Art “talismans” of Kharkiv: symbols and thoughts. In memory of Tetyana Vyerkina and Volodymyr Ptushkin

Abstract

Statement of the problem. In 2022, Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts celebrates the 105th anniversary of its foundation and, despite the difficult conditions of wartime, it honours the memory of its outstanding artists – T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin. Continuing the national tradition, their creative legacy is a remarkable achievement of Ukrainian musical art. The creative experience of these prominent artists reveals the ways for the further successful development of the University and the domestic musical art, and its comprehending becomes one of the urgent research tasks. Recent research and publications. The life and creativity of T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin were reflected in the modern musicology studies (portrait-book “Tetiana Vierkina: to Change the World by Art”, 2016; Shubina, 2019; Verbitska-Shokot, 2007; Drach, 2009; Bondarenko, 2014; Derkach, 2015; Krichenkova, 2015; Sediuk, 2017; Savchenko, 2018; Kuzmina, 2019; Nikolaievska, 2020). In the context of the article the linguistic-cultural and musicological works on the theory of symbols and concepts were important (Svyrydov, 2011; Dmytrenko, 2015; Gazheva, 2021; Nikolaievska & Shapovalova, 2021). In connection with T. Vyerkina’s and V. Ptushkin’s creativity the symbolism of the concept as “talisman” was not considered. Objectives, methods, novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to consider the individual contribution of People’s Artists of Ukraine, Professors T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin, to the development of creative traditions of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts. The proposed cultural-epistemological approach, based on existential reflection, is innovative in the disclosure of the topic, which makes it possible to see the “concentric circles” of the influence of an artistic personality in the spatial and temporal coordinate system of culture. Metaphorically likening such an influence to the action of a “talisman”, we fill this concept with a symbolic meaning. Research results. A compositional-dramaturgical, genre-style and performing-interpretative analysis of V. Ptushkin’s romance “Talisman”, which was constantly performed by T. Vyerkina in a duet with the composer, is presented; her performance of the vocal part became “exemplary” from the composer’s viewpoint, which allowed this musical piece to “inherit” the status of a kind of stage talisman for both artists. The circles of influence of the concept-symbol “talisman” have been revealed: in art, at various levels, artists themselves, their works, ideas, , principles, schools, performance versions, i.e., that creative energy, which according to the model of concentric circles covers different layers of cultural life, often become “talismans”. The interpretation of the creative work by T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin, presented in the article, reveals the significance of the pedagogical activity of artists as “teachers-talismans”, bearers of the achievements of the “school”, and reveals the symbolism of the “talisman” metaphor in the “composer – performer – listener” system. So, not every student manages to find “his” teacher, that is, one with whom a special internal “energy-informational” connection is established, however, if this search becomes successful, then a “talisman symbol” appears, the function of which is performed by the teacher and his school. Talent, creative energy, charisma, professionalism contribute to the appearance of such a “teacher-talisman”. In the same way, the performer may or may not become a kind of “talisman” for the composer to attract listeners to him. The idea of “actual performing intoning” (T.Vyerkina) and personal characteristic composer’s intonation (V. Ptushkin) were tested on the concert stage, demonstrating the unity of theory and practice. The role of the festival “Kharkiv Assemblies”, founded by T. Vyerkina, and the history of the development of the University of Arts – a kind of “talismans” of the city – are also interpreted in a symbolic way. At the centre of the Festival, which took place within the walls of the University, has always been a Human as a creative personality, and this theme covers different eras. Popularization of the Ukrainian art, in particular works by Kharkiv composers, for which T. Vyerkina often was became the first interpreter, was one of the dominant festival strategies. So, the musical composition appears as a meta-message from the Past through the Present to the Future, and this makes art able to model new strategies of cultural development. Conclusion. The comprehension of the traditions of the Alma Mater and the ways of their continuity in the system of “resonant connections”, which is based on the phenomenon of the university as a centre of knowledge, and the grateful memory of Kharkiv artists open up an inexhaustible prospect of further researching the “concentric circles” of their influence on the development of domestic musical art.