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12STYLISTIC FEATURES OF P. TCHAIKOVSKY'S PIANO
LEGACY
N.K. Khusanova
State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10283403
Abstract. This article examines and analyzes the main stylistic features of the piano work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: features of melody, imagery, texture, rhythm, intonation, etc.
Keywords: Tchaikovsky, piano, heritage, composer, play, genre, form, pianist.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was an outstanding romantic composer of the 19th century and one of the most famous Russian composers. He was also known as a virtuoso pianist, and his piano heritage is vast and varied. He expanded the technical capabilities of the piano and enriched piano literature with new genres, forms, techniques, artistic images and sound colors. Tchaikovsky wrote music for piano throughout his life. He wrote a huge number of piano works in a wide variety of genres. These are miniature pieces, applied dance pieces, large-form works (sonatas, variations) and concerts for piano and orchestra.
In 1873, Laroche wrote about a group of Tchaikovsky's piano pieces that had appeared in print by that time: "... it is easy to notice that his talent does not develop in them in full brilliance, that Tchaikovsky in small plays shows less ingenuity, less fire and less art than in larger works. He needs the luxurious, diverse colors of the newest orchestra and the wide scope of symphonic forms; Only in these vast and brilliant spheres does he feel at home, and where his palette becomes poorer, he becomes poorer along with his palette." A little later, the critic softens the categoricalness of his verdict, making some adjustments: "However, in melodic terms, those piano pieces that do not represent virtuoso claims are much more attractive. Many of Mr. Tchaikovsky's piano pieces were played publicly in Moscow. It is highly desirable that the example of Moscow pianists finds more imitators [1].
Laroche's opinion is, in general, fair in relation to Tchaikovsky's piano work. Tchaikovsky was not a "piano-minded" composer: from a purely pianistic point of view, his works for piano are often insufficiently advantageous and not very convenient for performance. But they attract with the freshness, imagery of the music, simplicity and spontaneity of expression.
The piano works of P.Tchaikovsky are a significant in scale, diverse in content and form part of the creative heritage of the great composer, which synthesized the most important trends in Russian instrumental music of the 2nd half of the 19th century, developed by A. Rubinstein and the composers of the Mighty piles.
Tchaikovsky worked in all the main genres of piano music and enriched each of them with works of high artistic value. Many essential features of his artistic appearance were embodied in his piano works. Tchaikovsky chose the piano to express the subtlest shades of lyrical moods, for musical sketches of pictures of nature and everyday folk scenes, for plays in the genre of "urban" dance music. He dedicated a number of concert works to this instrument. In total, Tchaikovsky created 117 piano works.
One of Tchaikovsky's best-known works for piano is The Seasons, a set of 12 short piano works, each dedicated to one month of the year. In this series, Tchaikovsky used various genres
and techniques to convey the character of each month, from a capricious January waltz to a sad November song.
Tchaikovsky's famous piano works include his two piano concertos - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 (Op. 23) and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2. Both concerts are large-scale works that require a high level of virtuosity and technical skill from the performer. They are also distinguished by their deep emotional intensity and epic scale, which makes them one of the most famous and popular piano concertos in world musical literature.
Tchaikovsky's most famous work for piano is the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. This concerto was written in 1875 and is one of the most famous piano concertos in the history of classical music [2]. It uses many of the characteristic elements of Tchaikovsky's music, such as emotionality, melody and romantic lyrics.
Tchaikovsky's creative activity in the field of concert and chamber instrumental music was of fundamental importance for the mastery and development of these genres on Russian soil. His concerts and concert-type pieces for piano, violin or cello and orchestra, combining the richness and brightness of the material with a wide virtuoso scope and symphonic scale, have become a new word in Russian, and to a large extent, world musical art.
Tchaikovsky paid attention to the creation of piano works throughout his life. Although he enriched his experience over the years, the characteristic features of his piano music were already clearly defined in the 60s, that is, in the early period of his creative activity [3]. We find here the "Russian Scherzo", as a prologue to numerous works of this genre, and melodious lyrical pieces ("Song without Words" Op. 2, "Romance" op. 5), and virtuoso waltzes ("Waltz-Caprice" Op. 4, "Waltz scherzo" op.5). Of course, in these works, as in the plays of the early 70s, Tchaikovsky's creative range is not yet fully revealed, all sides of his piano style are not presented, but still, in the best works of this period, the composer revealed his attitude to the instrument, his approach to the use of artistic means of the piano. The 70s were the most fruitful period of Tchaikovsky's piano work. In this decade he created such world-famous works as 2 pieces op. 10 (of which the "Humoresque" in G major is especially popular), 6 pieces op. 19, including the excellent "Theme and Variations" in F major and the famous "Nocturne" in C sharp minor, 6 pieces on the same theme, Op. 21, Concerto in B flat minor Op. 23, "The Seasons", "12 Pieces of Medium Difficulty" Op. 40, "Children's Album", "Grand Sonata" in G major op. 37 and second concert in G major. In the next decade, the composer's piano works were presented on a much more modest scale. Of all the things he wrote in the 80s, the "Concert Fantasia" in G major, Op. 56, "Dumka" op. 59 and several lyrical miniatures from 6 pieces op. All the more surprising is Tchaikovsky's unexpected return to the piano in the last year of his life. In April 1893, he created 18 pieces op. 72, in September begins the third concert in E flat major Op. 75 and having finished it in October, he immediately writes "Andante and Finale". These works for piano and orchestra were the result of reworking sketches for the Symphony in E flat major. The composer's last piano work was his never completed "Impromptu" in A flat major, which was finalized after the author's death.
