Peculiarities of program music by Joseph Elgiser (through the example of piano creative works)

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Peculiarities of program music by Joseph Elgiser (through the example of piano creative works)

Kapliyenko-Iliuk Yuliya, PhD in Arts, associate professor, doctoral student of the A. V. Nezhdanova Odessa State Musical Academy

Annotation

The purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of program music in the comprehensive study of the piano creative works of one of the contemporary Bukovynian composers - Joseph Elgiser.

Methodology consists in the use of the methods of historical and cultural, theoretical and genre-style analysis, which allowed determining the main program features of the composer's piano works.

The scientific novelty lies in the study of the development of professional musical art of Bukovyna; in revealing the features of creative thinking of the composers of the region; in clarifying the principles of piano music in the region; in the analysis of J. Elgiser's program music, whose works are not sufficiently studied in contemporary musicology.

Conclusions. The works of Joseph Elgiser are quite varied and versatile. The best and the most valuable ones were written by him for piano. It was in the music for this instrument that his talent and skill were revealed. In the genres of piano music, which are almost fully represented in the works of J. Elgiser, the features of the master's creative style were revealed. Most of the creative works of J. Elgiser are program music that is notable for its autobiographic peculiarities. In the works with program names, the composer reveals important events of his life, impressions of travel, meetings and concerts. The component of J. Elgiser's program thinking is a portrait theme associated with the names of musicians, poets, artists of the present and the past. A wide range of images, their frequent "kaleidoscopic" change has influenced the diminutiveness of the shape. Guided by traditional musical structures, J. Elgiser creates small musical sketches, which clearly manifested the individual style of the composer's thinking.

Keywords: program music, piano creative works, composers of Bukovyna, program miniature, musical portraits, J. Elgiser.

Анотація

Особливості програмної музики Йосипа Ельгісера (на прикладі фортепіанної творчості)

Каплієнко-Ілюк Юлія Володимирівна, кандидат мистецтвознавства, доцент, докторант Одеської національної музичної академії ім. А. В. Нежданової

Мета статті - виявлення особливостей програмної музики у комплексному дослідженні фортепіанної творчості одного з буковинських композиторів сучасності Йосипа Ельгісера.

Методологія. Застосовано методи історико-культурологічного, теоретичного та жанрово-стильового аналізу, що дало змогу визначити основні риси програмності фортепіанної творчості композитора.

Наукова новизна полягає у дослідженні процесу розвитку професійного музичного мистецтва Буковини; у виявленні рис творчого мислення композиторів краю; у з'ясуванні засад фортепіанної музики регіону; в аналізі програмної музики Й. Ельгісера, творчість якого недостатньо досліджена в сучасному музикознавстві. Висновки. Творчість Йосипа Ельгісера досить різноманітна та багатогранна. Найкраще та найбільш цінне було ним створено для фортепіано. Саме в музиці для цього інструмента розкрився його талант і майстерність. В жанрах фортепіанної музики, які майже в повній мірі представлені в творчості Ельгісера, проявилися риси творчого стилю митця. Більшість творчого доробку Ельгісера - програмна музика, яка відрізняється автобіографічністю. У творах з програмними назвами композитор розкриває важливі події свого життя, враження від подорожей, зустрічей, концертів. Складова програмного мислення Ельгісера - портретна тематика, пов'язана з іменами музикантів, поетів, діячів мистецтва сучасності та минулого. Широке коло образів, їх часта "калейдоскопічна" зміна позначилися на мініатюрності формотворення. Спираючись на традиційні музичні структури, Ельгісер створює невеликі музичні зарисовки, в яких яскраво проявився індивідуальний стиль мислення композитора.

Ключові слова: програмна музика, фортепіанна творчість, композитори Буковини, програмна мініатюра, музичні портрети, Й. Ельгісер.

Аннотация

Особенности программной музыки Иосифа Эльгисера (на примере фортепианного творчества)

Каплиенко-Илюк Юлия Владимировна, кандидат искусствоведения, доцент, докторант Одесской национальной музыкальной академии им. А. В. Неждановой

Цель статьи - выявление особенностей программной музыки в комплексном исследовании фортепианного творчества одного из буковинских композиторов современности Иосифа Эльгисера.

Методология. Применены методы историко-культурологического, теоретического и жанрово-стилевого анализа, что позволило определить основные черты программности фортепианного творчества композитора.

