Hermeneutics, Semantics and Musical Meaning
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Reference:
Lun, T. (2026). Russian-Soviet Musical Experience in the Formation of Chinese Musical Subjectivity: Philosophical and Cultural Analysis of Piano Artistry. PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal, 3, 1–28. . https://doi.org/10.7256/2453-613X.2026.3.81328
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Abstract:
The subject of the research is the formation of Chinese musical subjectivity in piano art in the context of the interaction between Chinese, Russian, and Soviet musical traditions. The aim of the research is to identify the mechanisms through which external artistic, pedagogical, and institutional models were integrated into the internal development of Chinese musical culture. The research material covers the changing image of China in European and Russian music, the spread of Russian-Soviet song repertoire in China during the 1930s and 1940s, the adoption of the Soviet system of professional music education in the 1950s, as well as a number of representative works of Chinese music. Special attention is given to the transformation of national material in professional piano writing, its connection to historical experience, pedagogical practice, and cultural memory. The research methodology combines historical-cultural, comparative, and interpretive approaches. Hermeneutic analysis of a number of representative works of Chinese music is used to identify ways of transforming national material and forming new cultural meanings. The novelty of the research lies in identifying three interrelated mechanisms for the formation of Chinese musical subjectivity. The institutional-pedagogical mechanism ensured the selection and practical transformation of Soviet educational norms. The intonational-semiotic mechanism manifested itself in the incorporation of folk song and instrumental material into professional piano writing and facilitated the formation of new cultural meanings. The social-memorial mechanism linked musical works with collective historical experience, institutional practice, and performance tradition. The Russian-Soviet musical experience became one of the sources for the development of Chinese professional culture. The adopted pedagogical norms, compositional principles, and genre models acquired new institutional, artistic, and memorial functions, contributing to the establishment of Chinese piano art as an independent professional tradition and a form of historical self-expression. The results obtained clarify the role of Russian-Soviet musical experience in the development of Chinese piano art and are applicable to research on Russian-Chinese musical ties, the processes of adopting professional models, and the mechanisms of preserving historical memory in music.
Keywords:
Chinese piano art, musical subjectivity, Russian and Soviet musical experience, Russian-Chinese musical interaction, cultural transfer, Soviet piano pedagogy, professional music education, intonational-semiotic mechanism, pentatonicism, cultural memory
Hermeneutics, Semantics and Musical Meaning
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Reference:
CUI, J. (2026). Choral miniature of China in the context of mass culture. PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal, 3, 29–38. . https://doi.org/10.7256/2453-613X.2026.3.81967
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Abstract:
The subject of the article is choral music by contemporary Chinese composers in the context of the phenomenon of mass culture. The purpose of the article is to study the genre of choral miniature in China from the perspective of mass culture. In China, mass culture is interpreted as closely related to the people and conducive to the flourishing of society. Its distinctive features include: orientation towards the masses, the presence of national elements, the quality of inclusivity, and adherence to socialist principles. These characteristics are also typical of choral art, which has always had a mass character in China. Currently, both amateur and professional choral ensembles in China are active, for which local composers write miniatures. A unique cultural phenomenon is the choral creativity of Jin Chengzhi, performed by the Shanghai Chamber Choir "Rainbow." The methodology includes the works of philosopher H. Ortega y Gasset, studies of mass culture by European scholars M. L. Gasparov, A. S. Ivanenkova, A. Ya. Fler, and the Chinese scholar Chen Xuguang. In the field of choral art, research by Xu Yanping, Zhao Wanyue, and N. A. Govar has been referenced. The main conclusions of the research interpret mass culture in China in a positive light: it differs from European views, understanding mass culture as directed towards society to elevate the overall level of the population's development and uplift. The inclusion of modern choral miniatures by Chinese composers in the context of mass culture is possible due to the historical interpretation of choral performance in the country as a mass phenomenon. The analysis of the activities and choral works of Jin Chengzhi, particularly his miniature "I Feel Empty," illustrates the integration of this genre into mass culture. The choral texture of this composition is quite complex, rich with modern performance techniques, intricate rhythms, aimed at coloristic effects. The popularization of Jin Chengzhi's work is facilitated by the Shanghai Choir "Rainbow."
Keywords:
popular culture, Chinese music, choral miniature, Jin Chengzhi, Shanghai Choir, choir, texture, performance techniques, national music, contemporary music
History of Music
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Reference:
Wang, Q. (2026). Tyzen Hsiao’s Piano concerto in C minor, op. 53 in the context of Taiwanese musical culture. PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal, 3, 39–66. . https://doi.org/10.7256/2453-613X.2026.3.80590
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Abstract:
The subject of this study is Tyzen Hsiao’s Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 53, within the context of the genre’s development within Taiwan’s musical culture in the 20th and early 21st centuries. This research approach required a step-by-step examination of the composition’s creation and cultural context, as well as a thorough textual analysis and compositional features. The concerto represents Tyzen Hsiao’s most significant work for piano. Work on it lasted over two years and was completed by April 1992. A seminal example of Taiwanese classical music, the concerto vividly demonstrates the very essence of the composer’s creative concept, which is based on a synthesis of Chinese and Western musical cultures. The author’s comprehensive approach to studying Taiwan’s professional musical culture required the use of specialized musicological research methods: music analysis and musical textual criticism. The scientific novelty lies in a new approach to studying the interaction between Taiwanese cultural traditions and academic music forms in the piano concerto by Tyzen Hsiao. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that Tyzen Hsiao’s concerto possesses a distinctly national character and a romantic style conveying the composer’s nostalgic feelings for his homeland, which he left. The composer drew inspiration from Taiwanese folk songs, carefully treating them and organically weaving them into the fabric of the composition. The uniqueness of Tyzen Hsiao’s creative thinking is based on combining elements of Taiwanese national culture with Western European compositional techniques from various styles and movements, ranging from mature Romanticism to Modernism. Overall, the issues addressed in this article lie in the study of the significance of traditional Chinese national elements in the musical language of Tyzen Hsiao’s works, which can serve as a guideline for further work on his piano legacy.
