrical music-box and soon shows a stylistic affinity with American minimalism, which alternates with slabs of good-natured energy. The slow movement begins with tremolo marimba chords over string lines that drift aimlessly and agreeably, with a more active central section spurred by brief brass figures which trigger rising scalic patterns in the vibraphone. The initial material returns with soft-centred strings above hypnotic vibraphone figuration and is sung to a close by the rapturous sound of bowed vibraphone chords. The finale likewise deals in cheerfully mesmeric vibraphone patterns over a wash of strings and stuttering comment from horns and trumpets; the soloist then offers an improvised toccata on drum-kit backed by forceful rhythms from a near-tutti orchestra. The vibraphone resumes its jolly prattle until, seemingly having run out of things to say, the music just stops dead. Currie, supported by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the functional Marin Alsop, played it with obvious commitment, and from memory – no small achievement in such motoric music.

Background. This article discusses the features of the program, the origins and symbolism of extra-musical images of the Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra “Toward That Endless Plain” by the Iranian-American composer of the XX–XXI centuries Reza Vali. There are also some features of the Concerto’s musical material analyzed: the form, instrumentation, and thematic, as well as the influence of Iranian musical traditions. There are no published scientific musicological materials devoted to the consideration of this Concerto from the point of view the comprehensive analysis. In periodical non-scientific literature, only four publications were found regarding this work. These include the article by the American writer Marakay Rogers, in which she gave a brief overview of the music of the Concerto and expressed her favorable impression of the composition. We also have the short article-annotation of American musicologist Brent Reidy and the article by American writer and journalist Lee Passarella written in connection with the release of the album, and the fragment of the interview by American musicologist Ellen Moysan with Reza Vali, where the composer spoke about the using Persian musical system in the Concerto for Ney and Orchestra. The purpose of this article is to consider the specifics of the Concert for Ney and Orchestra by R. Vali in the aspect of the author’s embodiment of the chosen program, as well as the peculiarities of Iranian traditional culture and music and their influence on professional academic music. Methods. The historical method was used to uncover the genesis of the “Sama” genre, also to study the genre features of the Concerto cycle; for considering the features of the structure and thematism of the Concerto the system-analytical method was used. Research results. The Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra “Toward That Endless Plain” was created by Reza Vali in Boston in 2003. In the composer’s legacy, this is the second big work in the concerto genre (for solo instrument and orchestra) and the first his work for an orchestra, which he composed on the base of the Persian traditional musical system. In addition to this Concerto, the composer wrote the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1992) and the Concerto for Kamanche and Ney with Orchestra (2009). The peculiarities of the musical material and its development are determined by the composer’s comprehension of the poem “Call of the Beginning” of the 20th century Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri. Recreating the main images of the poem in the Concerto – the images of a mystic lonely traveler and aggressive surrounding world opposed to him – R. Vali touches on the topics of conflicting relations between an individuality and a society, the tragic panhuman events of our time, and also – of the searches of a lonely person on his spiritual path to God. Understanding the origins of the Concerto’s program and the essence of the images will allow performers and listeners to more deeply penetrate the spirit and idea of the composition. The program of the Concerto is presented as following: the name, epigraph, headings for each part and the author’s notes to the program. The theme, the idea, the content and the images of the Concerto and its connection with the tragic events of the modern world are expressed through the philosophy of Sufism and the symbols contained in it, that was used around 800 years ago by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Reza Vali believes that Sohrab Sepehri contacts the philosophy of ancient poets to the literature of the 20th century. To express the basic musical idea – the search for the path of a human to God and the achievement of unity with him – the composer turns to the solo timbre of the Persian wood wind instrument Ney, which is the bearer of the image of sadness, loneliness, separation from the motherland. The sound of Ney, associated with spiritual search, is presented in Parts I, II and III of the Concerto. In Prelude and Interlude, Ney does not play anything. The theme of the danger is embodied in the Prelude and Interlude through the atonal technique and dissonant sounds of the instruments of the symphony orchestra that associates with the tragic war events that threaten all of humanity and their consequences. R. Vali used both, the European musical (three-part) form and the structures inherent in Iranian music (the mosaic form in Parts I and III based on the classical repertoire of Iranian music (Radif), and the Nobat form in Part II). The structure of the cycle is due to the program concept; its specifics are two additional sections designated as Prelude (before Part I) and Interlude (between Parts II and III). The program led to a change in the sequence of tempo characteristics of the parts in the overall composition of the cycle, which is different from genre customary in a concerto of Western European music. In the R. Vali’s Concert, Parts I and III are slow and Part II is fast. All the headings of the parts correlate with the mystical philosophy of Sufism. The author represents the headings in the score in two languages – Iranian and English that allows a deeper clarification of their semantic characteristics: “Prelude” – “Сhezolmát” / “The Abyss”; Part I – “Gozar” / “Passage”; Part II – “Sámâ” / “Ecstatic Dance”; “Interlude” – “Bargasht” / “Return to the Abyss”; Part III – “Foroud va Fánâ” / “Descent and Dissolve”. In figuratively semantic plan, Prelude and Interlude are in opposition to the three main parts of the Concerto. The cruel, destructive images of the material world that presented in Prelude and Interlude are set against the world of concentrated contemplation, the search of spiritual path for a person, recreated in the I, II and III Parts of the cycle. The musical language of the Concerto has roots in the vocal and instrumental Iranian traditional music – the ancient Dastgāh modal system and maqam forms. The medium size of the symphony orchestra is used in the Concerto. The group of brass and percussion instruments is especially important in creating the atmosphere of cruelty and violence and achieving the wild harsh sound. For showing an impending catastrophe, in finish fragment of Prelude, the composer introduces large and small electronic sirens into the orchestra. Conclusions. The extra-musical content and images of the R. Vali’s Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra and its connection with the tragic events of the modern world history are expressed through the philosophy of Sufism and its symbols. These philosophical ideas, images and symbols are embodied by the composer on various levels of the work as the structural and artistic integrity: 1) at the level of the structure of the modified three-part cycle; 2) in cycle’s tempo organization; 3) in the use of the system of the traditional Iranian music (dastgāh and maqam) in I, II, III parts; 4) in the use of principally distinct thematism in the Prelude and Interlude in comparison with the main parts; 5) at the level of the timbre and texture organization – in the semantization of the Ney‘s timbre and in multifarious, in terms of imagery, interpretation of the orchestra.