Научная новизна заключается в исследовании процесса развития профессионального музыкального искусства Буковины; в выявлении признаков творческого мышления композиторов края; в выяснении основ фортепианной музыки региона; в анализе программной музыки И. Эльгисера, творчество которого недостаточно исследовано в современном музыковедении.

Выводы. Творчество Иосифа Эльгисера достаточно разнообразно и многогранно. Лучшее и наиболее ценное было им создано для фортепиано. Именно в музыке для этого инструмента раскрылся его талант и мастерство. В жанрах фортепианной музыки, которые почти в полной мере представлены в творчестве Эльгисера, проявились черты творческого стиля художника. Большая часть творческого наследия Эльгисера - программная музыка, которая отличается автобиографичностью. В произведениях с программными названиями композитор раскрывает важные события своей жизни, впечатления от путешествий, встреч, концертов. Составляющая программного мышления Эльгисера - портретная тематика, связанная с именами музыкантов, поэтов, деятелей искусства современности и прошлого. Широкий круг образов, их частая "калейдоскопическая" смена отразились на миниатюрности формообразования. Опираясь на традиционные музыкальные структуры, Эльгисер создает небольшие музыкальные зарисовки, в которых ярко проявился индивидуальный стиль мышления композитора.

Ключевые слова: программная музыка, фортепианное творчество, композиторы Буковины, программная миниатюра, музыкальные портреты, И. Эльгисер.

Relevance of the research topic. Nowadays, researches devoted to the development of regional musical cultures, the attention to which unevenly manifested itself in the field of Ukrainian musicology, are gaining popularity. Bukovyna, with its multifaceted culture, a strong "alloy" of multinational sources, with its original musical colour, became such a scantily explored part of Ukraine. Along with the study of traditions that go back centuries, of great interest is also the contemporary composer school of Bukovyna with bright personalities, among which a special place belongs to a world-class musician, holder of the UNESCO Gold Medal and the title "Golden Name of World Culture", a pianist, a teacher, a composer - Joseph Elgiser (1929-2014).

Analysis of recent research and publications. The field of the works of the composers of the region is not sufficiently investigated, especially its current stage. The attention is paid mainly to the historical aspects of the musical culture of Bukovyna. Therefore, quite often, scientists, who do not have professional music training, interfere in this process and make a research of artistic and journalistic nature. However, the value of such research is also very important in the course of learning and describing the development of the art of the region. Thus, the questions of the historical past of Bukovyna, the activities of individual societies, composers and performers are elucidated in two books by K. Democzko [2; 3], the collective work of the scientists of the Department of Music of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University remains a more detailed and, perhaps, the only informative source about the history of musical culture and education in Bukovyna [6]. An extremely scantily investigated phenomenon is the style of the composers of Bukovyna, in particular, the artists of the 20th - early 21st centuries. Thus, J. Elgiser's works are not analyzed in art literature; only his performance and public activity are taken into consideration in separate reference publications. The only book by A. Isac "The Knight of Music" [4] focuses on the biography of J. Elgiser, but the journalistic nature of the publication does not allow it to be considered a thorough study of the composer's work. Analysis of piano cycles in the work of J. Elgiser is elucidated in the study of I. Kobyatska [5], which remained at the level of a diploma project. Therefore, any research in this field and stylistic analysis of the works of artists of Bukovyna region will become relevant nowadays.

The purpose of the study is to identify the peculiarities of program music in the comprehensive study of the piano works of one of the contemporary Bukovynian composers - Joseph Elgiser.

Research findings. The composer's thinking of Joseph Elgiser is rich in stylistic features, which combine the traditions of classical music, romantic trend, musical impressionism, modern professional musical language, folk songs and instrumental works. Typical features of his work, especially the figurative sphere, the richness of genre and style, have found the most vivid embodiment in his works for piano.

The overwhelming majority of the composer's artistic heritage is represented by program works. It is through the program that the composer tries to intervene in the possible misinterpretation of his idea. According to F. Liszt, "the program has the ability to provide instrumental music with possible shades of character, almost identical to different poetic forms" [7, 286]. None of the Ukrainian composers of the past embodied such a diversity of images, plots, and pictures of nature in piano music as J. Elgiser did. Only in Western European music, this kind of versatility is characteristic of C. Debussy, in whose works we find the richness of nature images, genre scenes, musical portraits, historical stories, legendary motifs, etc. [8, 311].

