Abstract: The research subject of this article is the piano art created by Pavel Alexeyevich Serebryakov, a renowned pianist, pedagogue, artist, and director from Leningrad. The objective of this research is to uncover the many-sided activities of this artist. The author considers the performer’s individual style, repertoire preferences, concerts, music, and social activities while paying special attention to particular facts of the great artist’s life, which influenced his performance path. The article also refers to the reviews written by various musical critics, colleagues, and students, as well as Serebryakov’s own views of his performances drawn from autobiographical notes and interviews. Based on the author’s conversation with P.V. Dmitriev, Serebryakov’s grandson, the article reveals the pianist’s methods of individual work with repertoire and some of the peculiarities of his performance thinking. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that it uses rare, previously unpublished archive materials covering Serebryakov’s performance, music, and social activity, including documents from the Serebryakov’s family archive provided by the pianist’s grandson P.V. Dmitriev; materials, reviews, and newspaper articles kept at the Central State Archive of Literature and Arts (fund 214); and audio recordings from materials in the St. Petersburg Conservatory’s sound library of Serebryakov’s conversations with students. This research material can serve as educational and illustrative resources for both young musicians and instructors in specialized music schools. The Serebryakovs family archive documents provided by Serebryakov’s grandson P.V. Dmitriev Materials, reviews and newspaper articles kept at the Central State Archive of Literature and Arts (fund 214) Audio recordings from the sound library of St.Petersburg Conservatory Materials of Serebryakov’s conversations with students The research material can be used by young musicians, as well as the pedagogues of special music schools for illustrative and educational purposes.  

Keywords: Serebriakov, Nikolaev, pianist, music, performance, art, activity, audience, skill, artist

Abstract: Jazz was the first type of music where the earliest stage of its development was recorded. A single performance recorded in 1917 by the New Orleans quintet, the Original Dixieland “Jass” Band, is known as the first jazz record in history. In the academic community, there’s the perception that the musical content featured on this record cannot be viewed as a typical representative of jazz music from that period. The music was performed by white musicians, though most first jazz bands were black, and the music was far from a genuine solo improvisation. However, the very act of recording the music made it atypical to begin with. The subject of this article is the influence of sound recording technology on jazz culture at this stage of its foundation. At that time, jazz musicians had to consider various technical peculiarities of sound recording technology if they wished to create a recording. The author pays special attention to analyzing the consequences of the reproducibility of these recordings for jazz musicians and the audience’s perception. In this article, the author uses a comprehensive methodology that involves analyzing historical sources and memoirs of jazz musicians related to the sound recording industry. The research proves that audio recordings are insufficient as a source to critically research the first jazz gramophone record and suggests alternative approaches to its interpretation. In those years, if jazz musicians wanted to make a recording they had to bear in mind numerous peculiarities of sound recording technology. The author gives special attention to the analysis of the consequences of reproducibility of a recording for jazz musicians, and for the audience’s perception. As a research methodology, the author uses the comprehensive approach which includes the study of historical sources and jazz musicians’ memoirs related to the sound recording industry. The research proves that audio recordings are not sufficient as a source for critical research of the first jazz gramophone record, and suggests alternative approaches to its interpretation.   

Keywords: Henry Ragas, Nick LaRocca, ODJB, phonogram, sound recording, pop music, jazz, Larry Shields, Edwin Edwards, Tony Sbarbaro

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the musical The Sound of Music by the composer Richard Rodgers and the writer Oscar Hammerstein II—one of the brightest examples of classic Broadway musicals. The author describes the main genre and style, as well as the musical’s dramatic peculiarities, and attempts to address the following research objectives: to analyze the piece’s narrative and genre components, the main characters’ intonation complexes, the most significant groups of characters and their vocal techniques, and to trace the influence of Austrian genres in the musical’s musical fabric. The author uses the following methods: cultural-historical, comparative analysis, and music-style and music-history analysis. Despite the obvious significance of this piece of music and its thumping success, The Sound of Music hasn’t been given enough scholarly attention in scientific literature. The author arrives at the conclusion that the distinct dramatism, engaging plot, intricate music drama, and diverse blend of genre and style are the hallmark features of this musical, which has been instrumental in the musical’s enduring success over time.  

