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.

THE RUSSIAN COMPOSER EDISON DENISOV – FAR OR CLOSE TO THE WESTERN CULTURE

19 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Russian avant-garde composer Edison Denisov. He belongs to the second generation of Soviet avant-garde composers, whose work is famous for its innovative thinking and techniques: serialism, aleatory, sonorism and the use of electronics. The most progressive composers among them are Edison Denisov, Sofia Gubaidulina and Alfred Schnittke, who form a group later called “The Moscow Triad”. This article explores the ways in which Eastern and Western culture meet, specifically within works pertaining to the religious perspectives of the three authors – Gubaidulina’s meditative concept, the mystic beliefs of Schnittke, the sublimity of art in Denisov’s works and their different spiritual insight into art. The article also gives specific evaluation of the connection between the members of the Moscow Triad and the way they perceived each other’s personalities and work through a series of their own quotations. Their difficulties in communication with foreign Western composers and the wish to bring their work to the knowledge of the younger generation of Russian composers is observed, as well as the friendship between Denisov and another legendary French avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez. It briefly explores the effect of the contemporary political situation that led to the prohibition of the distribution and performance of the music of the three composers. The article addresses the way the art of Denisov was perceived in the past and today, the reception of his music in the West and in his homeland, his legacy and the future of his music in the context of the global culture.

"PIECES FOR KIDS" ("PIECES POUR ENFANTS") by E. DENISOV

The article discusses the specifics of children's music on the example of the collection "Pieces for Kids" by Edison Denisov. The authors use the example of the analysis of the musical language of this collection to define the specifics of music for kids of the second half of the twentieth century in general and some features of the author's style of Denisov in particular. Despite the traditional nature of the chosen means of musical expression, based on the basic principles of tonal organization (functionality, connection between harmony and form creation, etc.), the pieces sound very fresh and modern. This explains the fact that the pieces in the collection are difficult to enter into the pedagogical repertoire. At the same time, the composer expands the tonality by means of various types of major-minor (of the same name, parallel, one-point), and also uses the means of chromatic tonality. Updating the musical language is associated with updating the chord. Denisov uses not only chords of the third structure, but also fourth, second chords and accords. The modal structure of the pieces is also diverse. Along with major and minor, the collection contains examples of using a natural diatonic modes.