Abstract The paper is an attempt at a synthetic presentation of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s (1909–1969) musical output and artistic career, presented against the background of events in her personal life, and of major events in Polish and European history in the first seven decades of the 20th century. Bacewicz was called ‘the Polish Sappho’ already in the years between World Wars I and II, when there were very few women-composers capable of creating works comparable to the most eminent achievements of male composers. Her path to success in composition and as a concert soloist leads from lessons with her father, the Lithuanian Vincas Bacevičius, to studies at the Łódź and Warsaw Conservatories (violin with Józef Jarzębski, composition with Kazimierz Sikorski), and later with Nadia Boulanger at the École Normale de la Musique, as well as violin lessons with André Tourret. Her oeuvre has for many years been linked with neoclassicism, and folkloric inspirations are evident in many of her works. Her crowning achievement in the neoclassical style is the Concerto for String Orchestra of 1948, while influences from folklore can distinctly be heard in many concert pieces and small forms. The breakthrough came around 1958, under the influence of avant-garde trends present in West European music, which came to be adapted in Poland thanks to the political transformations and the rejection of socialist realism. In such pieces as Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion of 1958, Bacewicz transforms her previously fundamental musical components (melody, rhythm, harmony) into a qualitatively new type of sound structures, mainly focused on the coloristic aspects. Grażyna Bacewicz also applied the twelve-note technique, albeit to a limited extent, as in String Quartet No. 6 (1960). Her last work was the unfinished ballet Desire to a libretto by Mieczysław Bibrowski after Pablo Picasso’s play Le désir attrapé par la queue.

The concerto evidently appeals to HK Gruber, as symphonies do not. He has so far written four works that are unambiguously in this form: ‘…aus schatten duft gewebt…’, a concerto for violin and orchestra of 1977–8; the concerto for percussion and orchestra Rough Music (Rauhetöne) of 1982–3; Nebelsteinmusik, for solo violin and string orchestra, of 1988; and the Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra of 1989. Ambiguous examples of the form are his early Concerto for Orchestra (1960–64) – concertos for orchestra are by definition ambiguous – and Frankenstein!!, his ‘pan–demonium’ (rather than ‘concerto’) for baritone chansonnier and orchestra (on children's rhymes by H.C. Artmann), finalized in 1977. Then there are four works which remain in manuscript (withdrawn from circulation): Concerto No. l for flute, vibraphone, xylophone and percussion (1961); Concerto No. 2 for tenor saxophone, double bass and percussion (1961); ‘furbass’ for double bass and orchestra; and an unsatisfactory forerunner of the violin concerto, Arien (1974–5). The symphony he has not touched; and one is tempted to see in this reliance on solo/ensemble confrontation an attempt to hold together the self–splintered, all too globally diversified language of the late 20th century by an eloquent soloist's sheer persuasiveness, by musical force, so to speak, the soloist being dramatized as a kind of Atlas. In the same way Gruber's recourse to popular songs and idioms of ‘light music’ in these works can seem like a desperate attempt to find a tonal prop and sanction for a language so pervasively threatened by tone–deafness and gobbledygook.

The orchestration of Karabyts’ Third Concerto for Orchestra “Holosinnia” (“Lamentations”) has been studied. The relevance of the study. Despite a number of research works on Karabits’ Third Concerto its orchestration remains little studied yet. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to examine orchestration of the Third Concerto for orchestra and to research the interaction between ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ traits in Concerto’s orchestration. The methods of the research. The score analysis lies in the core of the paper but historical, comparative, and semiotic methods of analysis have been applied as well. Attention is focused on the combination of traditional and innovative origins which paved the way for the composer to rethink the methods of presentation in the orchestra. Thus, these transformations reflect the original (author’s) approach to the genre. It was emphasized that Karabyts interprets the synthetical character inherent to the concerto for orchestra genre particularly wide. It is emphasized that this approach allows the composer to identify a palette of genres of instrumental music: for one performer, different combinations of chamber ensembles, concerto grosso and solo instrumental concerto. In particular, the opposition between two groups was strengthened not only due to unequal quantity of performers in each of them (concerto grosso), but also by relying on the different nature of the material or the use of bells or tube, quite rare in this role, to solo (solo concerto). The combination of traditional and innovative is reflected in the composition of the orchestra (paired with a large percussion group) and the approach to percussion instruments (endowing them with melodic, semantic, formative and other functions). It is emphasized that Karabyts repeatedly applies “percussion-like" interpretation in relation to other instruments. Such an approach results in a qualitative transformation of the instruments: the inherent warmth of a string timbre decreases; the singularity of each wind color neutral-lizes. Complications of semantics at each rhythmic, intonation, and timbre ostinato formulas are revealed. The introduction of a particular (author’s) approach to the baroque tradition of combining the functions of a soloist and a capellmeister, the manifestation of which is the solo of bells perso-nally made by Karabyts, has been noticed. The conclusions state that the Concerto’s orchestration plays important role in dialectically combination of “objective” and traditional (the passage of time, the history of the people, destiny) with “subjective” and individual (the author’s attitude to events and their rethinking). Such an approach is typical for the twentieth-century musical art. The significance of the research is that it reveals the importance of orchestration as a means of expression and thus brings better understanding of the functional potential of orchestration within the frame of the twentieth-century art tendencies.

The article introduces Jia Daqun's Concerto for Percussion and Symphony Orchestra "Fusion II" into Russian musicology for the first time. The work is considered as one of the illustrative examples of the inclusion of traditional Chinese percussion instruments in symphony orchestra. Following modern trends in unconventional ways of playing the tanggu solo drum, the composer achieves a timbre transformation which, along with rhythmic and dynamic qualities, allows to imitate the sound of Indian drums and African tambourines. The new sound created in this way becomes one of the indicators of the cross-cultural integration, which is accomplished not by mechanical borrowing of authentic musical material, but by developing a distinctive rhythmic pattern and sound production techniques. The combination of the timbres of Chinese gong and the vibrato of stringed instruments in Fusion II creates slowdowns and an "echo" effect typical for electronic music. In the Concerto all the features of the genre are observed, but the classical constant received a refraction in the light of modern processes, which required the composer to use new and sometimes harsh methods, almost completely eliminating the lyrical expression.

