On the Implementation of the A. Blok’s Poetry in the Symphonic Score of B. Tishchenko's Ballet The Twelve

Main Article Content

Yuri Ed. Serov

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between music and poetry in the ballet The Twelve by the outstanding Russian symphonist of the second half of the XX century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939–2010). The performance by the famous choreographer L. Yakobson, staged at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad in 1964, became one of the first avant-garde ballets in the Soviet Union.


The study focuses on the different approaches of the composer and choreographer to the stage performance of A. Blokʼs poetry, which led to serious creative disagreements and even conflicts during the preparation of the premiere. Tishchenko in his reading relied on Blokʼs verse, its rhythm, size and complex, sometimes unexpected semantics. The speech beginning in The Twelve is quite
tangible, the composer often follows Blokʼs lines literally. They now and then emerge in the flowof music, controlling it not only in the figurative-semantic and plot plans, but also in the rhythmicintonation.


The article contains musical examples showing the attentive attitude of the author of the music to the intonations of the poem The Twelve. Tishchenko seemed to be composing a romance or an opera based on the text of Blokʼs work, which, of course, was in conflict with deep ballet drama and choreographic principles.


Tishchenkoʼs work has led to an impressive artistic result: the ballet score is written in a fresh, original and modern language. Tishchenko's music became the basis of the first avant-garde Soviet ballet performance and, in this context, firmly entered the history of Russian art.


Keywords: Boris Tishchenko, Twelve, Alexander Blok, ballet, Leonid Yakobson, symphony orchestra.

Article Details

How to Cite
Serov Ю. Э. (2021). On the Implementation of the A. Blok’s Poetry in the Symphonic Score of B. Tishchenko’s Ballet The Twelve. Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 42(1), 90–98. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1246
Section
Word and Music
Author Biography

Yuri Ed. Serov, St. Petersburg Mussorgsky Music College Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Yuri Ed. Serov, Ph.D. (Arts), Director of the Student Symphony Orchestra. St. Petersburg Mussorgsky Music College