P. Tchaikovsky's piano works are distinguished by many stylistic features that reflect his talent and individuality as a composer. One of the most striking features of Tchaikovsky's music is his melodic mastery. He was capable of creating rich and beautiful melodies that were easy to remember and often used vocal themes in his piano works. Tchaikovsky's melodies usually include a wide range of notes, arpeggios and legato, which gives them expressiveness and fluidity. Another feature of Tchaikovsky's music is its sensual and emotional expression. He used music to express
his emotions and often wrote works that were a personal reflection of his feelings and moods [4]. This is evident in his piano works, in which he uses a wide range of dynamic shades and tempos to convey a variety of emotions. In addition, Tchaikovsky's music is often distinguished by its use of simple harmonic progressions, which create a clear and understandable harmonic structure. He also often used variation techniques to develop his melodies and create more complex structures. Finally, Tchaikovsky's music is characterized by great virtuosity, both in terms of performance and composition. His piano works often contain complex figures, fast tempos and various techniques such as octaves, chords and arpeggios, which require high technical skill from the pianist. Tchaikovsky's individual creative style was formed in the complex process of assimilating the achievements of world musical art. Tchaikovsky perceived and reflected the art of classicism in his work, primarily through Mozart. From Beethoven he inherited the ability to create large symphonic forms, using the method of effective Beethoven symphonism, and adopted a lot from romantic music. This is the lyrical, "confessional" nature of his work, the reliance on genre-specific images, the tendency towards programmaticity. The passion for affirming lyrical emotion brings Tchaikovsky's music closer to the works of Schumann, Schubert, and Berlioz. The art of French lyric opera, as well as romantic ballet, was also close to the Russian composer [5].
Tchaikovsky boldly turned to the intonation structure of contemporary musical life. The composer relied on the intonation basis of urban and peasant songs and everyday romance. His style was formed on the basis of the achievements of Russian professional music, primarily the work of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky. The features of Tchaikovsky's musical style were formed early and remained quite stable, although at the same time the creative evolution of the composer was a complex process. The evolution of Tchaikovsky's work is like two gigantic waves, each of which ended with its peaks-culminations - the Fourth Symphony and "Eugene Onegin" (18771878); "The Queen of Spades" and the Sixth Symphony (1890-1893) [6]. The first period lasted about twelve years (1866-1877), the second (1878-1893) had an internal edge - 1885, after which a certain new look emerged in the late mature style of the composer. Relying on tradition and not striving to become a composer-reformer, Tchaikovsky nevertheless became a great innovator in his art. Using for the most part traditional forms and genres, Tchaikovsky found in them untapped possibilities; the formation and enrichment of forms and genres primarily happened along the path of their mutual influence and interaction. Tchaikovsky's work is amazing in its breadth of genre coverage. Innovation was expressed in each of the areas to which the composer addressed. He became the creator of lyrical drama in opera and symphony, the founder of a new symphonic ballet, concert-symphony.
Features of Tchaikovsky's piano work include its melodic elegance, harmonic expressiveness, extraordinary rhythmic solutions and emotional depth. His works for piano cover a wide range of emotional states, from delight to sadness, from drama to lyricism [7]. Tchaikovsky's music often has a romantic element, with strong emotional expression and internal drama, due to which they continue to remain popular in performing and listening practice. They represent a unique combination of masterful technique, sensory depth and musical beauty, making them an unsurpassed contribution to world musical culture.
REFERENCES
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3. Чайковский М. И. Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского : (По документам, хранившимся в архиве в Клину). В 3 т. М., 1997.
4. Асафьев Б.В. О музыке Чайковского. Л., 1972.
5. Асафьев Б.В. Инструментальное творчество Чайковского. Пд., 1922.
6. Будяковский А. Чайковский. Симфоническая музыка. Л., 1935.
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