‘Pierrot Dreaming’. MUSGRAVE: Canta! Canta!; Ring Out Wild Bells; Threnody; Pierrot; Chamber Concerto No. 2. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Gabrielle Byam-Grounds (fl), David Le Page (vn/va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Mark Troop (pno). Clarinet Classics CC0038.‘The Fall of Narcissus’. MUSGRAVE: Serenade; Narcissus; Impromptu for flute and cello; Wind Quintet; Impromptu No. 2 for flute, oboe and clarinet; Four Portraits for baritone, clarinet and piano. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Members of English Serenata, David Le Page (va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Stephen Varcoe (bar), Rachel Masters (hp). Clarinet Classics CC0039.MUSGRAVE: Memento Vitae; Helios; Night Music; The Seasons. Nicholas Daniel (ob), Scottish Chamber Orchestra c. Nicholas Kraemer; BBC Symphony Orchestra c. Jac van Steen. NMC (ANCORA+) D074.‘Oriental Landscapes’. MUSGRAVE: Journey Through a Japanese Landscape. CHEN YI: Percussion Concerto. ZHOU LONG: Out of Tang Court. HOVHANESS: Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints. Evelyn Glennie (perc), Singapore Symphony Orchestra c. Lan Shui. BIS CD 1222.

Many of Justin Connolly's works have been premièred and recorded by Nicholas Hodges, whose musicianship provided the inspiration for Connolly's Piano Concerto (2001–2003). The form and character of the piece are influenced by the ancient idea of the labyrinth, the forces of soloist and orchestra being well suited to the roles of Theseus and the Minotaur, where one protagonist signifies the existence of the other and the distinction between hero and villain is not always apparent. The orchestral forces employed are unexceptional. Brass and percussion are divided into two separate groups to the left and right of the conductor, whilst the first horn player sits apart from his colleagues and is mirrored by a fourth, offstage, horn player.

The concerto form is well represented in James MacMillan's output. So far, he has written three for piano, two for percussion and one each for violin, viola, cello, trumpet, oboe and clarinet. There is also threaded through his output a series of concertante works, such as A Deep but Dazzling Darkness, for violin, ensemble and tape (2003), A Scotch Bestiary, for organ and orchestra (2004) and the concertino Seraph, for trumpet and strings (2010). All share a common concern to realise fully the soloist's expressive potential.

KENNETH LEIGHTON: Sonatinas Nos. 1 and 2, op.1; Sonata No.1 op.2; Sonata No.2 op.17; Five Studies op.22; Fantasia Contrappuntistica (Homage to Bach) op.24; Variations op.30; Nine Variations op.36; Pieces for Angela op.47; Conflicts (Fantasy on Two Themes) op.51; Six Studies (Study-Variations) op.56; Sonata (1972) op.64; Household Pets op.86; Four Romantic Pieces op.95; Jack-in-the-Box; Study; Lazy-bones. Angela Brownridge (pno). Delphian DCD 34301-3 (3-CD set).PATRICK PIGGOTT: Fantasia quasi una Sonata; 8 Preludes and a Postlude (Third Set). Second Piano Sonata. Malcolm Binns (pno). British Music Society BMS 430CD.SORABJI: Fantasia ispanica. Jonathan Powell (pno). Altarus AIR-CD-9084.ROWLEY: Concerto for piano, strings and percussion, op.49. DARNTON: Concertino for piano and string orchestra. GERHARD: Concerto for piano and strings. FERGUSON: Concerto for piano and string orchestra, op.12. Peter Donohoe (pno and c.), Northern Sinfonia. Naxos 8.557290.Severnside Composers’ Alliance Inaugural Piano Recital. GEOFFREY SELF: Sonatina 1. IVOR GURNEY:Preludes, Sets 1, 2 and 3. JOLYON LAYCOCK: L’Abri Pataud. RICHARD BERNARD: On Erin Shore. STEVEN KINGS: Fingers Pointing to the Moon. SUSAN COPPARD: Round and Around. JOHN PITTS: Aire 1; Fantasies 1, 5. JAMES PATTEN: Nocturnes 3, 4. SULYEN CARADON: Dorian Dirge. RAYMOND WARREN: Monody; Chaconne. Peter Jacobs (pno). Live recording, 23 February 2005. Dunelm DRD0238.Severnside Composers’ Alliance – A Recital by two pianists. MARTINŮ: Three Czech Dances. BEDFORD: Hoquetus David. JOHN PITTS: Changes. HOLLOWAY: Gilded Goldbergs Suite. JOLYON LAYCOCK: Die! A1 Sparrow. POULENC: Élégie. LUTOSLAWSKI: Paganini Variations. Steven Kings, Christopher Northam (pnos). Live recording, 14 May 2005. Dunelm DRD0243.‘Transcendent Journey’. FOULDS: Gandharva-Music, op.49; April-England, op.48 no.1. CORIGLIANO: Fantasia on an Ostinato. PROKOFIEV: Toccata, op.11. With works by BACH-CHUQUISENGO, HANDEL, BEETHOVENLISZT, BACH-BUSONI, SCHUMANN. Juan José Chuquisengo (pno). Sony SK 93829.

In the Spring of 1931 the German section of the ISCM staged a small-scale festival at the old-fashioned, but horticulturally attractive spa of Pyrmont in Lower Saxony. Apart from a witty and graceful Violin Concerto by my friend and co-student from Schreker's masterclass at the Berlin Academy of Music, the Polish-American Jerzy Fitelberg (son of the renowned conductor of the Warsaw Philharmonic, Grzegorz Fitelberg), the quality of the works performed was rather poor. They were certainly lacking in colour against the background of rare azaleas and bulging rhododendrons.… My own piece, now (luckily) lost for ever – a Promenadenmusik for small orchestra, meant to flatter the ‘genius loci’ – was a flop, though Aaron Copland and Marc Blitzstein were both generous about it.

Introduction. Recent decades have seen a revival of interest the problems of genre-creating and typology of genres in musicology, an interest largely stimulated by the complexity of processes happening in this area of modern composers’ creativity. Given article considers a work by A. Lubchenko, entitled “Confession” (Concerto for orchestra with solo viola) from this standpoint. While the second part of the title, placed in brackets, doesn’t need to be commented, the first one, in quotation marks, must be considered additionally. Theoretical background. In order to comprehend it as sign of genre this article includes systematization of modern views on inherent traits of confession both in literature (I. Vertsman, A. Stoliarov) and music (O. Sheludiakova). Founding on scientific information of mentioned scholars next genre indicators of confessions are revealed: auto-biographic mood, first-person narrative with pre-destined goal, immaculate honesty of the confessor with himself and the receiver, his exclusive concentration on his own personality, general aim on self-consciousness etc. although there are differences between musical and verbal forms of ways of expression, confessions even in different types of art share “archetype of genre” (O. Sheludiakova). This allows to consider musical confession not as adaptation of its literature prototype, but as inherent musical genre, possessing essential and attribute features, corrected my given type of art and experience gained by it. So as to elaborate on this these, the article uses comparative method of research, aimed at comparison of genre archetype of confession and its embodiment in given musical work. Objectives. The aim of the article is to reveal a complex of means of expressions, used in the work by A. Lubchenko to reflect confessional mood in its inter-type comparison with literate genre. Results and discussion. Just as confession in literature absorbs features of another genres, such as hagiography and autobiography, its musical type, presented in the work by A. Lubchenko, uses ballade type of dramaturgy, one of the achievements of Romantic era. Actualizing principle of narration, a basis of literature ballade, musical ballade-ness, being a special dramaturgic model, embodied it through intonationally-thematic and structural means. Orientation of A. Lubchenko towards ballade, whether is it intentional or not, seems to be quite logical, because composer regards himself as a person, continuing the tradition of understanding the music as “the art of experiencing” (A. Mikhaylov), dating back to XIX century. Not only does connection of multiple layers of “Confession” become a sign of author’s composing style, it also contains important dramaturgical meaning, communicating with sound-images, appealing to listener’s experience, previously gained while hearing modern music. It is significant that the score features largely expanded percussion section, its playing with the brass section, that, being combined with periodically happening maximal density of texture and extremities of dynamics creates an association with images of dark powers, creating a feeling of insurmountable terror. Algorithm of musical events in “Confession” is governed by cooperation of meditative and grotesque-scherzo episodes. The latter seem to “grow out” from the former; in their turn, meditative replace grotesque-scherzo ones. So, while being antinomic, they are perceived as different stages of a single process, in which aggressive and ominous reveals to be a spawn of author’s mind along with meditative, generally speaking – part of inner world, that allows to regard this as “collateral or eccentric lyric” (I. Sollertinskiy). Its coexistence with lyrical expressions gives it degree of sincerity of confessions, serving as one of the key indicators of this genre archetype. A. Lubchenko’s inclination towards introspection doesn’t stand in way of his contact with modern life with its anxious atmosphere, spiritual and intellectual wandering, searches for new moral guidelines, collision of polar systems of values. Refracted through prism of author’s perception, traits and collisions of epoch acquire psychological character, resulting in revealing of self-comprehension of our contemporary. Nevertheless, should any images appear in composer’s fantasy, be it visions of “another worlds” or of eternal chaos, author’s position remains steadfast, and that holds black colours back from filling all the musical texture. And even an ending, with farewell intonations and a shade of funebre, doesn’t create an impression of doom, granting catharsis, even in spite of continuous c-moll chord, a background for solo viola’s ending of its confessional narration. This effect is largely influenced by composer’s appeal to “human” timbre of string instruments, playing divisi, that bring features of intimate, chamber statement into last “word”. Conclusions. In Conclusions, generalizing observations made in article, it is stressed, that considered work matches genre archetype of confession. Complex of expressional devices, used in it, allows to create wide amplitude of emotional states, sometimes reaching exquisitely sharp expression, and that allows to classify genre type of A. Lubchenko’s “Confession” as “word-scream”, in terms of O. Sheludiakova. Double time dimensions (of narration and narrator’s) in this work, clarity of incarnation of plot collisions, constant escalating of psychological tension etc. indicates usage of ballade dramaturgical logic. While showing selfawareness of modern man in “Confession” and applying modes, typical for music of XX–XXI centuries, the composer uses artistic experience of romanticism as well, that contributes to this and other works being open to direct dialogue with the audience, and this is a quality, especially important in genre of confession.

James MacMillan's new St Luke Passion is unusual. No longer does the Passion story end in the death of its principal character; there's a postlude that sees Christ resurrected. Neither is it peopled with singers acting out the traditional confrontations between Christ, Pilate and the High Priest; it starts instead with a brief setting of the Annunciation text found at the opening of St Luke's gospel. Unusual too is the small size of the orchestra – no trombones or tubas, one set of timpani as the sole percussion and an organ. Perhaps most surprising, however, is that the roles of Christus and Pilate, and indeed everyone else, are given to the choruses: a children's chorus for Christ, the other choirs acting as narrator.

In recent years, research opportunities in the field of Mozart studies have expanded. As a result, new scientific paradigms are emerging that differ from the generally accepted ones. Even the well-known facts of the composer's biography and work can be viewed in a new way today. The interdependence of Mozart's instrumental and theatrical music has long been studied, but still remains an inexhaustible source for new research – this determines the relevance of the study. Main objective of the study – to determine the interaction of the two sides of Mozart's work: instrumental and theatrical and extrapolate it to the formation of composition and thematic dramaturgy in the genre of piano concerto. Methodology of research: biographical method that highlights the context and motivation of writing music works, including piano concertos, analytical and comparative method allows identifying patterns in the development of the compositional form of piano concertos. Results and conclusions. Mozart's piano concertos in the context of interaction with the composer's opera and theatre activities are considered. A synchronized chronography of his piano concertos and operas is provided. It was found that the interdependence does not lie in the intonational affinity of the thematic material of works written in one year (although there is some similarity of themes in several works). Piano concertos, which Mozart wrote during his life (unlike violin concertos, which almost all were written in one year – 1775), demonstrate an evolutionary slice of his work, in the depths of this genre formed a new approach to its composition, which is an important link formation of a piano concerto of the XIX century. Piano concerts are analyzed in terms of trends in the formation of musical themes: almost all works are polithematism in the main parts. Regarding the distribution of themes in the double exposition, there is also a certain tendency, namely in the appearance of part B (or part B2) in the soloist's exposition. Mozart preferred a new keyboard instrument with percussion mechanics – the pianoforte. It met the agogic and dynamic needs in the development of thematic material. Mozart's desire to be recognized as an opera composer in Vienna faced many obstacles - from the established rules of the genre and the dominance of Italian opera on the Viennese stage to even restrictions on thematic development (respectively, intonation and dramaturgy development of the characters). However, it was his opera characters that inspired the composer to create bright themes in instrumental music, including piano concerts. We can say that his piano concertos are a kind of theatre for instruments, in which events develop according to the rules of theatrical dramaturgy. The significance of the research. The article proposes a comprehensive approach, which clarifies how the creative method of Mozart is formed. The analysis of the main tendencies in the development of the intonation form of piano concertos revealed regularities that allow us to speak about the composer's creative motivation, and is a contribution to Ukrainian research of the Mozart’s music works.

