Ghosts and Shadow Sounds

Chapter 9 begins studying Alfred Schnittke’s lengthy retreat from polystylism by looking at several of his key compositions from the 1980s, among them his Piano Sonata no. 2, Violin Concerto no. 4, String Trio, and Viola Concerto. In these works, polystylism began to fade as Schnittke emphasized the grotesque, artificial nature of his quotations. He also began speaking more about what he called “shadow sounds,” which soon took precedence in his aesthetic schema, largely replacing polystylism. Yet by the end of the 1980s, as polystylism dissipated, it remained a central category for critics and listeners. Schnittke himself became more unrooted; he emigrated from the USSR to Germany but continued to express a deep ambivalence about his true home.

Analyzing Schoenberg’s War Compositions as Satire and Sincerity: A Comparative Analysis of Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte and A Survivor from Warsaw

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte op. 41 (1942) and A Survivor from Warsaw op. 46 (1947) to show that Schoenberg’s compositional decisions for each piece reflect the public’s (and his) change of attitude regarding the historical events surrounding World War II. In particular, I argue that Ode frequently features humorous depiction of the Nazi regime through various types of musical satire whereas Survivor’s overall compositional planning and execution are more in line with his other compositions without a satirical tone, for example, the String Trio op. 45. The analyses in this paper show humorous elements in Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon and demonstrate how these elements are avoided in Survivor from Warsaw to make space for the sincere criticism of the Nazi party and to raise awareness for the survivors. I begin by interpreting satirical passages in Ode as instances of incongruent juxtapositions and then examine the different ways the incongruence manifests. I then discuss the leitmotivic partitioning of various twelve-tone row forms in Survivor to show the compositional congruence between the text, musical textures, and partitioning schemes. Given the change of compositional mood between Ode and Survivor (in addition to the historical evidence), this paper speculates that Schoenberg’s motivation for composing Survivor was to rectify the narrative tone he adopted in Ode.

Under the sign of playing: C. M. Weber’s Piano Quartet

Background. A play principle is one of the essential properties of the artistic worldview and creative thinking of C. M. Weber. Declaring itself in works of different genres, it takes on many different shades, speaking in the form of comic, ironic, characteristic and carnival. In the instrumental opuses by the composer, the play aspect appears in complex of texture, articulation, intonation and thematic, dynamic and formative techniques that lead to immediate visual and theatrical associations. Expression of play principles in this genre sphere can be considered, on the one hand, as various types of ensemble dialogue, and on the other hand, as virtuosity, producing aesthetic pleasure and sincere joy. The Piano Quartet by the composer, a typical example of the instrumental and play beginnings in the work by C. M. Weber, is a part of repertoires of many ensembles, but it has not yet become an object of serious scientific interest. The question of the historical and stylistic affiliation of C. M. Weber is debatable, as evidenced by significant differences in the views of scientists on this issue. Some of them, as La Mara (1886), R. Teryokhin (1983), R. Mizitova (1999), see him as the custodian of the Viennese classical tradition, focusing on “mozartianism” of C. M. Weber, others, as J. Warrack (1976) and B. Smallman (1994), considered him as one of the pioneers of romanticism. The former notes the improvisational nature of the emergence of the quartet cycle, the latter ‒ the elegance of writing and the unusual form of the last part, which served as a model for creating the finale of instrumental opuses for subsequent romantic composers. The pianistic texture by C. M. Weber as reflection of the virtuosoromantic direction is described in the works of N. Kashkadamova (2006) and O. Skorbyaschenskaya (1993). The aforementioned works also note the unusual form-making of the composer and the fantasy nature of his Minuets-Scherzo, that anticipate the experiments of F. Mendelssohn and other romantic composers. I. Karachevtseva (2015: 24) takes a special position toward the work by C. M. Weber acknowledging it as “the quintessence of a new artistic and stylistic quality that defines the boundary between two historical eras”. Objectives. The purpose of this article is to identify the genre, dramatic and the shaping characteristics of the Piano Quartet by C. M. Weber as a manifestation of play logic. Results. The play principle is manifested at all levels of the text of Weber’s work: genre, compositional, dramatic, thematic. C. M. Weber does not resort to the typical of classical piano ensembles three-part cycle, but to the four-part, placing Minuet between Adagio and the Finale. In our opinion, the inclusion of the Minuet in the sonata cycle is due to the theatrical and playful mindset of C. M. Weber. This assumption is corroborated by the nature of the dramatic logic of the Piano Quartet cycle, where in each part the listener (including the performer) something unusual, captivating and witty lies in wait. Playful interest in the movement’s intrigue extends even to Adagio, which by its nature is less likely to surprise. The entire first section of this part is built of short statements, changes in the types of movement, rhythmic pulsation, contradicting dynamic shades, and ultimately figurative details, as a result of which instead of a holistic meditative theme, a dynamic, instrumental “mise-en-scene” arises. Equally fractional is the main part of the sonata Allegro, where the delicate phrase of the solo piano is suddenly interrupted by the irritated intonation of the sf and ff trills, and the exhorting statement of the string trio makes the piano to have second thoughts. We observe the play logic of the event canvas as the piano and string trio are endowed with their own thematicism, “personified”. The Minuet is unexpected in a minor modus (g-moll) in the context of a major composition (B-dur), the rapid change of textural-thematic units, and the simplicity of the trio theme ‒ in the spirit of rural German dances, contrasting the blasting extreme parts. The final rondo (Presto) plunges into a whirlpool of refrains and episodes, creating the impression of carnival fuss and kindling the listener’s “interest in continuation”, and the multipart composition turns into a comparison of musical “scenes”, anticipating the principles of constructing miniature cycles of R. Schumann. Conclusions. The thematic plethora of the Piano Quartet by C. M. Weber, a totally dynamic character, the violation of the classical linearity and predictability of the plot provide the author with a gargantuan opportunity of ensemble dispositions. The composer follows to the parity of communicants achieved by W. A. Mozart in his piano quartets, grouping them into various combinations. Among them, there are a dialogue of the piano and string trio, a melodic communication of the strings against the background of the figured movement of the piano, the solo of the string instrument against the background of keyboard chords, as well as the pianos’ solo in the context of dialogue at the composition level. Thus, assigning primary importance to the play principle, C. M. Weber signifies a universal factor in creating stylistic harmony, which covers figurativelythematic, compositional, ensemble spheres. In structuring of the cycle and its individual parts, in the course of the music-event process, in the art of ensemble writing, the composer showed his mastery creating the “second reality” that merges with play in its intrinsic value.

