NAMELESS STAR: EDISON DENISOV’S MUSIC IN THE DISCOURSES OF AN UNORDINARY STORY

The article addresses the 1978 film Nameless Star (directed by Mikhail Kozakov, music by Edison Denisov) as one of the few examples of on-screen art in which music not only supports the story, but comes to the fore, becoming one of its characters. Naturally enough, in this article, Nameless Star is considered through the lens of its musical concept. The focus is on some of the composer’s individual features that characterize his film music. Among the main ones is Denisov’s fundamental idea about integrating music into a single canvas of a film work, which directly affects its figurative and stylistic characteristics and poetics in general. In this vein, the author analyzes various interpretations of the plot (or, rather, plotlines—the encounters of the main characters, the discovery of a new star, etc.), which have significant divergences in the texts of different authors and direct participants in the filming process; the main semantic points highlighted in the film by keywords (“station”, “diesel-electric locomotive”, etc.); and, finally, the film’s sound and musical design shaping a single line of storytelling. The special role of sound elements (train noise, station bell, etc.) accompanying the narration and endowing it with special thoroughness and authenticity is revealed. It is noted that the dramatic center of the film is an impromptu performance of the Symphony composed by one of the main characters—Mr. Udrea, music teacher. The significance of this artwork in the context of the narration is extremely high: decisive plot turns are associated with the Symphony; it combines intonations and leitmotifs that determine the overall emotional tone of the film. Edison Denisov manages to reproduce Udrea’s intention to the finest detail, creating a nuanced intonation-thematic profile of the Symphony, thanks to, among other things, skillful timbre-rhythmic differentiation. Over and above, he structures musical drama in such a way that during performance of the Symphony, the semantic dominants of the film, embodied in the system of its main sound images, get actualized (theme of the city, Mona’s theme, etc.). In a sense, the music here goes beyond being a mere soundtrack: it becomes an integral part of the plot, penetrating into the words of the heroes (recurring mentioning of the English horn or the story about the structure of the Symphony). Largely thanks to the music, which brings new implications to the film, the romantic comedy appears as a complex, multiplanar work, revealing an unordinary facet in the creative gift of one of the most convinced avant-garde composers of the 20th century.

Grover Schiltz

Grover Schiltz was one of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s longest-serving members, from 1959 until his retirement in 2005. He played assistant principal oboe until 1964 and served as principal English horn from 1964 to 2005. In this interview, he discussed warming up, technique, breathing, breath control, and vibrato. He provided advice on reeds, auditions, how to prepare for a performance, and tone production. He talked about the differences in performance between oboe and English horn. He offered advice how to teach musicianship, the nature of talent, and Baroque ornamentation. He shared which artists inspired him, reminiscences about his greatest concerts, and his observations on how the American style changed during his career.

Carolyn Hove

Carolyn Hove has been the solo English horn player in the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1988. This chapter contains information on her early life and career, becoming an English horn player, and her teaching. She also shares her ideas on vibrato, fundamentals, and the differences between oboe and English horn. She discusses wellness and the relationship of exercise to performance. She talks about her most memorable performances, artists who inspire her, and ensemble skills.

Pedro Díaz

Pedro Díaz is the solo English Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In this interview, he talks about his start in music, auditions, becoming an English horn player, musical phrasing, and breathing and support on a wind instrument. He also discusses the relationship of vocal to instrumental music, how to become a good ensemble player, his pedagogy, and highlights of his career.

Robert Walters

Robert Walters joined the Cleveland Orchestra as solo English horn in 2004. Prior to coming to Cleveland, Walters was the solo English horn player of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (2000–2004) and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1997–2000). In this chapter, he discusses his early career, performing on English horn, and professional auditions. He talks about teaching, air support, and ensemble skills. He closes by describing his inspirations and how his writing of poetry relates to music. The interview includes a poem of his.

Interview with Composer George Tsontakis

This interview for the journal ICONI, taken by Dr. Edward Green, Professor at the Manhattan School of Music, is with one of the leading composers of the United States, George Tsontakis. A professor at Bard Conservatory of Music, he is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious Grawmeyer Award for his Second Violin Concerto. Professor Tsontakis’ work — nearly all of it commissioned — is wide-ranging in terms of genre, imaginative in its orchestrations, and always strongly emotional. Included in this interview are discussions of some of the biographical background to a number of his major pieces, including The Past, The Passion. Among the subjects discussed is the meaning of “concerto.” Several of his concertos and concerto-like compositions are specifically discussed in this interview, including Man of Sorrows (piano), and Sonnets (English Horn). The interview also touches upon his relations with two important American composers of earlier generation: George Rochberg, and Roger Sessions — who had been Tsontakis’ teacher of composition at Julliard.

Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra in the Works by Modern Time Composers: Aspects of Genre Stylistics

Introduction. Concerto for oboe and orchestra in the music of modern time (20th – early 21st centuries), on the one hand, is based on the traditions of past eras, on the other hand, it contains a number of new stylistic trends, among which the leading trend is the pluralism of composer’s decisions. Despite this, the works created during this period by the composers of different national schools can be divided into three groups – academic, experimental, and pastoral. The article gives the review of them. Objective. The main objective of the article is to identify the features of genre stylistics in oboe concertos by composers of the 20th – early 21st centuries. Methods. In order to realize this objective, the elements of a number of general scientific and special musicological research methods have been used – historical-and-genetic, deductive, comparative, organological, stylistic, genre and performing analysis. Results and Discussion. The article discusses and systematizes the features of the genre stylistics of modern time oboe concertos. Based on the analysis of the historical-and-stylistic context, the correlation of traditions and innovations in the oboe-concerto genre, as well as the nature of the relationship between concerto and chamber manners as its common features are revealed. The classification of oboe concertos of the specified period by three genre-and-style groups – academic, experimental, and pastoral, is proposed. The main development trends in each of these groups are analyzed, taking into account the genre, national and individual-author’s stylistics (more than 70 pieces are involved). For the first time, the generalizations are proposed regarding the oboe expressiveness and techniques, generally gravitating towards universalism as a style dominant in the concerto genre. It is noted that, in spite of this main trend, the oboe in the concertos by modern time masters retains its fundamental organological semantics – the aesthetics and poetics of pastoral mode. The music of modern time, the count of which starts from the last decade of the 19th century and to present, comes, on the one hand, as a unique encyclopedia of the previous genres and styles, and on the other hand, as a unique multicomponent artistic phenomenon of hypertext meaning. The first is embodied in the concept of the style pluralism which means the priority of the person’s (composer’s and performer’s) component in aesthetics and poetics of a musical work. The second involves an aspect of polystylistics that is understood in two meanings: 1) aesthetic, when different stylistic tendencies are represented in a particular artistic style; 2) purely “technological”, which is understood as the technique of composing, when different intonation patterns in the form of style quotations and allusions (according to Alfred Schnittke) constitute the compositional basis of the same work. It is noted that the oboe concertos of the modern time masters revive the traditions of solo music-making, which were partially lost in the second half of the 19th century. At the new stage of evolution, since the early 20th century (1910s), the concerto oboe combines solo virtuosity with chamber manner, which is realized in a special way by the authors of different styles. Most of them (especially in the period up to the 1970s–1980s of the previous century) adhere to the academic model which is characterized by a three-part composition with a tempo ratio “fast – slow – fast” with typical structures of each of the parts – sonata in the first, complex three-part in the second, rondo-sonata in the third, as well as traditional, previously tried and used means of articulation and stroke set (concertos by W. Alvin, J. Horovitz – Great Britain; E. T. Zwillich, Ch. Rouse – USA; O. Respighi – Italy; Lars-Erik Larrson – Switzerland, etc.). The signs of the oboe concertos of the experimental group are the freedom of structure both in the overall composition and at the level of individual parts or sections, the use of non-traditional methods of playing (J. Widmann, D. Bortz – Germany; C. Frances-Hoad, P. Patterson – England; E. Carter – USA; J. MacMillan – Scotland; O. Navarro – Spain; N. Westlake – Australia). The group of pastoral concertos is based on highlighting the key semantics of oboe sound image. This group includes concertos of two types – non-programmatic (G. Jacob, R. Vaughan Williams, M. Arnold – Great Britain; О. T. Raihala – Finland; M. Berkeley, Е. Carter – USA and other authors); programmatic of two types – with literary names (L’horloge de flore J. Françaix – France; Helios, Two’s Company T. Musgrave; Angel of Mons J. Bingham – Great Britain); based on the themes of the world classics or folklore (two concertos by J. Barbirolli – Great Britain – on the themes of G. Pergolesi and A. Corelli; Concerto by B. Martinu – Czechia – on the themes from Petrushka by I. Stravinsky, etc.). This group of concertos also includes the genre derivatives, such as suite (L’horloge de flore J. Françaix); fantasy (Concerto fantasy for oboe, English horn and orchestra by V. Gorbulskis); virtuoso piece (Pascaglia concertante S. Veress); concertino (Concertino by N. Scalcottas, R. Kram, A. Jacques); genre “hybrids” (Symphony-Concerto by J. Ibert; Symphony-Concerto by T. Smirnova; Chuvash Symphony-Concerto by T. Alekseyeva; Concerto-Romance by Zh. Matallidi; Concerto-Poem for English horn, oboe and orchestra by G. Raman). Conclusions. Thus, the oboe concerto in the works by modern time composers appears as a complex genre-and-intonation fusion of traditions and innovations, in which prevail the individual-author’s approaches to reproducing the specificity of the genre. At the same time, through the general tendency of stylistic pluralism, several lines-trends emerge, defined in this article as academic, experimental, and pastoral, and each of them can be considered in more detail in the framework of individual studies.

New Composition Concept for Keroncong Music in the Oboe Concerto with Keroncong and Orchestra

this research aims to design a new concept in keroncong music creation with an explorative method. Keroncong is one kind of entertainment musics in indonesia that has a long existece and evolved up to today. Keroncong music is a musical mixture of a western diatonic music with Javanese gamelan music. the term of keroncong comes from the sound “...crong crong crong...” on the ukulele instrument that played rasquardo. an instrumentation music consists of: vocals, violin, flute, cak, cuk, cello, guitar, and bass. during this moment, keroncong is basically just served as a vocal accompaniment music. this becomes a driving force for the author to compose a special composition for keroncong music solo instrument. there is a new concept used in the arranging of this composition, as follows. this composition is designing a concerto, which is a type of the instrumental musics with a western diatonic instrument on the part-one of the solo oboe and an English horn in part-two, with keroncong music and orchestra. the conclusion of these designs are as follows. Keroncong music will be able to stand on its own as an instrumental music.