The purpose of this article is to reveal the features of concert and instrumental music for balalaika in the 20th century by the example of the Concert for balalaika with orchestra by P. Gaydamaki. The methods of this scientific item are based on the research ways of historical and performing analysis. There is using of empirical methods, a namely observation and generalization. The scientific novelty for this investigation is determined by the appeal to the compositions of the academic instrumental repertoire of the balalaika of the 20th century, as the least studied cultural and historical period in the field of academic balalaika performing. Conclusions. The formation and development of the balalaika as an academic tool, began its journey from the 20th century and continues today. A historically significant role in this belongs to the outstanding composer, teacher, performer, conductor, arranger Vasily Vasilievich Andreev and his followers. Today, balalaika as an instrument is actively developing in Ukraine. The repertoire is replenished with new works, new methodological collections are issued, the instrument continues to sound both solo and as an integral part of folk ensembles of small and large forms, orchestras. Since 1965, the genre of solo balalaika concert in Ukraine begins its history. One of its first authors can be considered Peter Danilovich Gaydamakа. The concert of P. Gaydamakа, which became the material of our research, is an example of the use of new achievements in performing, technical techniques, finding balance, dynamic and timbral correspondence for parts of balalaika and orchestra. The Concerto for balalaika and orchestra by P. Gaydamakа is having a big form as a base. Difficulties in realizing the large form for the balalaika, problems in building the dramaturgy of the material, the difficulty of balancing the dynamic and expressive capabilities of the instrument, prompt composers to further discoveries that contribute to the expansion of the repertoire for balalaika as an academic instrument in Ukraine.

Abstract Recent studies of formal structure in themes in the Classical repertoire (William Caplin) as well as the music of Wagner (Matthew BaileyShea) point towards the enormous importance and potential of the Sentence phrase structure with its hybrid forms for analyzing tonal music. Initially described by Schoenberg, a Sentence is phrase consisting two main events of equal length, a presentation phrase (consisting of one repeated basic idea) and a continuation phrase. In this paper I will demonstrate Bartók's dependence upon Classical and Romantic phrase structures, including the Sentence, and also the Classical Period (consisting of an antecedent and consequent phrase). In both his small-and large-scale works, Bartók's sentences display a Classical coherence, despite the lack of a functional harmonic framework, due to their clear formal articulation and clearly defined modal pitch centers. Bartók also utilized chains of Sentences, Satzketten, in several works including Concerto for Orchestra. I will describe the different paradigmatic types utilized by Bartók in works such as Divertimento, the String Quartets, along with the Violin and Piano Concertos. Particularly significant is how Bartók alters the repeated basic idea and elaborates the continuation phrase and the creation of compound forms.

Background. The political and cultural movement of the “Sixtiers” in XX century opened wide horizons for Ukrainian composers to search for a new artistic and imaginative sphere, for new means of expressiveness, stylistics, form etc. The aspirations of young Ukrainian composers for concert genre renewal are realized through a rethinking of reality, intellectual and philosophical searching and psychologism in creativity. One of the brightest creative assets of this time is the First Piano Concerto by Ivan Karabyts, the talented Ukrainian composer, the outstanding representative of Ukrainian musical art of the last third of the 20th century. Among the studies of the last five years, and also of all the scientific research of the 21st century, we, unfortunately, cannot find any scientific study devoted to one of the largest conceptual works of the early period of creativity by I. Karabyts, which is the First Piano Concerto, and, therefore, this research can be called a unique one in modern musicology. In 1983, H. Yermakova provided only the general description of the Concerto in her small monograph. The author says about emotional tension and explosiveness that are the main features of the Concerto. The objectives of this article is to identify the model of the First Piano Concerto as a typological structure in terms of the renewal of the concert genre in Ukraine in the 1960s, through the analysis of embodiment of stylistic patterns and intonational dramaturgy of the work. Research methodology is focused on the interrelation of specific ways of analysis: functional, structural, intonational, genre, stylistic. Results. The First Piano Concerto was created by the 23-year-old composer in 1968 and was dedicated to B.Liatoshynskyi, reflecting the Teacher’s professional pedagogical credo. The First Piano Concerto based on emotional and imaginative contrasts and becomes a clear expression of dramaturgy development. The work’s concept carries the traces of experiments used by the young composer, which is reflected on the use of serial writing, cinematic editing (kaleidoscopic change of the thematic material “on the dramatic circles” of the two-part cycle), dissonance harmony. One of the basic principle of thinking is polyphonic development: imitations, canons, counterpoints, fugato, the principle of “countermovements” of voices, chorals are widely used. The two-part Concerto vividly presents the early work of I. Karabyts, highlights his distinctly individual style. The monumental purpose of this cyclical composition and its conceptualism strikes with its depth reflecting the collision of good and evil, sublime and earthly The First Movement exposition represents the main themes alternation, which extends from the theme-epigraph and the main soloist part in the beginning; bridge and its episode of fugato, second theme and closing area are highlighted also. The compositional features analysis of developing part shows the composer’s desire for a certain emotional quality of the thematic material, the main figurative lines are revealed from the very beginning. Each of themes gets the development of its material and its progressive dynamization, which process being often interrupted at its peak. Meaningful is the Coda of the First Movement, which fully implements the idea of “black-and-white palette” of the cluster chords, which can be interpreted as the idea of dualism of the world picture, embodying, for example, in Eastern philosophy as the sacred symbol of “Yin-Yang”. It can be said that the main meaning of the Code is to identify and understand the fundamental model of being, which is constantly changing and complementary. The Interlude, as a link between the first and second movements of the Concerto is fully consistent with the idea of continuation of the process and justifies smooth transition from one state to another. The Finale of the Concerto after the impromptu Interlude perceives as a vivid sketch in folk spirit connected with the traditions of folk genre principles reproduction and emerges as proof of life extension. The texture of the basic material is presented in a toccata manner, due to the alternation of weak and strong micro- and macrobeats in both parts of pianist’s hands. The middle part of the Finale is created in three-part format. The main section sets a certain rhythmic pulse. The introduction of quintuple (5/8) is innovative. The middle section of the middle part represents the choral is bringing us back to medieval music origins. Conclusions. The composer’s style of early I. Karabyts is distinguished by the scale and integrity of the artistic concepts of works that is typical of the entire Ukrainian national school, the use of variant and polyphonic techniques for the development of thematism, the timbre-orchestral and texture diversity. The First Piano Concerto of the composer is endowed with rich thematicism and vivid contrast of images, marked by the activity of the dramatic process based on dialogicity, due to the general philosophical concept of the work – the confrontation of the spiritual and anti-spiritual. Along with the conflict line, the Concerto presents the sphere of contemplatively dreamy, sensual lyrics. The First Movement in the dramaturgy of the cycle reveals the philosophy of life, its deep spirituality in coexistence with the forces of evil that bring destruction, accompanying the hero’s life path from birth to death, with all its collisions and intentions. The Finale is the continuation of being, movement (it represents the toccata material). The composer creates a concertо of a conflict-dramatic type, the dramaturgy of which is realized as an interaction of dramatic, lyrical and epic-dramatic principles. Conceptuality is revealed through the interaction of objective and subjective plans, where genre allusions acquire a certain semantic meaning (the introduction of a waltz and choral episodes, the toccata manner in “perpetuum mobile” image). The impulsive rhythmic development, the richness of harmonious sound, the wide timbre palette of the piano and orchestra make the Concert emotionally intense, romantic. The Concert uses a full register spectrum of pianos and a wide arsenal of its techniques, which allows the soloist to embody his performing abilities and recreate the concept of composer’s concept. The First Concerto embodies the philosophical theme, which is revealed through the procedural model of the endless circle “life-death-life”, continuing the line of the symphonic instrumental concerto, vividly presented in Ukrainian music of the 20 century by B. Liatoshinskyi, with allusions to Baroque genres (toccata, chorale) and with active use of polyphonic methods of development (in particular, the introduction of the episode of fugato).