Keywords: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rogers, Maria von Trapp, The Sound of Music, Broadway musical, musical analysis, Robert Wise, genre, style, jazz vocals

Abstract: This article explores the musical component and artistic activity of the Russian diaspora's outstanding choreographer Leonide Massine (1895–1979), whose 125th birthday was celebrated by the theatrical world in 2020. The main milestones of the choreographer's musical education are noted, the spectrum of his musical interests is revealed, and his techniques of working with the music of the created ballets are studied. The purpose of this research, carried out using historical and typological methods, is to study the stages of the formation of the choreographer's musical maturity and style. The circumstances of Massine's collaboration with contemporary composers Manuel de Falla, Eric Satie, Sergei Prokofiev, and Paul Hindemith are also considered. Special attention is paid to the formation of a system of artistic methods of working with music in the choreographer’s joint work with Igor Stravinsky on the implementation of the ballets Pulcinella and Sacred Spring. The questions of Massine's attitude to such spheres of musical expressiveness, including rhythm, dynamics, and timbre, are highlighted. The methods of the choreographer's work with works of symphonic music are studied, and the ways of achieving musical and plastic synthesis in the stage solutions of Massine's choreographic symphonies are analyzed, including Omens (1933) to the music of the Fifth Symphony by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Choreartium (1933) to the music of the 4th Symphony by Johannes Brahms, Fantastic Symphony (1936) to the music of the symphony by the same name by Hector Berlioz, etc. It is concluded that the laws of musical composition and dramaturgy were a source of artistic renewal and enrichment for the choreographer’s style, marking the development of his choreography's intellectual beginning.

Keywords: Hindemith, music, ballet, musicology, ballet music, musicality of choreography, musical theater, symphony-ballet, Stravinsky, Myasin

Abstract: The subject of this research is Russia’s repertory heritage, including compositions for viola by twentieth-century composers. The works are considered from the viewpoint of their direct impact by the brightest representatives of the Russian viola school: Vadim Borisovsky, Fyodor Druzhinin, and Yuri Bashmet. The analysis is based on pieces devoted to Borisovsky (Sonata for Viola and Piano by V. Kryukov and S. Vasilenko, Songs of the Dead and Rhapsody for Viola and Piano by A. Veprik, A Suite for Viola and Piano by V. Gaigerova) and Bashmet (A Liturgy for a Large Orchestra and a Solo Viola, Bemoaned by the Wind, and Styx for Viola, Choir, and Orchestra by G. Kancheli), and the works by Druzhinin (Sonata for Solo Viola and Variations for Solo Viola). These pieces are considered from the position of a player’s influence on the composers’ interest in the solo manifestation of the viola and its gradual development. The author defines the term “character-performer” as corresponding with the image of a twentieth-century violist and denotes the new features of solo viola repertory as a result of the work of the above-mentioned violists, including the acknowledgment of the uniqueness of the viola’s sound, the establishment of the viola as a bright concert instrument, the expansion of a used range for the viola, the revelation of a mystic component of viola timbre, the definition of the unique unifying ability of viola timbre, the full technical liberation of an instrument, and the need for a co-author as a player.  

Keywords: domestic composers, viola repertoire, hero-performer, Bashmet, Druzhinin, Borisovsky, viola, timbre, technical emancipation, coauthor

Abstract: This article examines the orthodox singing of the Kryashens (baptized Tatars), a sub-ethnic Tatar community who follow Eastern Christianity. The Kryashens are the bearers of a unique orthodox singing tradition that combines church chants and prayer texts in the Tatar language. The research subject is the historical background of the church singing of baptized Tatars who inhabited the Laish and Mamadysh districts of the Kazan Province. The chronological framework covers the period in which the tradition was developed—the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries—a period of the Russian Orthodox Church’s active missionary efforts in the region. The author uses historical, culturological, and source study methods to identify the ways in which the singing tradition was formed. This includes the introduction of a new system of religious and educational practices for “outsiders” in the region and the start of church services being held in the Tatar language. The research contains information about the work done by schools and parishes for baptized Tatars in the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The author evaluates the modern state of the Kryashens’ Orthodox singing tradition in the region under consideration and identifies the factors that led to its development, which had been established by missionaries in the pre-revolutionary period. The author concludes that music played an important role in the progress of Christian education for the baptized Tatars and recognizes the significant contribution of the pre-revolutionary missionaries in the development of the spiritual and singing practices of this ethnic group, which has become an integral component of its music culture today. This article marks the first time this Orthodox singing tradition, specific to this ethnic region, is explored in Russian musicology. 

Keywords: Kazan Province, church chants, Orthodox singing, Christianization, missionary work, baptized Tatars, Kryashens, Tatars-Kryashens, Laishevsky district, Mamadyshsky district