The melodies and songs of the Russian people inspired the works of famous composers of the second half of the 19th century. Among them were P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.P. Mussorgsky, M.I. Glinka and A.P. Borodin. Their traditions were continued by a whole galaxy of outstanding musical figures. Russian composers of the 20th century are still popular.

Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin

A.N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), a Russian composer and talented pianist, teacher, innovator, cannot leave anyone indifferent. In his original and impulsive music, sometimes mystical moments are heard. The composer is attracted and drawn by the image of fire. Even in the titles of his works, Scriabin often repeats words such as fire and light. He tried to find the possibility of combining sound and light in his works.

The composer's father, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Scriabin, was a well-known Russian diplomat, an actual state councilor. Mother - Lyubov Petrovna Scriabin (nee Shchetinina), was known as a very talented pianist. She graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Her professional career began successfully, but soon after the birth of her son, she died of consumption. In 1878 Nikolai Alexandrovich finished his studies and was assigned to the Russian embassy in Constantinople. The upbringing of the future composer was continued by his close relatives - grandmother Elizaveta Ivanovna, her sister Maria Ivanovna and her father's sister Lyubov Alexandrovna.

Despite the fact that at the age of five, Scriabin mastered playing the piano, and a little later he began to study musical compositions, according to the family tradition, he received a military education. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps. In parallel, he took private lessons in piano and music theory. Later he entered the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a small gold medal.

At the beginning of his creative activity, Scriabin deliberately followed Chopin, choosing the same genres. However, even at that time, his own talent had already appeared. At the beginning of the 20th century, he wrote three symphonies, then The Poem of Ecstasy (1907) and Prometheus (1910). It is interesting that the composer added a part of the light keyboard to the score of "Prometheus". He was the first to use light and music, the purpose of which is characterized by the disclosure of music by the method of visual perception.

The composer's accidental death interrupted his work. He never realized his plan to create "Mystery" - a symphony of sounds, colors, movements, smells. In this work, Scriabin wanted to tell all of mankind his innermost thoughts and inspire him to create a new world, marked by the union of the Universal Spirit and Matter. His most significant works were only a preface to this grandiose project.

The famous Russian composer, pianist, conductor S.V. Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) was born into a wealthy noble family. Rachmaninoff's grandfather was a professional musician. The first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, and later he was invited by the music teacher A.D. Ornatskaya. In 1885, his parents assigned him to a private boarding school to the professor of the Moscow Conservatory N.S. Zverev. The order and discipline in the educational institution had a significant impact on the formation of the future character of the composer. Later he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal. While still a student, Rachmaninov was very popular with the Moscow public. He has already composed his First Piano Concerto, as well as some other romances and pieces. And his Prelude in C Sharp Minor became a very popular composition. The great P.I. Tchaikovsky drew attention to the diploma work of Sergei Rachmaninoff - the opera "Oleko", which he wrote under the impression of the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Gypsies". Pyotr Ilyich got it staged at the Bolshoi Theater, tried to help with the inclusion of this work in the theater's repertoire, but died unexpectedly.

From the age of twenty, Rachmaninov taught at several institutes, gave private lessons. At the invitation of the famous philanthropist, theatrical and musical figure Savva Mamontov, at the age of 24, the composer becomes the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera. There he became friends with F.I. Shalyapin.

Rachmaninoff's career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 due to the rejection of his innovative First Symphony by the Petersburg public. The reviews for this work were truly devastating. But the greatest grief was brought to the composer by the negative feedback left by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whose opinion Rachmaninoff greatly appreciated. After that, he fell into a prolonged depression, which he managed to get out of with the help of a doctor-hypnotist N.V. Dahl.

In 1901 Rachmaninoff finished work on the Second Piano Concerto. And from that moment his active creative activity as a composer and pianist begins. Rachmaninoff's unique style combined Russian church chants, romanticism and impressionism. He considered the melody to be the main leading principle in music. This found its greatest expression in the author's favorite work - the poem "Bells", which he wrote for the orchestra, chorus and soloists.

At the end of 1917, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia, worked in Europe, and then left for America. The composer was very upset by the break with the Motherland. During the Great Patriotic War, he gave charity concerts, the proceeds of which he sent to the Red Army Fund.

Stravinsky's music is distinguished by stylistic diversity. At the very beginning of his creative activity, she was based on Russian musical traditions. And then in the works one can hear the influence of neoclassicism, characteristic of the music of France of that period and dodecaphony.

Igor Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov), in 1882. The father of the future composer Fyodor Ignatievich is a famous opera singer, one of the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater. His mother was the pianist and singer Anna Kirillovna Kholodovskaya. From the age of nine, teachers taught him piano lessons. After graduating from high school, he, at the request of his parents, enters the law faculty of the university. For two years, from 1904 to 1906, he took lessons from N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, under whose direction he wrote the first works - scherzo, piano sonata, suite Faun and Shepherdess. Sergei Diaghilev highly appreciated the composer's talent and offered him cooperation. The joint work resulted in three ballets (staged by S. Diaghilev) - The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring.

Shortly before the First World War, the composer left for Switzerland, then for France. A new period begins in his work. He studies the musical styles of the 18th century, writes the opera Oedipus the King, music for the ballet Apollo Musaget. His signature style has changed several times over time. The composer lived in the USA for many years. His last famous work is "Requiem". A feature of the composer Stravinsky is considered to be the ability to constantly change styles, genres and musical directions.

The composer Prokofiev was born in 1891 in a small village in the Yekaterinoslav province. The world of music was opened for him by his mother, a good pianist, who often performed works of Chopin and Beethoven. She also became a real musical mentor for her son and, in addition, taught him German and French.

At the beginning of 1900, young Prokofiev was able to attend the Sleeping Beauty ballet and listen to the operas Faust and Prince Igor. The impression received from the performances of the Moscow theaters was expressed in his own work. He writes the opera The Giant, and then the overture to Deserted Shores. The parents soon realize that they cannot continue teaching their son music. Soon, at the age of eleven, the aspiring composer was introduced to the famous Russian composer and teacher S.I. Taneev, who personally asked R.M. Gliera to study musical composition with Sergei. S. Prokofiev at the age of 13 passed the entrance exams to the St. Petersburg Conservatory. At the beginning of his career, the composer toured and performed extensively. However, his work caused misunderstanding among the public. This was due to the peculiarities of the works, which were expressed in the following:

• modernist style;
• destruction of established musical canons;
• extravagance and ingenuity of composing techniques

In 1918 S. Prokofiev left and returned only in 1936. Already in the USSR he wrote music for films, operas, ballets. But after he was accused, along with a number of other composers, of "formalism", he practically moved to live in a dacha, but continued to write musical works. His opera War and Peace, the ballets Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella became the property of world culture.

Russian composers of the 20th century, who lived at the turn of the century, not only preserved the traditions of the previous generation of the creative intelligentsia, but also created their own unique art, for which the works of P.I. Tchaikovsky, M.I. Glinka, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Flegontova Anastasia

class 7specialization "Music theory",MAOUDOD DSHI number 46, Kemerovo

Zaigraeva Valentina Afanasyevna

scientific director,teacher of theoretical disciplines MAOU DOD "DSHI No. 46"

Introduction

Every major city has a symphony orchestra. It is in demand both in opera houses and in philharmonic societies. But the genre of symphony itself - one of the most venerable genres of academic music - is being supplanted today by chamber and electronic music. And it may happen that the hour will come when such a great genre as a symphony will generally cease to be performed at concerts. At least they almost stopped composing symphonies. Relevance research topics: unrelenting interest in the issue of the future existence of the genre "symphony", what awaits the symphony in the 21st century: rebirth or oblivion? Research object is a symphony as a genre and as a serious way of understanding the world and human self-expression. Subject of study: the evolution of the symphonic genre from its origins to the present day. Purpose of work: study the features of the development of the symphonic genre. Research objectives: to analyze the scientific and theoretical material on the problem; describe symphonic laws, norms, models and trends in the development of the genre.

ChapterI. The history of the word "symphony".

Symphony (from the Greek symphonía - consonance, from sýn - together and phone - sound), a piece of music in a sonata cyclical form, intended to be performed by a symphony orchestra; one of the most important genres of symphonic music. Choir and solo singers are also involved in some symphonies. Symphony is one of the most difficult genres of music. “For me, creating a symphony means building the world by all means of modern musical technology,” said the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler.

Initially in ancient Greece, a "symphony" was the euphonious sound of tones, joint singing in unison. In ancient Rome, the so-called already ensemble, orchestra. In the Middle Ages, secular music in general was considered a "symphony" (in France this meaning was preserved until the 18th century), so some musical instruments (in particular, the wheeled lyre) could be called. In Germany, until the middle of the 18th century, the symphony was a general term for the varieties of the harpsichord - spinets and virginels; in France, the so-called barrel organs, harpsichords, two-headed drums, etc.

At the end of the Baroque era, some composers, such as Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709), created compositions for string orchestra and basso continuo in three movements, with a tempo sequence “fast - slow - fast”. Although such compositions were usually called "concerts", they were no different from compositions called "symphony"; for example, dance themes were used in the finals of both concerts and symphonies. The difference mainly concerned the structure of the first movement of the cycle: in symphonies it was simpler - as a rule, a binary two-part form of a baroque overture, sonata and suite (AA BB). Only in the sixteenth century. it began to be applied to individual works, initially vocal-instrumental, by such composers as Giovanni Gabrieli (Sacrae symphoniae, 1597, and Symphoniae sacrae 1615), Adriano Banchieri (Eclesiastiche Sinfonie, 1607), Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (Sinfonie musicali, 1610) and Heinrich Schutz (Symphoniae sacrae, 1629). Italian composers of the 17th century often denoted by the word "symphony" (sinfonia) instrumental introductions to an opera, oratorio or cantata, and the term in meaning came close to the concepts of "prelude" or "overture".

The prototype of the symphony can be considered the Italian overture that took shape under Domenico Scarlatti at the end of the 17th century. This form was already then called a symphony and consisted of three contrasting parts: allegro, andante and allegro, which merged into one whole, the features of the sonata form were outlined in the first movement. It is this form that is often seen as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. On the other hand, the forerunner of the symphony was the orchestral sonata, which consisted of several movements in the simplest forms and predominantly in the same key. The terms "overture" and "symphony" were used interchangeably for much of the 18th century.