This article characterizes development trends in jazz piano from its origins in the “third-layer” (Konen, V., 1984) of music (ragtime and other “pre-jazz” forms) to the present time (avant-garde and retro styles of the late 20th – early 21st centuries). Main attention was devoted to the stylistic sphere, which represents an entirety of techniques and methods of jazz piano improvisation and combines genre and style parameters. In this context, the currently available information about jazz pianism and its sources (Kinus,Y., 2008; Stoliar, R., 2017) was reviewed, and sociocultural determinants, which contributed to the advent and changes of jazz piano styles were highlighted. Standing out among them at the first (traditional) stage are the schools and individual creative techniques known under generic name “stride piano” and based on the ragtime technique. At the second (contemporary) stage beginning from bebop, jazz piano stylistics gradually diverge from standardized textural formulas of homophonicharmonic type and attain fundamental diversity depending on creative attitudes of leading jazz pianists. The question of jazz piano stylistics is one of the least studied in jazz theory. The existing works devoted to this subject address mostly the sequence of the advent and changes of jazz piano styles along with the general characteristics of their representatives. Beginning from approximately the 1920s, jazz piano styles appeared and changed so fast that they left no time for their comprehension and perception (Kinus, Y., 2008). Only in the newest stylistics of the period after bebop, which divided the art of jazz into traditional and contemporary stages, did these styles attain a certain shape in new modifications and become the components of a phenomenon defined by the generic notion “jazz pianism”. It was stated that the genesis of this phenomenon is usually seen in the art of ragtime, carried in the United States of the late 19th – early 20th centuries by itinerant pianists. This variety of “third-layer” piano music playing produced a significant impact on the art of jazz in general, which is proved by its reproduction in the Dixieland and New Orleans styles as some of the first examples of jazz improvisation. The stylistics of ragtime influenced the entire first stage of jazz piano, which traces its origins back to approximately the 1910s. It combined mental features and esthetics of two traditions: European and Afro-American, which in the entirety produced the following picture: 1) popular and concert area of music playing; 2) gravitation toward demonstration of virtuosic play; 3) domination of comic esthetics; 4) objectivity of expression; 5) tendency toward the completeness of form; 6) inclination toward stage representation. In technological (texturalpianistic) aspect, ragtime, reproduced in the jazz stylistics of stride piano, demonstrated the tendency toward universalization of piano, which combined in the person of one performer the functions of solo and accompaniment, derived from the practice of minstrel banjoists related to the percussion-accented rhythmics of dance accompaniment (Konen, V., 1984). It was stated that ragtime as the transitional bridge to jazz piano existed simultaneously with other forms of “third-layer” music playing found in the Afro-American environment (unlike ragtime itself, which was an art of white musicians). These were semi-folklore styles known as “barrel house” and “honky-tonk(y) piano” cultivated in Wild West saloons. The subsequent development of jazz piano stylistic went along the lines of more vocal and specific directions related mostly to peculiarities of playing technique. Among the more global origins equal in significance to ragtime and stride pianists derivative, blues piano stylistics is worth noting. It represents an instrumental adaptation of vocal blues, which had the decisive influence over the melodics and rhythmics of the right hand party of jazz pianists (ragtime and stride piano highlighted and consolidated the typical texture of accompaniment, i.e., the left hand party). Blues piano style is a multicomponent phenomenon that shaped up as a result of efforts taken by a whole number of jazz pianists. It was developed, and continues to exist until presently, in two variants: a) as a solo piano variant, b) as a duet variant (piano and vocal). Along with blues piano, a style known as “boogie-woogie” was cultivated in jazz piano stylistics of the period before bebop as the new reminiscence of the pre-jazz era (with rock-n-roll becoming a consequence of its actualization in the 1950–1960s). A stylistic genre known as “Harlem piano style” (its prominent representatives include Luckey Roberts, James P. Johnson, Willie “the Lion” Smith, and Thomas “Fats” Waller) became a sort of compendium that combined genetic components of traditional jazz piano. This school has finally defined jazz piano as a form of solo concert music playing, which also determined the subsequent stylistic varieties of this art, the most noteworthy of which are “trumpet piano style”, “swing piano style” and “locked hands style”. Their general feature was interpretation of the instrument as a “small orchestra”, which meant rebirth at the new volute of a historical-stylistic spiral of the “image” of universal piano capable of reproducing the “sounds” of other instruments, voices and their ensembles. Outstanding pianists of various generations have been, and are, the carriers (and often “inventors”) of jazz piano styles. It should suffice to mention the names of such “legends” of jazz as Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, and also Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett (older generation), Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Brad Mehldau, Vadim Neselovskyi, Robert Glasper (middle generation), Eldar Djangirov, Tigran Hamasyan, Cory Henry (younger generation). Conclusions. The description of the stages of development of jazz piano pianism made in this article proves that its polystylistic nature is preserved, and the main representative of certain stylistic inclinations were and remain the texture. Textured formulas serve as the main objects of stylistic interpretations for jazz pianists of different generations. These readings are represented by two vectors – retrospective (revival of jazz traditions) and exploratory, experimental (rapprochement with the academic avant-garde). Of great importance are the styles of personalities, in which polystylistic tendencies are combined with the individual playing manners and improvisation, which, in general, is the most characteristic feature of the current stage of development of jazz piano art.