Keywords:
Chinese musical culture, Tyzen Hsiao’s creative work, piano concerto, Taiwanese academic music, piano performance, composers of Taiwan, folk music of Taiwan, compositions by Tyzen Hsiao, interaction of cultures, style of Tyzen Hsiao
History of Music
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Reference:
Leksyutin, A.V., Ivanov, K.S., Ivanova, A.S., Den'zhov, A.A., Krivolapov, A.D., Samofalova, S.A. (2026). The Image of the Enemy in German Military Songs of the World War II Period: Propaganda Discourse and Ideological Constructs. PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal, 3, 67–88. . https://doi.org/10.7256/2453-613X.2026.3.82249
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Abstract:
The article is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of German military songs from the 1930s and 1940s as a tool of Nazi propaganda aimed at shaping the image of the enemy in the mass consciousness. Based on a corpus of 35 songs that mention the opponents of the Third Reich (the USSR, the United Kingdom, the USA), it examines the linguistic techniques, rhetorical strategies, and ideological constructs used to demonize the enemy and mobilize the German people. The study relies on theoretical propositions about totalitarian language, the concept of ethnotrauma, and the methods of Goebbels’ propaganda. It utilizes sources from contemporary Russian and foreign research on Nazi propaganda, as well as original song texts from Wehrmacht collections. Special attention is given to the mechanisms of impact on collective consciousness and the role of musical material in the system of ideological control. The research methods include: 1) a historical-genetic method that allows tracing the evolution of propagandistic attitudes in song creativity; 2) a linguistic-stylistic analysis aimed at identifying key ideological constructs and rhetorical techniques; 3) a comparative method for analyzing the representation of different enemy images; 4) a structural-semantic analysis of poetic texts. The scientific novelty of the work is due to the fact that it undertakes the first comprehensive musicological and linguistic analysis of German military songs as an independent propaganda genre. In contrast to traditional studies of Nazi propaganda, which have primarily focused on the press, broadcasting, and cinema, this article examines the song material as an equal and self-sufficient element of the propaganda system, possessing its own genre specificity and unique mechanisms of impact on mass consciousness. Such an interdisciplinary approach, combining musicological, linguistic-stylistic, and historical-propagandistic perspectives, has not previously been applied to this corpus of texts, opening new prospects for the study of totalitarian culture and its media forms, as well as clarifying the role of music in the system of political manipulation of the twentieth century.
Keywords:
Nazi propaganda, military songs, enemy image, totalitarian language, ethnotrauma, Joseph Goebbels, anti-Semitism, anti-communism, World War II, Wehrmacht
Ethnomusicology
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Reference:
Lihovitskaya, K.V. (2026). Lyrical songs of the Black Sea Cossacks of Kuban: features of functioning and musical and poetic stylistics. PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal, 3, 89–106. . https://doi.org/10.7256/2453-613X.2026.3.80080
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Abstract:
The subject of the research is the peculiarities of the poetic content and functioning of lyrical songs of the Black Sea villages of Kuban. The focus is on both the substantive aspects of song lyrics (the system of images, motifs, and storylines), as well as the conditions, forms and contexts of the performance of these songs in traditional culture. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of poetic content and musical style. The article analyzes the thematic groups of texts of Black Sea lyrical songs, examines the plots of lyrical songs of different stylistic layers, establishes the correlation of the plot basis of lyrical songs with the forms of their functioning, and also examines the musical features of the tradition. The object of research in this article is the traditional lyrical songs of the Black Sea villages of Kuban. Lyrical songs are a genre of traditional musical culture, fully represented in any regional folklore tradition. The lyrical songs of the Black Sea villages are the most important component of the traditional singing culture of Kuban. The methodological basis of the research is the structural and typological method of analysis, which is based on identifying the deep structures of the organization of musical folklore. The main conclusions of the conducted research are that in lyrical songs the subjective world of a person is brought to the fore – his mental experiences, emotional states, personal reactions to events. At the same time, the feelings and moods of the characters are not declared directly, but are revealed indirectly through musical and expressive means. The plot basis of lyrical songs, as a rule, is based on typical life situations and collisions (separation, expectation, unrequited love, leaving for service, homesickness, etc.). However, within these standard frameworks, each sample of lyrics retains the uniqueness of an individual experience, which is the main artistic value of the genre. It is proved that the genre of lyrical songs plays one of the leading roles in the transmission of the ideological attitudes of the bearers of tradition, their emotional sphere, social organization and gender relations.
Keywords:
folklore, singing tradition, plot, lyrical songs, thematic groups, genre, traditional folk culture, Black Sea Cossacks, poetics, folk song