In the XVIII century. the symphony split from opera and became an independent concert genre, usually in three parts ("fast - slow - fast"). Using the features of a baroque dance suite, opera and concert, a number of composers, and above all J.B. Sammartini, created a model of a classical symphony - a three-part piece for string orchestra, where the fast parts usually took the form of a simple rondo or an early sonata form. Gradually, other instruments were added to the strings: oboes (or flutes), French horns, trumpets and timpani. For listeners of the XVIII century. the symphony was defined by classical norms: homophonic texture, diatonic harmony, melodic contrasts, a given sequence of dynamic and thematic changes. The centers where the classical symphony was cultivated were the German city of Mannheim (here Jan Stamitz and other authors expanded the symphonic cycle to four movements, introducing two dances from the baroque suite - the minuet and the trio) and Vienna, where Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (as well as their predecessors, among whom Georg Monn and Georg Wagenzeil stand out, raised the genre of symphony to a new level. Also, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750, Germany).

ChapterII... Symphonies of foreign composers

1. Vienna classics

1.1. Franz Joseph Haydn

In the works of Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), a symphonic cycle was finally formed. His early symphonies still do not essentially differ from chamber music and almost do not go beyond the framework of entertainment and everyday genres, usual for that era. Only in the 70s did works appear expressing a deeper world of images ("Funeral Symphony", "Farewell Symphony", etc.). Gradually, his symphonies are saturated with a deeper dramatic content. The highest achievement of Haydn's symphony is the twelve "London" symphonies.

Sonata structureallegro. Each of the symphonies (with the exception of the C minor) begins with a short, slow introduction of a solemnly stately, thoughtfully concentrated, lyrically pensive or calmly contemplative character (usually at the tempo of Largo or Adagio). The slow intro contrasts sharply with the subsequent Allegro (which is the first movement of the symphony) and prepares it at the same time. There is no bright figurative contrast between the themes of the main and secondary parties. Both those and others usually have a folk song and dance character. There is only a tonal contrast: the main tonality of the main parts is contrasted with the dominant tonality of the secondary parts. The developments in Haydn's symphonies were significantly developed, which are built by means of motivational isolation. A short but most active segment is separated from the theme of the main or side part and undergoes a rather long independent development (continuous modulations in different keys, playing with different instruments and in different registers). This gives development a dynamic and ambitious character.

Second (slow) parts have a different character: sometimes pensively lyrical, sometimes chanting, in some cases marching. They are also different in form. Most often, there are complex three-part and variation forms.

Minuets. The third movements of the "London" symphonies are always called Menuetto. Many of Haydn's minuets have the character of country dances with their somewhat heavy tread, sweeping melody, unexpected accents and rhythmic shifts, which often create a humorous effect. The three-beat size of the traditional minuet remains, but it loses its aristocratic sophistication and becomes a democratic, peasant dance.

Finals. In the finals of Haydn's symphonies, genre images also draw attention to folk dance music. The form is most often sonata or rondo sonata. In some finals of the "London" symphonies, methods of variational and polyphonic (imitation) development are widely used, further emphasizing the swift movement of music and dynamizing the entire musical fabric [ 4, p. 76-78]

Orchestra. The composition of the orchestra was also established in Haydn's work. It is based on four groups of instruments. The leading group of the orchestra includes violins, violas, cellos and double basses. The wooden group consists of flutes, oboes, clarinets (not used in all symphonies), bassoons. Haydn's group of brass instruments consists of French horns and trumpets. Of the percussion instruments, Haydn used only timpani in the orchestra. The exception is the twelfth "London Symphony", G major ("Military"). In addition to the timpani, Haydn introduced a triangle, cymbals, and a big drum into it. In total, the work of Franz Joseph Haydn includes more than 100 symphonies.

1.2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), together with Haydn, stood at the origins of European symphony, while Mozart's best symphonies appeared even before Haydn's London Symphonies. Without duplicating Haydn, Mozart solved the problem of the symphonic cycle in his own way. The total number of his symphonies exceeds 50, although according to the continuous numbering adopted in Russian musicology, the last symphony - "Jupiter" - is considered the 41st. Most of Mozart's symphonies appeared in the early years of his work. During the Vienna period, only the last 6 symphonies were created, including: "Linz" (1783), "Prague" (1786) and three 1788 symphonies.

Mozart's first symphonies were strongly influenced by the work of I.S. Bach. It manifested itself both in the interpretation of the cycle (3 small parts, no minuet, small orchestral composition), and in various expressive details (melodiousness of themes, expressive contrasts of major and minor, the leading role of the violin).

A visit to the main centers of European symphony (Vienna, Milan, Paris, Mannheim) contributed to the evolution of Mozart's symphonic thinking: the content of symphonies is enriched, emotional contrasts become brighter, thematic development is more active, the scale of parts is enlarged, the orchestral texture becomes more developed. Unlike Haydn's London Symphonies, which generally develop one type of symphony, Mozart's best symphonies (Nos. 39-41) defy typification, they are absolutely unique. Each of them embodies a fundamentally new artistic idea. Two of Mozart's last four symphonies have slow intros, the other two do not. Symphony No. 38 (Prague, D major) has three parts (“symphony without a minuet”), the rest - four.

The most characteristic features of Mozart's interpretation of the symphony genre include:

· Conflict drama. Contrast and conflict are manifested in Mozart's symphonies at various levels of parts of the cycle, individual themes, various thematic elements within a theme. Many of Mozart's symphonic themes initially appear as a "complex character": they are built on several contrasting elements (for example, the main themes in the finale of the 40th, I movement of the Jupiter symphony). These internal contrasts are the most important stimulus for the subsequent dramatic deployment, in particular in the developments:

1. preference for sonata form. As a rule, Mozart refers to her in all parts of his symphonies, except for the minuet. It is the sonata form, with its enormous possibilities for transforming the initial themes, that is capable of the most profound revelation of the spiritual world of a person. In Mozart's sonata development, any theme of the exposition can acquire an independent meaning, incl. connecting and concluding (for example, in the symphony "Jupiter" in the development of the first part, the themes of the salary and St.

2. the huge role of polyphonic technique. Various polyphonic devices, especially in later works (the most striking example is the finale of the symphony "Jupiter") contribute to the drama to a great extent;

3. a departure from open genre in symphonic minuets and finals. To them, in contrast to Haydn's, it is impossible to apply the definition of "genre-everyday". On the contrary, in his minuets, Mozart often “neutralizes” the dance principle, filling their music with either drama (in Symphony No. 40), or lyric poetry (in the symphony “Jupiter”);

4. the final overcoming of the suite logic of the symphonic cycle, as the alternation of parts of different characters. The four movements of Mozart's symphony represent an organic unity (this is especially evident in Symphony No. 40);

5. close connection with vocal genres. Classical instrumental music was strongly influenced by opera. In Mozart, this influence of operatic expressiveness is felt very strongly. It manifests itself not only in the use of characteristic operatic intonations (as, for example, in the main theme of the 40th symphony, which is often compared with Cherubino's theme “I cannot tell, I cannot explain ...”). Mozart's symphonic music is permeated with contrasting juxtapositions of the tragic and the buffoon, the sublime and the mundane, which clearly resembles his operatic compositions.

1.3. Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) further enriched the symphony genre. In his symphonies, heroism, drama, and philosophical principles have acquired great importance. The parts of the symphony are more closely related thematically, and the cycle achieves greater unity. The principle of using related thematic material in all four movements, carried out in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, led to the emergence of the so-called. cyclic symphony. Beethoven replaces the calm minuet with a more lively, often exuberant, scherzo; he raises thematic development to a new level, subjecting his themes to all kinds of changes, including contrapuntal development, isolating fragments of themes, changing the scale (major - minor), rhythmic shifts.

Speaking of Beethoven's symphonies, one should emphasize his orchestral innovation. Of the innovations:

1. the actual formation of the copper band. Although the trumpets are still played and recorded together with the timpani, functionally they begin to be treated with the French horns as a single group. They are joined by trombones, which were not in the Haydn and Mozart Symphony Orchestra. Trombones play in the finale of the 5th symphony (3 trombones), in the thunderstorm scene in the 6th (there are only 2 of them here), as well as in some parts of the 9th (in the scherzo and in the prayer episode of the finale, as well as in the code);

2. the compaction of the "middle tier" makes it possible to build up the vertical from above and below. A piccolo flute appears from above (in all these cases, except for the prayer episode in the 9th finale), and a contrabassoon from the bottom (in the 5th and 9th symphony finals). But in any case, there are always two flutes and bassoons in a Beethoven orchestra;

3. Continuing the tradition of Haydn's London Symphonies and Mozart's later symphonies, Beethoven enhances the independence and virtuosity of the parts of almost all instruments, including the trumpet (the famous backstage solo in Leonora overtures No. 2 and No. 3) and the timpani. He often has 5 parts of strings (double basses are separated from cellos), and sometimes more (playing divisi). All woodwinds, including the bassoon, and French horns (in chorus, as in the trio of scherzo 3 symphonies, or separately) can solo, performing very bright material.

2. Romanticism

The main distinguishing feature of romanticism was the growth of form, composition of the orchestra and sound density, leitmotifs appear. Romantic composers have retained the traditional scheme of the cycle, but filled it with new content. A prominent place among them is the lyric symphony, one of the brightest examples of which was the symphony in B minor by F. Schubert. This line was continued in the symphonies of F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, often of a picturesque and landscape nature. Thus, the symphonies acquired the features of the programmatic character so characteristic of romantic composers. Hector Berlioz, an outstanding French composer, was the first to create a program symphony, writing for it a poetic program in the form of a short story about the artist's life. However, programmatic ideas in romantic music were often embodied in the forms of one-part symphonic poem, fantasy, etc. The most prominent author of symphonies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. there was G. Mahler, sometimes attracting and vocal beginning. Significant symphonies in the West were created by representatives of new national schools: in the second half of the 19th century. - A. Dvorak in the Czech Republic, in the XX century. - K. Szymanowski in Poland, E. Elgar and R. Vaughan Williams in England, J. Sibelius in Finland. Symphonies by French composers A. Honegger, D. Millau and others are distinguished by innovative features. If at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. the big symphony prevailed (often for an expanded orchestra), then later the chamber symphony, modest in scale and intended for an ensemble of soloists, began to play an ever larger role.

