About the Symphonism of the “Little Tragedies” by Alexader S. Pushkin

Main Article Content

Anatoly M. Zucker

Abstract

The author of the article continues the tradition of comprehending A. S. Pushkin’s works in the light of musical regularities which have developed in Russian literary criticism and musicology. He examines the “Little Tragedies” of the great Russian poet and dramatist in the context of symphonism by interpreting its universal understanding as a musical and artistic method of investigating the dynamics of the surrounding world, contradictory processes taking place in life itself, its dialectics. The manifestation of this method in literary tragedies creates their special predisposition to musical implementation in the conditions of symphonized opera dramaturgy. By the example of the tragedies “The Covetous Knight”, “Mozart and Salieri”, “The Stone Guest”, “A Feast in the Time of Plague” the author shows how the universal interconnection of phenomena and processes – a natural property of symphonic thinking is realized in them. The indicated interconnection in musicological language could be designated as an end-to-end symphonic process of interacting figurative-thematic spheres,which are realized both in individual pieces and in the frame of the entire “cycle”. The article also traces how from the “metaphoric” Pushkin symphonism grows real musical symphony in the operas on the same name by Russian classical composers; how the highest logic of the “Little Tragedies”, their semantic symbolism gives life to a semantically filled movement of musical material and dynamic intonation-thematic processes. Based on the S. V. Rachmaninov’s opera “The Covetous Knight”, the author of the article demonstrates the influence of Pushkin`s drama, which initiates many creative searches of the composer and exerts a powerful influence on the concept and dramaturgy of the opera


Keywords: symphony, “Little Tragedies”, drama, images-symbols, artistic method, opera, Pushkin, Rachmaninov.

Article Details

How to Cite
Zucker А. М. (2021). About the Symphonism of the “Little Tragedies” by Alexader S. Pushkin. Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 42(1), 70–80. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1244
Section
Word and Music
Author Biography

Anatoly M. Zucker, Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Anatoly M. Zucker, Dr. Sci (Arts), Professor, Scientific and Creative Head of the Music History Chair, Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory