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abstracts
Katerina
Maniou: The relationship of Alfred Schnittke to serialism and its
application during the post-experimental phases of his work
This
article investigates Schnittke’s relationship to serialism on an
ideological and compositional level. Initially, it presents the
specific conditions that favored the dissemination of serial
techniques in the early post-Stalin years. It focuses on their
connection to the formation of the unofficial Soviet music, which
coincides with the rise of Schnittke’s generation, while collates
the specificities of serialism’s application in the Soviet
environment in comparison to the West during the Cold War. Then, it
examines the unfolding of Schnittke’s relationship to serialism,
while tracing its main characteristics. Key point of this is proved
to be Schnittke’s ideological convergence to the concept of
“Idea” as described by Arnold Schoenberg. Through a comparative
study of the two composers’ opinions, a remarkable identification
concerning the apprehension of the compositional process emerges,
whereby the ostensible contradiction between Schnittke’s
judgmental attitude towards serialism, with its simultaneous
adoption as a sovereign tool throughout his creative life is
clarified. Finally, through four case studies, it is attempted to
show and codify various versions of serialism’s application, as
well as to highlight Schnittke’s ideological affinity to the first
modernism, which routes from the obedience to the concept of “Idea”.
Sokratis
Georgiadis: Compositional thought and cadential structures in early
and middle Renaissance polyphony: Fishing in troubled waters
In
an attempt to approach some of the most important issues that keep
recurring in the scholarship of the past twenty years, we will try,
through this article, to focus on specific aspects concerning the
evolution of compositional thought during early and middle
Renaissance polyphony. By observing the thought of the theoretical
minds of this era, we will attempt to point out some of the most
essential prerequisite structural elements of cadential structures,
which the theoretical writings of this period seem to share in
common. In the outset of this survey, we will offer some points for
further discussion on our effort to approach safer grounds regarding
the validity of our conclusions. Finally, we will try to elaborate
on our ability to substantiate our research in a most effective way,
by aiming at highlighting the need to adopt a more cautious and
rather wider approach, more sensitive to the actual music as well as
the theoretical texts that the creators of the period passed down to
us.
Dionysia
Blazaki: Hegel and Schopenhauer: The abstraction in music
The
present paper attempts to indicate, systematize and reconstruct the
significance of the notion of abstraction in Hegel’s and
Schopenhauer’s aesthetics of music. Since both philosophers
include the art of music in their system of aesthetics by setting
criteria for the nature of music itself that are related to the way
in which each philosopher constructs his idealism, the article
examines the notion of abstraction as this transits from the theory
of knowledge to the art of music through each one’s individual
theory of aesthetics. In the case of Hegel, we approach the
principles of aesthetics of music that the philosopher establishes
in reference both to his system itself and to the contemporary
reflection on his texts; we additionally explore the notion of
abstraction from the point of view of the musical forming process
and in the context of its organic development, and also the
correlation that the form has with its content. In the case of
Schopenhauer, we examine the notion of abstraction in regard to the
possibility of music to attribute directly its emotional contents;
also, as a reference to the phenomena of representation, as well as
in relation to the social and cultural parameters; finally we
highlight the problems that arise from the methodology of
Schopenhauer.
Solon
Raptakis: The Fifth Piano Sonata of Alexander Scriabin: A dialogue
with sonata forms
The
ten piano sonatas of Alexander Scriabin are considered to be one of
the composer’s most important bodies of works, in which becomes
visible with considerable clarity the gradual evolution of
compositional technique and selection of musical material along with
the resulting formation of a unique personal style. The Fifth Sonata,
opus 53, stands on the verge between the styles of late romanticism
and emergent modernism; this ascertainment is based for the most
part on judgments and evaluations that concern its harmonic features,
the handling of motivic material, as well as extramusical
associations, while research has so far placed less weight on its
formal design. The present study ventures to fill this gap; it
focuses on the peculiarities of form and attempts to compare it with
and incorporate it in the different guises of sonata form (tripartite,
bipartite et al.), on the basis of which the work’s formal design
can be explicated. We do not set as our foremost goal the
identification with a particular structural model, as the most
fitting, but rather the highlighting of the problematic of form in
Scriabin’s mature work, along and in combination with the above
mentioned components.
Vasileios
Kalagkias: Form and technique in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
independent sets of variations for keyboard (Part I)
This
study refers to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s independent sets of
variations: 16 solo keyboard sets, 2 sets for keyboard and violin,
and one for keyboard duet. Through the consideration of the works,
is attempted the outcome of conclusions about the form and the
techniques Mozart used and the way that Mozart improvised, since
some of them were performed in public by the composer even before
they had been written. In the first part of the study the variation
sets are considered in chronological order, which is validated by
recent literature. The study of each work includes historical
information, which is followed by an examination of the structure
and important elements of the themes and leads to the consideration
of modifications that Mozart uses in each variation separately and
in relation to the overall structure of each set. The second part
includes the conclusions in respect to the form of the themes, the
types of variations in the studied repertoire, the sequence of the
variations and the techniques used by the composer. These
conclusions are placed within the broader historical context,
considering important theoretical studies.
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