2.1. Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

The romantic symphonism created by Schubert was mainly defined in the last two symphonies - the 8th, h-minor, called "Unfinished", and the 9th, C-major. They are completely different, opposite to each other. The epic 9th is imbued with a sense of the all-conquering joy of being. "Unfinished" embodied the theme of deprivation, tragic hopelessness. Such moods, which reflected the fate of a whole generation of people, did not yet find a symphonic form of expression before Schubert. Created two years earlier than Beethoven's 9th Symphony (in 1822) "Unfinished" marked the emergence of a new symphonic genre - the lyric and psychological.

One of the main features of the h-minor symphony concerns its cycle, which consists of only two parts. Many researchers tried to penetrate into the "riddle" of this work: did the brilliant symphony really remain unfinished? On the one hand, there is no doubt that the symphony was conceived as a 4-part cycle: its original piano sketch contained a large fragment of 3 movements - a scherzo. The lack of tonal balance between the parts (h-minor in the 1st and E-dur in the 2nd) is also a strong argument in favor of the fact that the symphony was not thought of in advance as a 2-part. On the other hand, Schubert had enough time if he wanted to finish writing the symphony: after "Unfinished" he created a large number of works, including the 4-part 9th symphony. There are other pros and cons. Meanwhile, "Unfinished" has become one of the most repertoire symphonies, absolutely not evoking an impression of understatement. Her plan in two parts turned out to be fully realized.

The hero of "Unfinished" is capable of vivid outbursts of protest, but this protest does not lead to the victory of the life-affirming principle. In terms of the intensity of the conflict, this symphony is not inferior to the dramatic works of Beethoven, but this conflict is of a different plan, it has been transferred to the lyric and psychological sphere. This is the drama of the experience, not the action. Its basis is not a struggle between two opposite principles, but a struggle within the personality itself. This is the most important feature of romantic symphony, the first example of which was the Schubert symphony.

ChapterIII... Symphony in Russia

The symphonic heritage of Russian composers - P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.P. Borodin, A.G. Glazunova, Scriabin, S.V. Rachmaninov. Starting in the second half of the 19th century, the austere forms of the symphony began to crumble. The four-part became optional: there are both single-part symphonies (Myaskovsky, Kancheli, Boris Tchaikovsky), and eleven-part (Shostakovich) and even twenty-four-part (Hovaness). Slow finals, impossible in classical symphonism, appeared (Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Mahler's Third and Ninth Symphonies). After Beethoven's 9th Symphony, composers began to introduce vocal parts into symphonies more often.

The Second Symphony Alexander Porfirevich Borodin (1833-1887) is one of the heights of his work. It belongs to the world's symphonic masterpieces, thanks to its brightness, originality, monolithic style and ingenious implementation of the images of the Russian folk epic. In total he wrote three symphonies (the third is not finished).

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) - one of the largest Russian symphonists. In his style, the creative traditions of Glinka and Borodin, Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and Taneev were uniquely broken. He was the link between the pre-October Russian classics and the young Soviet musical art.

3.1. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

A symphony in Russia is, first of all, Tchaikovsky. The first symphony "Winter Dreams" was his first major work after graduating from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. This event, which seems so natural today, was quite extraordinary in 1866. The Russian Symphony - a multi-part orchestral cycle - was at the very beginning of its journey. By this time, only the first symphonies by Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein and the first version of the First Symphony by Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov, which did not gain popularity, existed. Tchaikovsky perceived the world dramatically, and his symphony - in contrast to Borodin's epic symphony - bears a lyric-dramatic, acutely conflicting character.

Six symphonies by Tchaikovsky and the program symphony "Manfred" are artistic worlds that are unlike each other, these are buildings, each built according to an individual project. Although the “laws” of the genre, which arose and developed on Western European soil, have been observed and interpreted with outstanding skill, the content and language of the symphonies are truly national. That is why folk songs sound so organically in Tchaikovsky's symphonies.

3.2. Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin (1872-1915)

Scriabin's symphony was formed on the basis of a creative refraction of various traditions of symphonic classics of the 19th century. This is, first of all, the tradition of the dramatic symphony of Tchaikovsky and partly of Beethoven. Along with this, the composer also embodied some of the features of Liszt's programmatic romantic symphony. Some features of the orchestral style of Scriabin's symphonies associate him in part with Wagner. But all these various sources were deeply processed by him on his own. All three symphonies are closely related to each other by a common ideological concept. Its essence can be defined as the struggle of the human personality with hostile forces standing in its way to the assertion of freedom. This struggle invariably ends with the victory of the hero and the triumph of light.

3.3. Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Shostakovich is a composer-symphonist. If for Prokofiev, with all the diversity of his creative interests, musical theater is the most important, for Shostakovich, on the contrary, the main genre is symphony. It is here that the main ideas of his work find a deep and all-encompassing embodiment. The world of Shostakovich's symphonies is vast. In them, the whole life of mankind in the 20th century passes before us with all its difficulties, contradictions, with wars and social conflicts.

The Seventh ("Leningrad") Symphony is one of the composer's most significant works. It is fourfold. Its scale is enormous: the symphony is over 70 minutes long, of which the first movement takes up almost half. "What the devil can defeat a people capable of making music like this," wrote an American newspaper in 1942. Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony can rightfully be called the Heroic Symphony of the 20th century.