However, as A. Isak notes, "his works are characterized by specific content, rhythmic pulse, originally tuned key, his own style" [4, 93]. Indeed, J. Elgiser's program is special, it is, above all, autobiographical, because his musical works reflected various aspects of his life, the historical events he witnessed. Later on, musical thoughts were born, which were made into musical themes. Searching for themes is a special and individual process for each composer. J. Elgiser often recalled H. Berlioz's words: "Give me a theme and I will write any product", however the most important thing for him is the search for a musical image, musical thought, and theme. However, J. Elgiser expressed his opinion in the following way: "I do not know how others do, but mine arise suddenly, sometimes - with lightning speed. It can be in the day time, at night, outdoors or at home ... I am trying to note everything immediately. And there is its original essence. It's no secret that each theme has a sound-height and a rhythmic module. If you miss the moment, in a few minutes everything is lost - images, contours disappear ... A theme is always a happy discovery ..." [4, 92].

J. Elgiser sought for a definite musical depiction of the phenomena of the surrounding world. His medical profession, to which he devoted a significant part of his life, could not but manifest himself in the composer's work. Thus, J. Elgiser created a peculiar and original cycle called "Medicinal Herbs", written in the late 90s, and dedicated it to I. Meshchyshen, head of the department of medical chemistry at Chernivtsi Medical Academy. The five parts of the cycle have the names of plants: "Arnica", "Calendula", "Foxglove", "St. John's Wort" and "Wormwood". In order to implement his plan, J. Elgiser selected for the cycle the plants with various therapeutic effects, whose useful and therapeutic properties are originally reflected by musical means. "Foxglove" and "Wormwood" are interesting in terms of sound imaging and picturesque features - in the sounds of the first one there feels throbbing of heart, as the foxglove plant cures of heart diseases, while the second play represents musical characteristics of the wormwood, where the composer used small- second intonations to reproduce the bitter taste of the plant. Such an idea of imaging medicinal herbs and their properties became unprecedented in the composer's practice.

The theme of travelling was always relevant for J. Elgiser, because the composer liked visiting different countries, even exotic ones. Often during such travels he had to give scheduled and unplanned concerts and being impressed by something - write new musical compositions. The collection of music, written under the impression of travel, is the most numerous group, including cycles such as "A Tourist's Album", "Album of Summer 1999", "The Album of Spring and Summer 2002" and others.

Among the cycles dedicated to this theme, we shall note the "Swiss Diary" - a suite for piano, which consists of 16 numbers. Each part of the cycle is a small play, where the emotional state of the composer unfolds, starting with "Another farewell to Home". The suite program is quite diverse: here is the impression of the road ("Train Again", "Fresh Impressions"), and landscape lyrics ("Such is Switzerland", "Zurich", "Mountain Landscape"), and everyday scenes ("In the Olympic Museum", "By Tyrolean"), and psychological portraits ("Batya Horal"), and genre sketches ("Humoresque", "Romance"), and works-dedications ("On the Shores of Lake Geneva there are Monuments to Ch. Chaplin and M. Eminescu", "To Zurich for Good Luck"). Parts of the cycle are contrasted by genre, tempo, figurative content and stylistic solution of thematic formations. Sometimes the composer resorts to imitation of the traditions of individual composers, whose works were the closest to him. Thus, the genre "Humoresque" in the cycle (№6), reminds of "Schumann" piano pieces, where this name was used for the first time in music. However, J. Elgiser in his decision tends to the traditions that manifested themselves in the works of P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninov, R. Shchedrin, L. Revutsky, whose humoresque acquires scherzo-dance features.

The theme of tourist travel continues with the suite cycle "A Tourist's Album. Moments", which was written during touring trips to Malta, Austria and Italy. For the composer this was a period quite rich in concerts, impressions of meetings and acquaintances. The cycle consists of 9 different types of plays, which combine the images of nature ("Volcano Etna", "Across Carinthia"), sound imaging ("On St. Mark's Square in Venice with a Church Bell"), peculiar "dedications" ("A Moment with Mozart", "A Moment with Strauss", "A Moment with Brahms" and even a musical self-portrait of J. Elgiser ("Visiting Card of the Composer to Artist Sh. Palmer").

Among the works written under the impression of the travel, a special place belongs to the suite "Malta", written by J. Elgiser during a tour to the Maltese Islands in 2002. An exotic country with its picturesque nature, customs, culture, and the impressions of a warm welcome prompted the composer to write a cycle that was written in two days at the hotel. The artist of Malta Sh. Palmer painted watercolours to each part of the suite in three days, and the local minister of culture promised that the work would necessarily be published without delay in London, because there was no printing house in Malta.