The article proposes analyze of the balalaika art and technical potential. The complex of texture- and register and timbreand phonic methods of suites performing, which represent the Ukrainian interpretation tradition of the genre, is determined. Instrumentalism principles and impacts in balalaika performance in the composer’s works of the twentieth century are revealed. Texture features of the works for balalaika suite genre are considered, the characteristics on the genesis stage of balalaika are marked: simplifi ed chord texture with narrow range, predominant two and three-voice texture in cantilena, minute passage technique with a small set of traditional rotations. Texture types of musical thematic presentment and the level of virtuosity of the stringed instruments in the sound formation are determined. The object of research is the professional performance on the balalaika. The subject of research is performing on balalaikas of Kharkiv as a component of Ukrainian musical art. In terms of instrumentalism as a type of thinking the method of sound production on the balalaika, dependent by the direct contact of the right hand fi ngers with a string, which is basic, creating countless bar, dynamic and timbral combinations, is revealed. In for balalaika M. Stetsun “With Balalaika in Spain” analyzed genre prototypes of the, that the impacts of the new romantic suite, characterized by a compound of stable (required) and free-variable cycle parts, based on the experience of the other genre forms of music-making, are immediately traced. Attention is paid to the unplugged (where violin takes the leading position), dynamic (where piano owns leading positions) and texture capabilities. Balalaika qualities are analyzed: limitation of natural acoustic properties requires texture mobility and frequent use of the tremolo; dynamic capabilities are also limited, as the result the “step” dynamics development is applied; texture possibilities are largely constrained by the range and technology. The principle of genre and stylistic synthesis, in which song and dance origins of national folklore and shaping structural logic borrowed from the experience of the Ukraine tradition are organically combined, is formulated. Multiple ties with folk traditions, which include: reliance on folklore themes and quotes; development techniques of the song thematic (inner thematic variation, imitation roll, undervoice polyphony, hidden two-voice texture); metro-rhythmic formula, coming from the dance genre; irregular accent, intended to the saturation of images with internal dynamics are revealed in the Concerto for balalaika and orchestra by A. Gaidenko. The use of styling techniques of playing folk music instruments in the balalaika party, which was used for the creation of a bright and deep national painted images typing, is specially emphasized. Overbalance of the lyrical narrative thematic invention, where folk type of the thematic invention makes to rearrange semantic accents in the genre interpretation, is identifi ed in “Variations on the Ukrainian Theme” by Gregory Tsitsalyuk. Improvisation, interpreted by the composer as a fi xed freedom, numerous brilliant colored soloist’s ritornels together with the main themes performing at the piano, broken chords, scale-wise passages – all marked methods indicate a high level of both externally-demonstrative and deep-semantic level of the music content. The arsenal of technical complexity methods of performing (articulation, strokes, complex elements), running on the disclosure of the musical work style; diversity of the texture design of musical thematic invention; genre and semantic specifi city (landscapes, personal experiences, household sketches, dance and song images), which is also connected with the balalaika specifi cs; and the dynamic profi le of musical drama cycle is detected. The idea of the historically formed specifi cs of textured and tonal articulation intoning on the balalaika in its academic status is adopted. Such levels of analysis like detection of existing texture and melodic formulas and connected with it fi ngering and articulation complex; timbre and texture and register variance confi rmed the instrumentalism genre specifi city. Articulation, timbre and texture technological formulas of balalaika performance, in terms of suite genre, which are universal from the point of view of the instrumental thinking specifi city, are found; their role in other genre and stylistic creativity conditions for balalaika are justifi ed. There are identifi ed such outlooks of research as the Concerto for balalaika and orchestra by P. Haydamakа, A. Gaidenko and the creation of a special “dictionary” as a system of typical historically selected texture and genre formulas. Piece, which reveal the balalaika evolution in the musical performing culture, served the basis for research. Current stylistic processes and their transformation in modern concert- and pedagogical practice were depicted in f piece for balalaika by G. Tsitsalyuk, P. Haydamakа, A. Gaidenko like in the mirror. Analyzed examples demonstrate the individual stylistic interpretation of genre, typical for the development of academic instrumentalism in the XX century. It was found, that art of balalaika performing infl uences the instrumental style of composing and keeps a memory of genre of composing and performing art in this sphere (methods of instrumental phonation and timbre- and phonic development).