3.4. Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (1934-1998)

Schnittke is a Soviet and Russian composer, music theorist and teacher (author of articles on Russian and Soviet composers), one of the most significant musical figures of the second half of the XX century, Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR. Schnittke is one of the leaders of the musical avant-garde. Despite the great popularity of the music of this outstanding composer, the scores of many of his symphonies have not yet been published and are inaccessible in Russia. Schnittke raised philosophical problems in his works, the main of which is man and the environment. The first symphony contained a whole kaleidoscope of various styles, genres and directions of music. The starting point for the creation of the First Symphony was the ratio of the styles of serious and light music. The Second and Fourth Symphonies largely reflect the formation of the composer's religious identity. The Second Symphony has an ancient Mass. The third symphony was the result of his inner need to express his attitude to German culture, the German roots of his origin. In the Third Symphony, in the form of short excerpts, the whole history of German music passes before the listener. Alfred Schnittke dreamed of creating exactly nine symphonies - and thereby convey a kind of tribute to Beethoven and Schubert, who wrote the same number. Alfred Schnittke wrote his Ninth Symphony (1995-97) when he was already seriously ill. He suffered three strokes and did not move at all. The composer did not manage to finally complete the score. For the first time, its completion and orchestral version was performed by Gennady Rozhdestvensky, under whose leadership the first performance took place in Moscow on June 19, 1998. The new editorial version of the symphony was performed by Alexander Raskatov and performed in Dresden on June 16, 2007.

In the second half of the 20th century, the most popular is the combination in one work of the principles of various genres - symphonic, choral, chamber, instrumental and vocal. For example, Shostakovich's Fourteenth Symphony has a synthesis of a symphony, chamber vocal and instrumental music; Gavrilin's choral performances combine the features of an oratorio, symphony, vocal cycle, ballet, and dramatic performance.

3.5. Mikhail Zhuravlev

In the 21st century, there are many talented composers who pay tribute to the symphony. One of these is Mikhail Zhuravlev. With his musical and political manifesto, the composer boldly stepped on a par with such figures of musical history as L. Beethoven, P. Tchaikovsky and D. Shostakovich. The 10th Symphony of M. Zhuravlev today can be safely called “Heroic Symphony of the XXI century”. In addition to the general ethical aspects of this symphony, the purely professional ones should also be noted. The author does not strive for innovations for the sake of innovations. Sometimes he is even emphatically academic, resolutely opposing all decadents and avant-garde artists from art. But he managed to say something truly new, his own word in the symphonic genre. The composer M. Zhuravlev uses the principles of the sonata form surprisingly skillfully, each time demonstrating its endless possibilities. The combined 3 and 4 parts, in fact, represent a kind of "super-sonata", in which the entire 4 part can be considered as expanded to a separate part of the coda. Researchers in the future have yet to deal with this extraordinary compositional decision.

Conclusion

Symphonies were originally called those works that did not fit into the framework of traditional compositions - from the point of view of the number of parts, the tempo ratio, the combination of different storehouses - polyphonic (which was considered dominant in the 17th century) and the emerging homophonic (with voice accompaniment). In the 17th century, all kinds of unusual musical compositions were called symphonies (which meant "consonance, harmony, search for new sounds"), and in the 18th century the so-called divertissement symphonies became widespread, which were created to sound space at balls, all kinds of social events. The symphony became a genre designation only in the 18th century. In terms of performance, the symphony is rightly considered a very complex genre. It requires a huge cast, the presence of many rare musical instruments, the skill of orchestras and vocalists (if it is a symphony with text), excellent acoustics. Like any genre of music, the symphony has its own laws. So, the norm of a classical symphony is a four-part cycle, with a sonata (the most complex) form at the edges, with a slow and danceable part in the middle of the composition. This structure is not accidental. The symphony reflects the processes of a person's relationship with the world: active - in the first part, social - in the fourth part, contemplation and play - in the central sections of the cycle. At the turning points of its development, symphonic music changed stable rules. And those phenomena in the field of art that first caused a shock, then became habitual. For example, a symphony with vocals and poetry has become not just an accident, but one of the trends in the development of the genre.

Contemporary composers today prefer chamber genres to symphonic forms, which require a smaller cast of performers. In such concerts, phonograms are even used with the recording of noise or some kind of electronic-acoustic effects. The musical language that is cultivated in contemporary music today is very experimental and exploratory. It is believed that writing music for an orchestra today means putting it on the table. Many believe that the time of the symphony as a genre in which young composers work is certainly over. But is it really so? Time will answer this question.

Bibliography:

1. Averyanova O.I. Domestic musical literature of the XX century: Textbook. manual for children's music school: Chetv. year of study in the subject. - M .: Music, 2009 .-- 256 p.
2. Borodin. Second Symphony ("Bogatyrskaya") / Article - [Electronic resource] - Access mode - URL: http://belcanto.ru/s_borodin_2.html
3. Heroic Symphony of the XXI century / Article by V. Filatov // Prose. ru - [Electronic resource] - Access mode - URL: http://www.proza.ru/2010/08/07/459
4. B.V. Levik Musical literature of foreign countries: teaching aid. Issue 2. - M .: Muzyka, 1975 .-- 301 p.
5. Prokhorova I. Musical literature of foreign countries: For the 5th grade. Children's Music School: Textbook M .: Music, 2000 .-- 112 p.
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1. "Symphony No. 5", Ludwig van Beethoven

According to legend, Beethoven (1770-1827) could not come up with an introduction to Symphony No. 5 for a long time. But when he took a nap, he heard a knock at the door, and the rhythm of this knock became the introduction to this work. Interestingly, the first notes of the symphony correspond to the number 5, or V in Morse code.