Brian Cherney’s String Trio: Transcendent Pedagogy and the Spiritualization of Technique

Brian Cherney’s pedagogical and compositional philosophy is examined from the perspective of transcendent intention. Both in teaching composition and in his own works, Cherney emphasizes technique, attention to details, a convincing formal architecture, and the power of music to give expression to fundamental human emotions and experiences. Drawing upon the philosopher Henri Bergson’s concepts about the “nature of creative consciousness,” the author finds striking parallels between Bergson’s ideas and Cherney’s music. Analytical observations on Cherney’s String Trio are tied to the composer’s pedagogical approach, which profoundly influenced the author both as a composer and as a teacher. Cherney’s String Trio confronts the listener with a work in which the spiritual expression of a universal impermanence is manifested in the music itself in various ways that are illuminated and discussed using specific musical examples.

Commissioning Brian Cherney’s String Trio

The author offers a personal account of the events that led him to commission Brian Cherney’s String Trio in 1976 for CBC Radio Music. The trio was first heard on the Two New Hours radio program in 1978, along with solo works for violin, viola, and cello by the German composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann. In 1979 the trio was submitted for consideration to the International Rostrum of Composers, and it was chosen as a recommended work, which resulted in the trio being broadcast in twenty-five countries, significantly enhancing Cherney’s international reputation. The performers who premiered the trio also recorded it, allowing further audiences to appreciate this important work.

Symphonies Reframed

Symphonies Reframed recreates symphonies as chamber music. The project aims to capture the features that are unique for chamber music, at the juncture between the “soloistic small” and the “orchestral large”. A new ensemble model, the “triharmonic ensemble” with 7-9 musicians, has been created to serve this purpose. By choosing this size range, we are looking to facilitate group interplay without the need of a conductor. We also want to facilitate a richness of sound colours by involving piano, strings and winds. The exact combination of instruments is chosen in accordance with the features of the original score. The ensemble setup may take two forms: nonet with piano, wind quartet and string quartet (with double bass) or septet with piano, wind trio and string trio. As a group, these instruments have a rich tonal range with continuous and partly overlapping registers. This paper will illuminate three core questions: What artistic features emerge when changing from large orchestral structures to mid-sized chamber groups? How do the performers reflect on their musical roles in the chamber ensemble? What educational value might the reframing unfold? Since its inception in 2014, the project has evolved to include works with vocal, choral and soloistic parts, as well as sonata literature. Ensembles of students and professors have rehearsed, interpreted and performed our transcriptions of works by Brahms, Schumann and Mozart. We have also carried out interviews and critical discussions with the students, on their experiences of the concrete projects and on their reflections on own learning processes in general. Chamber ensembles and orchestras are exponents of different original repertoire. The difference in artistic output thus hinges upon both ensemble structure and the composition at hand. Symphonies Reframed seeks to enable an assessment of the qualities that are specific to the performing corpus and not beholden to any particular piece of music. Our transcriptions have enabled comparisons and reflections, using original compositions as a reference point. Some of our ensemble musicians have had first-hand experience with performing the original works as well. Others have encountered the works for the first time through our productions. This has enabled a multi-angled approach to the three central themes of our research. This text is produced in 2018.

‘THE BRIGHT PLACES OF LIFE AS CLEARLY AS THE DARK’: THE MUSIC OF LINDA BUCKLEY

Linda Buckley is one of the leading figures in the thriving Irish new music scene, a composer whose work draws together many different elements, from spectralism, to ambient electronica, to minimalism and Irish traditional music. This article uses five works created in the last decade as lenses through which to examine a creative practice in which these apparently disparate elements have become increasingly integrated. From the 2008 string trio, Fiol, to the orchestral work Chiyo (2011), to Torann for large ensemble and electronics (2015), and finally to two works with string quartet, ó íochtar mara (2015) and Haza (2016), these works represent stages within the evolution of a highly distinctive musical language.