The suite consists of 6 different pieces, where the first parts - "Arrival to Malta", "Blue Grotto" - are penetrated with impressions from what they saw, and the third part ("Takwali - the Village of Craftsmen") reproduces the enchantment of the skills of craftsmen, who make jewellery, hammer metal and ornament glass. The creation of the fourth part of the cycle ("Fiesta of Saint Sebastian") was inspired by the legends about the temple, where the floor was supposedly laid out with tombstones, copies of those, which are on the graves of the Maltese, who died in the wars [4]. The suite is completed with "Variations on the Themes of the Maltese Contradance" - a kind of genre sketch, where the theme is held at a fast pace with the vivid features of Anglo-French dance in the time of 2/4. The laconic and clear in style theme is presented in a simple two-part reprise form in the key of E flat major. The form of the work demonstrates a pattern of strict variations, where there are manifested features of the Beethoven type of variation with characteristic style transformations and detailed coda. Two of the eight variations are created in the minor key of the same name, pointing out the typical features of the classical form.

The idea of writing this kind of suite brings to mind the memoirs of "Suite Bergamasque" by C. Debussy. The works of this composer were part of the concert program in Malta and, of course, could have some influence on the choice of the genre type of the work and ways of realizing the plan. Thus, J. Elgiser, like C. Debussy, prefers in his piano music a suite, as a genre, consisting of a number of independent plays, or individual miniatures. The features of the style of C. Debussy are found in many compositional structures of J. Elgiser: he avoids the effective development of the image, revealing it from various sides with numerous colourful shades that quickly change each other, creating the impression of "kaleidoscopicity". Noting the general influence of C. Debussy on the work of J. Elgiser, we can assert that the Bukovynian perceived the separate aspects of his style, in particular, the desire for a pictorial program, the creation of genre and everyday scenes, musical portraits, scenes of nature. However, J. Elgiser brought his program to a different level, enriching it with autobiographical subjects, historical events of his time, philosophically significant themes. The music of the composer has content, but, as G. Hegel says, "not in the sense of fine art and not in the sense of poetry, for what it does not possess is objective self-mounting - whether in the form of true external phenomena or in the form of spiritual contemplations and representations in their objectivity" [1, 97]. As

S. Yarotsinsky accurately points out, thinking about the work and his perception, that in the work of the composer "there is a well-known amount of experience that he wants to share" [9, 73]. In spite of the direct affiliation of many works of J. Elgiser to personal themes, he created them not only for himself, but for himself, musicians and listeners. He could be mistaken in assessing the abilities that he could perceive, but he never forgot that the written work should deliver some aesthetic experience to them.

Relying on traditional genres and forms and composer techniques, the source of expressiveness for J. Elgiser was the melody that submits all other elements of the musical language, in particular, harmony, style, the key plan. As I. Kobyatska notes, "the melodic contour is considered by the composer in the traditional sense as a sphere of expressing the key features of the artistic image embodied in the themes" [5, 63]. Therefore, the significance of the program of the work, his artistic intention in connection with ever relevant life events and images is the first principle of composer's thinking of J. Elgiser.

The program titles of individual works, cycles, and parts of them J. Elgiser relates to impressions of communicating with people, visiting art exhibitions and museums dedicated to great composers. These works, in fact, become peculiar musical portraits, sometimes transformed into works-stylizations and works- dedications. Among the instrumental opuses associated with dedications, we shall note the following: "In the Studio of the Artist" (dedicated to I. Kholomenyuk), "We Play Together (dedicated to M. Glinka Quartet)", "Pictures from the Exhibition" (dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Union of Artists of Ukraine), "Reminiscence of Rose Auslander", "The Epitaph to the Musical School" (on the last day of existence), "Reminiscences-Collages" ("In Memory of I.K. Petrov", "In Memory of I.P. Rybalka", "In memory of I. N. Kachanov"), "The Epitaph to Svyatoslav Fedorov", "Epitaph to Prof. V. Krutsiak". This list is complemented with works written under the impressions of exhibitions: in addition to the above-mentioned "Pictures", they are distinguished by their colour "Metaphysical Sketches" (after the visit of the exhibition of M. Shemyakin), "After Visiting the Exhibition of Artist Kovalyuk".

