Academic literature on the topic 'Sonata-allegro form'

Background. The name of Amanda Maier (married – Röntgen-Maier), the Swedish violinist, composer, pianist, organist, representative of the Leipzig school of composition, contemporary and good friend of С. Schumann, J. Brahms, E. Grieg, is virtually unknown in the post-Soviet space and little mentioned in the works of musicologists from other countries. The composer’s creativity has long been almost completely forgotten, possibly due to both her untimely death (at the age of 41) and thanks to lack of the research interest in the work of women composers over the past century. The latter, at least in domestic musicology, has significantly intensified in recent decades, which is due in part to the advancement in the second half of the XX and early XXI centuries of a constellation of the talanted women-composers in Ukraine – L. Dychko, H. Havrylets, A. Zagaikevych, I. Aleksiichuk, formerly – G. Ustvolska, S. Gubaydulina in Russia, etc. Today, it is obvious that the development of the world art is associated not only with the activities of male artists, but also with the creative achievements of women: writers, artists, musicians. During her life, A. Maier was the well-known artist in Europe and in the world and the same participant in the musical-historical process as more famous today the musicians of the Romantic era. Objectives and methodology. The proposed study should complement the idea of the work of women-composers of the 19th century and fill in one of the gap on the music map of Europe at that time. The purpose of this article is to characterize the genre-stylistic and compositional-dramaturgical features of selected chamber music works by A. Röntgen-Maier. In this research are used historical-stylistic, structural and functional, analytical, comparative, genre methods. Research results. Carolina Amanda Erika Maier-Röntgen was born in Landskrona, Sweden, where she received her first music lessons from her father. Then she studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where she mastered playing on the several instruments at once – violin, cello, piano, organ, as well as studied the music theory. She became the first woman received the title of “Musik Direktor” after successfully graduating from college. She continued her studies at the Leipzig Conservatory – in the composition under Carl Reineke and Ernst Friedrich Richter direction, in the violin – with Engelbert Röntgen (concertmaster of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the father of her future husband J. Röntgen). She toured Europe a lot, firstly as a violinist, performing her own works and her husband’s works, alongside with world classics. After the birth of her two sons, she withdrew from active concert activities due to the deterioration of her health, but often participated in music salons, which she and her husband organized at home, and whose guests were J. Brahms, C. Schumann, E. Grieg with his wife, and A. Rubinstein. It is known that Amanda Maier performed violin sonatas by J. Brahms together with Clara Schumann. The main part of the composer’s creative work consists of chamber and instrumental works. She wrote the Sonata in B minor (1878); Six 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), 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. Sizable part of the works from this list is still unpublished. Some manuscripts are stored in the archives of the Stockholm State Library, scanned copies of some manuscripts and printed publications are freely available on the Petrucci music library website, but the location of the other musical scores by A. Maier is currently unknown to the author of this material; this is the question that requires a separate study. Due to the limited volume of the article, we will focus in detail on two opuses, which were published during the life of the composer, and which today have gained some popularity among performers around the world. These are the Sonata in B minor for Violin and Piano and the Six Pieces for Violin and Piano. Sonata in B minor is a classical three-part cycle. The first movement – lyricaldramatic sonata allegro (B minor), the second – Andantino – Allegretto, un poco vivace – Tempo I (G major) – combines lyrical and playful semantic functions, the third – Allegro molto vivace (B minor) is an active finale with a classical rondosonata structure. The Six Pieces for Violin and Piano rightly cannot be called the cycle, in the Schumann sense of this word, because there is no common literary program for all plays, intonation-thematic connections between this musical numbers, end-to-end thematic development that would permeate the entire opus. But this opus has the certain signs of cyclization and the common features to all plays, contributing to its unification: tonal plan, construction of the whole on the principle of contrast, genre, song and dance intonation, the leading role of the violin in the presentation of thematic material. Conclusions and research perspectives. Amanda Maier’s chamber work freely synthesizes the classical (Beethoven) and the romantic (Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann) traditions, which the composer, undoubtedly, learned through the Leipzig school. From there come the classical harmony, the orderliness of her thinking, clarity, conciseness, harmony of form, skill in ensemble writing, polyphonic ingenuity. There are also parallels with the music of J. Brahms. With the latter, A. Maier’s creativity correlates trough the ability to embody freely and effortlessly the subtle lyrical psychological content, being within the traditional forms, to feel natural within the tradition, without denying it and without trying to break it. The melodic outlines and rhythmic structures of some themes and certain techniques of textured presentation in the piano part also refer us to the works of the German composer. However, this is hardly a conscious reliance on the achievements of J. Brahms, because the creative process of the two musicians took place in parallel, and A. Maier’s Violin Sonata appeared even a little earlier than similar works by J. Brahms in this genre. Prospects for further research in this direction relate to the search for new information about A. Maier’s life and creativity and the detailed examination of her other works.

