Neofolkloric tendencies in violin compositions by Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century

Abstract

The research aims to identify neofolkloric tendencies in violin compositions by Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century. The article examines methods of working with folk material in the musical texts of violin works by E. Denisov, S. Slonimsky, R. Shchedrin, and A. Eshpay. While in the first half of the 20th century, the adaptation of ancient folk sources occurred within the framework of traditional classical genres and forms, the postmodern aesthetic period saw a new phase of development emerge – through the synthesis of folklore and compositional techniques. In this context, folk material finds various forms of embodiment in contemporary violin music. The scientific novelty is due to the fact that the study of the influence of folk art on the individual compositional style of violin works by Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century is for the first time the subject of musicological research. As a result of the work, it is established that during the period under consideration, the genre palette of violin works expanded. Many contemporary composers turned to genres and forms of folk music. However, direct quotation of folk material diminished. The interpretation and transformation of folk sources occurred through the lens of individual compositional technique and the expressive means of various compositional approaches. Consequently, the assimilation of folk art was achieved through the deeper layers of folkloric archaic elements, intonations, rhythms, and modal-harmonic structures.

Research materials

1. Андрей Эшпай: Беседы. Статьи. Материалы. Очерки / сост. Е. Гульянц. М: Советский композитор, 1988.

References

1. Асафьев Б. В. О народной музыке / сост. И. Земцовский, А. Кунанбаева. Л.: Музыка, 1987.
2. Головинский Г. Л. Композитор и фольклор: из опыта мастеров ХIХ-ХХ веков: очерки. М.: Музыка, 1981.
3. Григорьева Г. В. Стилевые проблемы русской советской музыки второй половины XX века. М.: Советский композитор, 1989.
4. Гусев В. Г. Фольклор и социалистическая культура (к проблеме современного фольклоризма) // Современность и фольклор: статьи и материалы. М.: Музыка, 1977.
5. Земцовский И. И. Фольклор и композитор. Теоретические этюды. Л.: Советский композитор, 1977.
6. Иванова Л. П. Типология фольклоризма в русской музыке XX века: автореф. дисс. … д. иск. СПб., 2005.
7. Слонимский С. М. Мелодика. СПб.: Композитор Санкт-Петербург, 2018.
8. Холопова В. Н. Российская академическая музыка последней трети XX – начала XXI века. М.: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, 2015.
9. Шахназарова Н. Г. Проблема народности в советском музыкальном искусстве на современном этапе. М.: Музыка, 1987.
10. Щуров В. М. Жанры русского музыкального фольклора: учебное пособие для музыкальных вузов и училищ: в 2 ч. М.: Музыка, 2007. Ч. 1. История, бытование, музыкально-поэтические особенности.

Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: October 20, 2025.
• Published: November 24, 2025.

Keywords

• неофольклоризм
• тенденции
• композиционные техники
• композиторское письмо
• neofolklorism
• tendencies
• compositional techniques
• compositional style

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)
© 2025 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)