Background. The performance practice of recent decades demonstrates an obvious tendency to expand and update the repertoire due to the use of the works of those composers whose pieces had “lost” over time against to the pieces of their more famous contemporaries. At the same time, in sociology, psychology, culturology, gender issues are largely relevant. Musicology does not stand aside, applying the achievements of gender psychology in the study of composer creativity and musical performing (Tsurkanenko, I., 2011; Gigolaeva-Yurchenko, V., 2012, 2015; Fan, Liu, 2017). In general, the issue of gender equality is quite acute in contemporary public discourse. The indicated tendencies determine the interest of many musicians and listeners in the work of women-composers (for example, recently, the creativity by Clara Schumann attracts the attention of performers all over the world, in particular, in Ukraine the International Music Festival “Kharkiv Assemblies” – 2018 was dedicated to her works). The theme of the proposed work is also a response to the noted trends in performing practice and musicology discourse. For the first time in domestic musicology an attempt is made to give a brief overview of the life and career of another talented woman, whose name is little known in the post-Soviet space. This is a Swedish violinist, composer and pianist Amanda Röntgen-Maier (1853–1894), a graduate of the Stockholm Royal College of Music and the Leipzig Conservatory, a contemporary of Clara Schumann, J. Brahms, E. Grieg, with whom she and her husband – composer, pianist, conductor Julius Röntgen – were associated for enough long time by creative and friendly relationships. In the post-Soviet space, not a single work has been published that would be dedicated to the works of A. Maier. In European and American musicology, the composer’s personality and creative heritage is also not widely studied. Her name is only occasionally mentioned in works examining the musical culture and, in particular, the performing arts of Sweden at that time (Jönsson, Å., 1995, 151–156; Karlsson, Å., 1994, 38–43; Lundholm, L., 1992, 14–15; Löndahl, T., 1994; Öhrström, E., 1987, 1995). The aim of the proposed study is to characterize Amanda Meier’s creative heritage in the context of European romanticism. Research results. Based on the available sources, we summarized the basic information about the life and career of A. Maier. Carolina Amanda Erica Maier (married Röntgen-Maier ) was born on February 20, 1853 in Landskrona. She received the first music lessons from his father, Karl Edward Mayer, a native of Germany (from Württemberg), who worked as a confectioner in Landskrona, but also studied music, in particular, in 1852 he received a diploma of “music director” in Stockholm and had regular contracts. In 1869, Amanda entered to the Kungliga Musikaliska akademien (Royal College of Music) in Stockholm. There she learns to play several instruments at once: the violin, cello, piano, organ, and also studies history, music theory and musical aesthetics. A. Maier graduated from Royal College successfully and became the first woman who received the title of “Musik Direktor”. The final concert, which took place in April 1873, included the performance of the program on the violin and on the organ and also A. Maier’s own work – the Romance for Violin. In the spring of 1874, Amanda received the grant from the Royal College for further studies at the Leipzig Conservatory. Here, Engelbert Röntgen, the accompanist of the glorious orchestra Gewandhaus, becomes her teacher on the violin, and she studies harmony and composition under the guidance of Karl Heinrich Karsten Reinecke and Ernst Friedrich Richter. Education in Leipzig lasts from 1874 to 1876. In the summer and autumn of 1875, A. Maier returns to Landskron, where she writes the first major work – the Concerto for violin and orchestra in one-movement, D minor, which was performed twice: in December 1875 in Halle and in February 1876 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the direction of K. Reinecke. The further career of A. Maier, both performing and composing, developed very successfully. She made several major concert trips between 1876 and 1880: to Sweden and Norway, to Finland and St. Petersburg; she also played to the Swedish king Oscar II (1876); concerts were held with constant success. While studying in Leipzig, A. Maier met her future husband (the son of her violin teacher) Julius Röntgen, composer and conductor. They married 1880 in Landskrona. Their personal relationships included active creative communication, both playing music together, and exchanging musical ideas, getting to know each other’s works. Part of his chamber opuses, for example, the cycle of Swedish folk dances, A. Maier created in collaboration with her husband. An analogy with life of Robert and Clara Schumann may take place here, although the Röntgen spouses did not have to endure such dramatic collisions that fell to the lot of the first. After the wedding, Röntgen family moved to Amsterdam, where Julius Röntgen soon occupies senior positions in several music organizations. On the contrary, the concert and composing activities of A. Maier go to the decline. This was due both, to the birth of two sons, and to a significant deterioration in her health. Nevertheless, she maintains her violin skills at the proper level and actively participates in performances in music salons, which the family arranges at home. The guests of these meetings were, in particular, J. Brahms, K. Schumann, E. Grieg with his wife and A. Rubinstein. The last years of A. Maier’s life were connected with Nice, Davos and Norway. In the fall of 1888 she was in Nice with the goal of treating the lungs, communicating there with her friends Heinrich and Elizabeth Herzogenberg. With the latter, they played Brahms violin sonatas, and the next (1889) year A. Maier played the same pieces with Clara Schumann. Amanda Maier spent the autumn of 1889 under the supervision of doctors in Davos, and the winter – in Nice. In 1890, she returned to Amsterdam. His last major work dates back to 1891 – the Piano Quartet in D minor. During the last three years of her life, she visited Denmark, Sweden and Norway, where she performed, among other, her husband’s works, for example, the suite “From Jotunheim”. In the summer of 1889, A. Maier took part in concerts at the Nirgaard Castle in Denmark. In 1894, she returned to Amsterdam again. Her health seems stable, a few hours before her death she was conducting classes with her sons. A. Maier died July 15, 1894. The works of A. Maier, published during the life of the composer, include the following: Sonata in H minor (1878); 6 Pieces for violin and piano (1879); “Dialogues” – 10 small pieces for piano, some of which were created by Julius Röntgen (1883); Swedish songs and dances for violin and piano; Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello E minor (1891). Still unprinted are the following works: Romance for violin and piano; Trio for violin, cello and piano (1874); Concert for violin and orchestra (1875); Quartet for piano, violin, viola and clarinet E minor; “Nordiska Tonbilder” for violin and piano (1876); Intermezzo for piano; Two string quartets; March for piano, violin, viola and cello; Romances on the texts of David Wiersen; Trio for piano and two violins; 25 Preludes for piano. The composer style of A. Mayer incorporates the characteristic features of the Romantic era, in particular, the Leipzig school. Lyric elements prevail in her works, although the composer is not alien to dramatic, heroic, epic images (the Piano Quartet E minor, some pieces from the Six Songs for Violin and Piano series). In the embodiment of such a circle of images, parallels with the musical style of the works of J. Brahms are quite clearly traced. In constructing thematic structures, A. Maier relies on the melody of the Schubert-Mendelssohn type. The compositional solutions are defined mainly by the classical principles of forming, which resembles the works of F. Mendelssohn, the late chamber compositions of R. Schumann, where the lyrical expression gets a clear, complete form. The harmonic language of the works of A. Maier gravitates toward classical functionality rather than the uncertainty, instability and colorfulness inherent in the harmony of F. Liszt, R. Wagner and their followers. The main instrument, for which most of the opuses by A. Maier was created, the violin, is interpreted in various ways: it appears both, in the lyrical and the virtuoso roles. The piano texture of chamber compositions by A. Maier is quite developed and rich; the composer clearly gravitates towards the equality of all parties in an ensemble. At the same time, piano techniques are reminiscent of texture formulas by F. Mendelssohn and J. Brahms. Finally, in A. Mayer’s works manifest themself such characteristic of European romanticism, as attraction to folklore, a reliance on folk song sources. Conclusions. Periods in the history of music seemed already well studied, hide many more composer names and works, which are worthy of the attention of performers, musicologists and listeners. A. Mayer’s creativity, despite the lack of pronounced innovation, has an independent artistic value and, at the same time, is one of such musical phenomena that help to compile a more complete picture of the development of musical art in the XIX century and gain a deeper understanding of the musical culture of this period. The prospect of further development of the topic of this essay should be a more detailed study of the creative heritage of A. Maier in the context of European musical Romanticism.