2. O Fortuna, Karl Orff

The composer Karl Orff (1895-1982) is best known for this cantata with dramatic vocals. It is based on the 13th century poem "Carmina Burana". It is one of the most frequently performed classical pieces around the world.

3. Hallelujah Choir, Georg Friedrich Handel

Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759) wrote the Messiah in 24 days. Many melodies, including "Hallelujah", were later borrowed from this work and began to be performed as independent works. According to legend, Handel had music played by angels in his head. The text of the oratorio is based on biblical stories, Handel reflected the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

4. "Flight of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner

This composition is taken from the opera Valkyrie, which is part of the cycle of operas Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The opera "Valkyrie" is dedicated to the daughter of the god Odin. Wagner spent 26 years composing this opera, and this is just the second part of a grandiose masterpiece of four operas.

5. "Toccata and Fugue in D minor", Johann Sebastian Bach

This is probably the most famous work of Bach (1685-1750) and is often used in films during dramatic scenes.

6. "Little Night Serenade", Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Music section publications

Five great symphonies by Russian composers

In the world of music, there are unique, iconic works, the sounds of which are used to write the chronicle of musical life. Some of these compositions represent a revolutionary breakthrough in art, others are distinguished by a complex and deep concept, others are striking with an extraordinary story of creation, the fourth are a kind of presentation of the composer's style, and the fifth ... are so beautiful in music that it is impossible not to mention them. To the credit of musical art, there are a lot of such works, and as an example, let's talk about five selected Russian symphonies, the uniqueness of which is difficult to overestimate.

Second (heroic) symphony by Alexander Borodin (B-flat minor, 1869-1876)

In Russia, by the second half of the 19th century, the idea of ​​a fix has matured in the composer's environment: it's time to create your own, Russian symphony. By that time, in Europe, the symphony had celebrated its centenary, having gone through all the stages of the evolutionary chain: from the opera overture, which left the stage and was performed separately from the opera, to such colossi as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (1824) or Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony (1830). In Russia, the fashion for this genre did not take root: they tried it once, twice (Dmitry Bortnyansky - Concert Symphony, 1790; Alexander Alyabyev - symphonies in E minor, E flat major) - and they left this venture in order to return to it decades later in works of Anton Rubinstein, Miliy Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin and others.

The aforementioned composers reasoned absolutely correctly, realizing that the only thing that a Russian symphony can boast against the background of European abundance is its national flavor. And Borodin has no equal in this. His music breathes with the expanse of endless plains, the prowess of Russian knights, the soulfulness of folk songs with their nagging, touching note. The main theme of the first movement became the emblem of the symphony, after hearing which, the composer's friend and mentor, musicologist Vladimir Stasov suggested two names: first "Lioness", and then - more appropriate to the idea: "Heroic".

Unlike the symphonic canvases of the same Beethoven or Berlioz, based on human passions and experiences, the Heroic Symphony tells about time, history and people. There is no drama in the music, there is no pronounced conflict: it resembles a series of smoothly changing pictures. And this is fundamentally reflected in the structure of the symphony, where the slow part, usually in second place, and the lively scherzo (traditionally following it) change places, and the finale in a generalized form repeats the ideas of the first movement. Borodin in this way managed to achieve maximum contrast in the musical illustration of the national epic, and the structural model of Bogatyrskaya subsequently served as a model for the epic symphonies of Glazunov, Myaskovsky and Prokofiev.

Sixth (pathetic) symphony by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (B minor, 1893)

There are so many evidences, interpretations, attempts to explain its content that the entire characterization of this work could consist of quotations. Here is one of them, from a letter from Tchaikovsky to his nephew Vladimir Davydov, to whom the symphony is dedicated: “During the trip, I had the idea of ​​another symphony, this time a programmed one, but with a program that will remain a mystery to everyone. This program is the most imbued with subjectivity, and often during the wandering, mentally composing it, I cried a lot. "... What is this program? Tchaikovsky confesses to his cousin Anna Merkling, who suggested that in this symphony he described his life. "Yes, you guessed it", - the composer confirmed.

In the early 1890s, the idea of ​​writing memoirs repeatedly visited Tchaikovsky. The sketches of his unfinished symphony entitled "Life" date back to this time. Judging by the surviving drafts, the composer planned to depict some abstract stages of life: youth, thirst for activity, love, disappointment, death. However, the objective plan was not enough for Tchaikovsky, and the work was interrupted, but in the Sixth Symphony he was guided exclusively by personal feelings. How the composer's soul had to be sick for music with such an incredible, amazing power of influence to be born!