"Pictures from the Exhibition" is a cycle of 6 miniature musical paintings, each of which reveals an entirely independent artistic image. "Brief Survey" opens the cycle, reminding "Walk" from "Pictures" by M. Mussorgsky, direct imitation of whose creativity is immediately noticeable. The main expressive element of the original play of the cycle is a variable meter, which is expressed in the times of 4/4, 5/4, 3/4. Uneven change in time size symbolizes the slow and irregular movement of the visitor to the exhibition, who moves from one painting to another. Some parts of the cycle are endowed with the signs of musical portrait. The choice of the composer was fixed upon the portraits of Chernivtsi artists - a poetess Tamara Severnyuk and a violinist Yuriy Gina. It is notable that, despite the program names ("Familiar Features of the Poetess", "The Regalia of the Violinist"), the composer refers to the specific characters only at the end of the play, as if emphasizing the reluctance to immediately "impose" his plan on the performer and the listener. Such "concealment" and riddles are also characteristic of C. Debussy's preludes. The features of the portrait of

T. Severnyuk are depicted in a romantic manner, conveying the character of the poet in a gentle and tender manner: soft and gentle intonations, quiet dynamics characterize the chamber, somewhat intimate character of her works. The image of the violinist is revealed differently: imitating the violin technique, J. Elgiser adds the contrast of the dynamics, modes of presentation, articulation, reproducing the skill of the artist and the manner of his play.

Portrait themes continue in the plays related to the names of prominent composers and performers of the past. In these works, J. Elgiser is trying to depict the characteristic features of the musicians' works and their style. Bright examples of such portraiture sketches are piano opuses "The Imitation of Tchaikovsky", "Echoes after the Sound of Violin Sonata by S. Frank" from the cycle "At Leisure", plays from the two-part cycle "In Memory of S. Richter", "In the Style of Chopin", "In the Style of Strauss" (dedicated to the 175th anniversary of his birthday), "A Moment with Mozart", "A Moment with Strauss", "A Moment with Brahms" from the cycle "A Tourist's Album. Moments".

Examples of musical portraits are often found in Western European music, in particular in the works of piano composers of the 18th - 19th centuries. Even in the works of French harpsichordists, for example, F. Couperin, we find plays - "Sister Monica", "Love", in which we notice the desire to convey certain features of nature, appearance, character of a person. Many of the bright musical portraits were created by R. Schumann in the Carnival: "Chopin", "Paganini", "Chiarina", "Estrel", "Florestan", and "Eusebius".

In the images created by J. Elgiser, there is no psychological deepening into the inner world, thoughts and feelings of the heroes. First and foremost, with the help of the genre the composer tries to convey the atmosphere of the creative work of the characters of his plays. Thus, Chopin's image is represented by mazurka, Strauss's and Tchaikovsky's - by a waltz, creating a faster impression of an uncompleted portrait of the artists, and a musical sketch inspired by the image. Thus, J. Elgiser does not try to write a stylization, which fully corresponds to the features of creative work of the composers of the past, but represents his own work, using separate elements of their style with the imposition of modern musical language.

Conclusions. Thus, creative thinking of the composer is in close connection with his vision of the world. The tendency to contemplation, dreaminess and reminiscences endowed his compositions with a lyrical character. The range of images revealed by J. Elgiser in music is very broad: almost all events of his life, impressions of communicating with people were conveyed by him through musical means. Opening the world around, the music of the composer demanded concretization, which influenced the essential features of his work. The main feature of his style is a program that is remarkable for direct autobiographic peculiarities. Almost all works of J. Elgiser have specific program names related to the events that the composer was a member of, the personalities with whom he had to communicate. The central place of his program music belongs to the works related to the theme of travel. The author collects various plays, written under the impression of touring trips around the countries of the world, in cycles under general names.

The program of J. Elgiser's creative works influences the structure of the musical whole, the thematic development and the colour of the musical language. Guided by traditional genres and forms of classical music, J. Elgiser becomes a continuer of academic trends and styles. Despite the originality of the plan and the contrast of ideas, the composer solves the problem of form-writing simply, since he predominates in his small forms, which are combined in cycles. The smallness of his musical scenes is connected with the presence of a large number of images and subjects rapidly changing subjects, which create the impression of "kaleidoscopicity" characteristic of his music on the whole. Such principle of a composer's thinking is typical of the works of S. Prokofiev - one of the favourite composers J. Elgiser.

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