Sonata for viola and piano in the Russian musical art of the first third of the 20th century: works by N. A. Roslavets and S. N. Vasilenko

Abstract

The study examines the little-known and rarely performed Sonatas for viola and piano by N. A. Roslavets and S. N. Vasilenko, famous musicians and public figures, major representatives of the Russian school of composition, written due to the growing interest in viola performance, technical and artistic capabilities of the instrument. This trend is based on a direct response tothe work of V. V. Borisovsky, who became one of the great interpreters of this repertoire and determined the path of its development up to the present time. The sonata for viola and piano has become a space for experiment, symbolizing the departure from academic canons, the emergence of an alternative type of thinking, the birth of original musical systems. Another facet of this process came to be the compositions written in line with romantic tendencies characteristic of the chamber ensemble in Russian music. The paper focuses on the stylistic and genre features of these compositions, their artistic content, close to the current trends of musical art of the first third of the 20th century. The author displays a diverse palette of intellectual and creative facets, and identifies characteristic features of the composer's handwriting of Roslavets and Vasilenko in the context of traditions and innovation, successive relationships and new aesthetic views.