The lyric-tragic first movement and the finale are inextricably linked with the image of death (in the development of the first movement, the theme of the spiritual chant "Rest with the Saints" is cited), which Tchaikovsky himself testified to, referring to this symphony in response to the proposal of the Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov to write "Requiem ". That is why the light lyrical intermezzo (five-beat waltz in the second movement) and the solemnly triumphant scherzo are so acutely perceived. There are many discussions about the role of the latter in the composition. It seems that Tchaikovsky tried to show the futility of earthly glory and happiness in the face of inevitable loss, thereby confirming the great dictum of Solomon: "Everything passes. It will also pass ".

Symphony III (Divine Poem) by Alexander Scriabin (in C minor, 1904)

If you happen to visit the House-Museum of Alexander Scriabin in Moscow on a dark autumn evening, you will certainly feel that eerie-mysterious atmosphere that surrounded the composer during his lifetime. A strange construction of colored lamps on the table in the living room, puffy volumes on philosophy and the occult behind the dull glass of a bookcase door, and finally, an ascetic-looking bedroom where Scriabin, who had been afraid of dying from blood poisoning all his life, died of sepsis. A gloomy and mysterious place that perfectly demonstrates the composer's worldview.

No less indicative of the characterization of Scriabin's thinking is his Third Symphony, which opens the so-called middle period of creativity. At this time, Scriabin gradually formulates his philosophical views, the essence of which is that the whole world is the result of his own creativity and his own thought (solipsism at an extreme stage) and that the creation of the world and the creation of art are, in fact, similar processes. These processes proceed as follows: from the primary chaos of creative longing, two principles arise - active and passive (male and female). The first carries divine energy, the second gives rise to the material world with its natural beauties. The interaction of these principles creates a cosmic eros, leading to ecstasy - the free triumph of the spirit.

No matter how strange all of the above may sound, Scriabin sincerely believed in this model of Being, according to which the Third Symphony was written. Its first part is called "Struggle" (the struggle of a man-slave, obedient to the Supreme Ruler of the world, and a man-god), the second - "Pleasure" (a person gives himself up to the joys of the sensible world, dissolves in nature), and, finally, the third - "Divine play ”(a liberated spirit“ creating the universe by the power of its creative will alone ”comprehends“ the sublime joy of free activity ”). But philosophy is philosophy, and music itself is marvelous, revealing all the timbre possibilities of a symphony orchestra.

First (classical) symphony by Sergei Prokofiev (D major, 1916-1917)

The year is 1917, the difficult war years, the revolution. It would seem that art should gloomily frown and tell about painful things. But sorrowful thoughts are not for Prokofiev's music - sunny, sparkling, youthfully charming. This is his First Symphony.

The composer was interested in the work of the Viennese classics even in his student years. Now from under his pen came out an essay a la Haydn. “It seemed to me that if Haydn had survived to this day, he would have retained his style of writing and at the same time perceived something of the new”, - commented Prokofiev his brainchild.

The composer chose a modest composition of the orchestra, again in the spirit of Viennese classicism - without heavy copper. The texture and orchestration are light, transparent, the scale of the work is not large, the composition is distinguished by harmony and consistency. In a word, it is very reminiscent of a work of classicism, which was born by mistake in the twentieth century. However, there are also purely Prokofiev's emblems, for example, his favorite genre of gavotte in the third movement instead of the scherzo (later the composer uses this musical material in the ballet Romeo and Juliet), as well as a sharp "peppery" harmony and an abyss of musical humor.

Seventh (Leningrad) Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich (C major, 1941)

On July 2, 1942, the twenty-year-old pilot Lieutenant Litvinov, miraculously breaking through the enemy encirclement, managed to bring medicines and four plump music books with the score of D.D. Shostakovich, and the next day a short note appeared in Leningradskaya Pravda: “The score of the Seventh Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich was delivered to Leningrad by plane. Its public performance will take place in the Great Philharmonic Hall ".

An event that the history of music has never seen before: in the besieged city, the terribly exhausted musicians (all who survived took part) under the baton of conductor Karl Eliasberg performed Shostakovich's new symphony. The one that the composer composed in the first weeks of the blockade, until he and his family were evacuated to Kuibyshev (Samara). On the day of the Leningrad premiere, August 9, 1942, the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic was filled to capacity with exhausted residents of the city with translucent faces, but at the same time in smart clothes, and the military who had arrived directly from the front line. Through the speakers on the radio, the symphony was broadcast on the streets. That evening the whole world froze and listened to the unprecedented feat of the musicians.

... It is noteworthy, but the famous theme in the spirit of Ravel's "Bolero", which is now customary to personify with the mindlessly moving and destroying everything in its path of the fascist army, was written by Shostakovich even before the start of the war. However, it entered the first part of the Leningrad Symphony quite naturally, taking the place of the so-called "invasion episode". The life-affirming finale also turned out to be visionary, anticipating the longed-for Victory, from which it was separated by such a long three and a half years ...

I thought for a long time how to title it. The first thing that came to mind was naturally "20 of my favorite symphonies". But after looking at the resulting twenty, I realized that not all of these symphonies I love at the moment and there are symphonies that are not included in this list, which I love more. The next title was "The 20 Symphonies That Most Influenced Me". I thought and realized that this is also not true, since some of these symphonies did not affect my worldview, my musical tastes, or my own composing style at all. And I decided to dwell on another name, reflecting how significant a place this or that symphony occupied in my life ...

20 most significant symphonies for me.
(in chronological order, first foreign, then Russian and modern)