Background. Nowadays, the typology of the piano quartet is actively studied by the modern scientists. The genesis of this genre is becoming more contentious. As pointed out by L. Tsaregorodtseva (2005), and earlier I. Byaly (1989), a connection of concerts for clavier solo accompanied by a string ensembles and a string quartet form a foundation for a genre of the piano quartet. N. Samoilova (2011) sees the origin of this genre in ensembles with clavier, L. Tsaregorodtseva (2005) ‒ in the historical and cultural situation of the last third of the 18th century, including the genre (string quartet and piano concerto), structural and compositional (sonata form), organological (instrument condition), performing (pianism development). I. Byaly (1989) and I. Polskaya (2001) consider the trio principle as the basis of ensemble genres, including the piano quartet. A conjunction of these opinions let us perceive the piano quartet as the result of the synthesis of various compositional and genre principles of ensembles, which formed the basis of the classical structure of the genre. Its creators are believed to be W. A. Mozart, the author of two piano quartets: No. 1 g-moll KV478 and No. 2 Es-dur KV493 (1785; 1786), and L. Beethoven, who composed four piano quartets: WoO 36 № 1 Es-dur, № 2 D-dur, № 3 C-dur (1785) and op. 16 Es-dur (1801). In these compositions of the classical era the defining attributes of the genre were multitimbrality, which manifests in keyboard and string instruments; ensemble players equality; signs of various types of utterance, including those inherent in a string quartet and clavier concerto involving a group of strings; sonatas and symphonies; as well as the type of composition, built on the model of “fast-slow-fast” with the obligatory sonata Allegro in the first position. In the romantic era, the boundaries of the genre expand in terms of content, structure, interpretation of the ensemble. The first attempt to increase the scale of the cycle belongs to C. M. Weber, who brought it closer to the composition of the string quartet through the introduction of Menuetto. However, the final fourpart cycle is set by F. Mendelssohn, who replaced Menuetto with Scherzo, which becomes the normative model for the romantic tradition of the genre. Objectives. The purpose of this article is to determine the role of F. Mendelssohn’s piano quartets in the evolution of the genre in general, and in the romantic era in particular. Results. Three piano quartets by F. Mendelssohn present a picture of his youthful attitude. The musician’s early composing ability allowed him to turn to the creation of works of this genre without fear. This genre usually attracts the attention of artists in their mature period of creativity, having mastered various genres, including chamber-instrumental ensembles (W. A. Mozart, R. Schumann, J. Brahms). It is easy to observe the commonalities of F. Mendelssohn and young Beethoven, who also composed the piano quartets in the early days of his oeuvre. F. Mendelssohn has composed three piano quartets: No. 1 c-moll (1882), dedicated to Prince Antoine Radziwill, No. 2 f-moll (December 1823), dedicated to Karl Zelter, and No. 3 h-moll (January 1823) – to Goethe. The skill of using large structures, the depth of musical thought, and even the sings of his future style are starting to find expression in Mendelssohn’s youth compositions. The four-part structure of the composition cycles reveals the young composer’s interest in the works of L. Beethoven, in particular in his piano sonatas. Distinctly clear analogies are also found in «Aurora» op. 53 and «Appassionata» op. 57. R. Larry Todd (2003) also points to the similarity of the original themes of the Piano quartet No. 1 c-moll by F. Mendelssohn and the piano sonata in the same key KV457 by W. A. Mozart. It defined by the initial course of the sounds of the basic triad, as well as the use of symmetrical question-answer constructions, contrasting in mood. The connections between these two compositions are even more evident in the finale, which begins with a theme directly borrowed from the last part of W. A. Mozart’s sonata (as identified by the author of this article). In Quartet No. 2 f-moll, connections with the music of L. Beethoven are not limited to allusions to the famous piano sonatas of the Viennese classic. The first part of F. Mendelssohn’s cycle contains several definite signs of Beethoven’s influences: the development of the code is significantly expanded in the sonata form, and in a monumental reprise the young author defines the extreme dynamic level fff. In Adagio (Des-dur) there is a wide enharmonic palette, including several sharp keys. The next part, labeled as Intermezzo, provides a transition to the «explosive» finale, which opens with a «rocket-like» theme, driven by an ascending line of chromatic bass. Piano Quartet No. 3 h-moll is the work that determined the choice of F. Mendelssohn’s professional composer career, which was highly appreciated by L. Kerubini. Mastery of the musical form is manifested in a significant expansion of the scope of the cycle and each of its parts. Adhering to the strategy of virtuoso interpretation of the piano part, which was chosen in the first two opuses, the author, at the same time, subordinates the tasks of demonstrating the pianist’s instrumental possibilities to the purpose of disclosure the dramatic idea of the work. At the same time, he does not brake the principle of equality of ensemble members, borrowed from his predecessors in any of his piano quartets. Conclusions. The analysis revealed the following indicators of the romanticization of the piano quartet genre in the work of F. Mendelssohn. These are: the scale of the content and composition of the cycle; the large coda sections in the first and final parts; the poetic completion of the lyrical second parts, as it is in “songs without words”; brilliance of the final parts; dominance of minor keys; equality of ensemble members with the “directorial” function of the piano and others. The high artistic qualities of F. Mendelssohn’s piano quartets attract the attention of many performers, among which the Foret Quartet demonstrates the most adequate interpretation of these works.

Statement of the problem. Creativity for saxophone by the French composer Pierre-Max Dubois (1930-1995) reflects in its sound palette many style tendencies of music art of the twentieth century. A student of D. Milhaud, he inherited from his teacher the desire for vivid character and imagery of music, which were achieved by various artistic possibilities of modern musical styles and trends. For the saxophone, he wrote such compositions as Characteristic pieces in the form of a suite, Quartet, Divertissement, Sonata and Concerto for saxophone and string orchestra which is quite relevant for the repertoire of the modern saxophonist. Taking into account specific features of the author’s style of P. Dubois, the performer faces the problem of mastering a number of technical and artistic expressive techniques aimed at revealing the figurative content of the piece. For a contemporary performer, the awareness of style components of P. Dubois’ music, which make up the logic of the performance interpretation, is of particular importance. These are the main aspects of work at this composition in the class of saxophone. Analysis of recent publications on the topic. Saxophone performance is considered in many publications, including those written by the author of this paper. However, there are very few works related to the study of P.-M. Dubois’ creative work, and all of them are bibliographic or encyclopedic in nature. Therefore, the analysis of compositions by P.-M. Dubois seems relevant. The purpose of the study is to develop methodology guidelines on search for performance interpretation of Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra by P. Dubois. Presentation of the main research material. The Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra by P. Dubois was written in 1956 and was a striking embodiment of the instrumental style of the French composer. Adhering generally to traditional ideas about instrumental genres, P. Dubois greatly expands the sound palette of his works and develops the expressive capabilities of the saxophone. As a student of the famous and one of the most extravagant representatives of the French "Group of Six" – D. Milhaud, P. Dubois in many ways inherits the principle of distinctness of musical language and bright, expressive musical and artistic imagery. P. Dubois’ concerto is a traditional three-part cycle, built on the principle of contrasting extreme fast and medium slow parts, which in the overall contexture of the composition are very different in their imaginative content and musical language. Highlighting the stylistic origins of music of the Concerto, the composer is obviously focused on artistic principles of such musical directions as neoclassicism, impressionism-symbolism and expressionism. Conclusions of the study. From the viewpoint of performance, works for saxophone by P. Dubois have undoubted merits. They are instrumental in nature, written in the light of instrumental specificity, though not without technical and imaginary difficulties. Summarizing the analysis of the Concerto for the saxophone by P. Dubois, it can be argued that this piece clearly fits into the artistic context of the development of French music in the second half of the twentieth century, since it reflects the process of synthesizing various style complexes in the original author’s concept. 1. Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra by P. Dubois is an original interpretation of the concerto genre in the context of French music of the second half of the twentieth century. Preserving national traditions of instrumental thinking – programmability, genre, beauty of the timbre palette – P. Dubois enriches the musical language of his work significantly and freely interprets the compositional structure of the concerto (the ratio of form sections, their scales, cadence at the very beginning of the sonata allegro, "removed" thematic contrast and a departure from conflict dramaturgy). On the whole, we can speak of a shift from the sonata form and priorities of the variative development of the musical thematism. 2. In identifying the stylistic origins of the Concert’s music, the composer’s focus on artistic principles of such musical directions as neoclassicism, impressionism-symbolism and expressionism are evident. Moreover, each of these style complexes is as if personified in a specific author’s "manner", causing reminiscence with the music of D. Shostakovich, S. Rachmaninov, P. Hindemith, M. Ravel. Such a “multicomponibility” of the Concerto style introduces the multifaceted nature of the musical language of the piece and assigns the performer the task of differentiating expressive means – mainly the timbre palette and articulation technique. The prospect of further study of the topic is related to the performance analysis of other works by P. Dubois for saxophone, comparison of interpretations made by contemporary prominent artists.

The ninth symphony, created by D. Shostakovich in 1945 and a few years later defined as the “scherzo symphony”, was met with bewilderment by critics who expected a grandiose work praising the Victory. The deep layers of its content, the direction of the author’s thought, become accessible to understanding only as a result of the analysis of the composer’s work with thematic material having a “secondary” nature. This is material I (sonata allegro), III (scherzo) and V (final). The main themes of parts I and III are generalized in genre, they are characterized by being ori-entated at classicist style models. The remaining thematism reveals domestic origins: march (theme of the Second subject group of part I), tarantella (theme of the episode of part III), gallop (theme of the First subject group of the final), march song (theme of the Second subject group of the final). The reliance on these genre models determines the melodic-rhythmic, harmonic, textural, and structural characteristics of the corresponding themes. In the purest form, typical signs of genre-stylistic models appear during the exhibition. In the process of development of the themes, a general pattern is the exposure of the proto-intonation layer (E. Nazaikinsky's term), putting in the foreground the biological, the animal in a person – which is connected with the instinct of destruction, uncontrolled aggression, etc. Just as a predatory grimace disfigures a human face, in the aspect of musical decisions, protointonation is manifested through the deformation of the genre and style models comprising all the levels of musical organization, which is most clearly represented in the developments and reprises. These means serve as a metaphor for the destruction of the cultural layer, which determined the way of artistic imprinting of Homo agens, Homo sapiens, Homo ludens, Homo communis. In the Ninth Symphony, Shostakovich models the process of disintegration of human culture and a person, who has lost the spiritual core, the release of the dark component of his nature. This way he reveals the inner content of the themes-images that initially fit into the traditions and norms of musical culture – prima-ry, household, or professional, artistic. Since such techniques contribute to the detection of meaning, they are included in the sphere of superintonation, simultaneously expressing the author's concept. The result of the figurative development of parts II and IV is the repression of the living human principle, rooted in the native culture and at the same time addressed to the sublime, which manifests itself in feeling and thought. These processes express the idea of the doom of Personality under the pressure of vulgarity and dirt, which, refracted in the mind of the Artist, is generalized and grows up to the level of a symbol. The specificity, tangibility of images in the presence of a plan of philosophical understanding al-low us to speak about the presence in the given symphony of features of the parable genre. Author's musical “narration” contains, in a coded form, a system of value directions and modeling of the conditions under which ideals are destroyed.