Abstract: The formation of European concertmaster schools began sequentially – in Germany (from the 15th century) and Italy (from the 16th century). In these two schools, the basic principles of the future profession of the pianist-concertmaster were crystallized. They significantly influenced the development of other national schools, primarily the French one. The object of research is concertmaster artistry. The subject of the article is the French concertmaster school. The aim of the article is to reveal the process of forming the performance characteristics of the French concertmaster school. The presented work details the influence of the artistry of Italian maestro al cembalo and German Korrepetitor on the French concertmaster culture. It traces the complex path of the French concertmaster school in acquiring national identity – from reverence for the German and Italian traditions to achieving an independent status and, furthermore, the formation of a reverse process – influencing the specifics of German Korrepetitor in the field of ballet. The author chose the following methods: textual analysis, comparative-analytical, and a complex of approaches for performing analysis of musical works. The article attempts for the first time to reconstruct the initial period of the formation and development of the French concertmaster school. The author proposes clarifications on the types of accompaniment used (primarily, ad libitum and obligato) in the compositions for joint music-making by French composers of the Baroque era, pointing to objectively existing disagreements on this issue. Based on the analysis of archival documents, new data about the activities of French maestro al cembalo and Korrepetitors are introduced into musicological discourse. Archival data also allow us to conclude that J.-B. Lully was proficient in keyboard instruments. The analysis of methodological literature leads us to conclude that there existed an elaborate system of approaches among practicing musicians in French musical culture of the 17th-18th centuries regarding the collaborative performance process involving the clavier, and there were intensive searches in the field of teaching children the art of accompaniment. The conducted research allows us to conclude about the eclecticism of the process of formation and development of the French concertmaster school, which absorbed the best traditions of the Italian and German schools in the 17th-18th centuries and achieved its own style by the beginning of the 19th century.

Abstract: The relevance of the proposed research lies in the process of formation, development and specification of concertmaster schools in different countries, which has not yet been disclosed in Russian and foreign musicology. In the proposed article, the author refers to the initial stage of crystallization of German-Austrian concertmaster art. The object of research is the concertmaster school in Germany and Austria. The subject of the research is the practical forms of the existence of keyboard accompaniment ad libitum and General Bass. The objectives of the research are to reveal the specifics of keyboard accompaniment ad libitum and General Bache in connection with the formation of German-Austrian concertmaster art; to analyze the manuscripts of master clavists available in open sources who specifically studied this type of performance; to introduce new information from German-language treatises, tablatures and archival sources about the creative and pedagogical activities of keyboard players into Russian musicology. The main research methods were: anthropological, historical-archival, comparative-analytical, a set of methods of performing analysis in their interaction according to the objectives of the study. For the first time in Russian musicology, a number of names of German and Austrian musicians who made a significant contribution to the development of concertmaster art at the initial stage of its formation are being introduced into scientific circulation. The author has found and analyzed a number of treatises and tablatures that reveal the specifics of keyboard accompaniment ad libitum and General Bass. It is proved that ad libitum accompaniment, which is based on an improvisational character, imposed a number of additional "conditions" on the keyboard player for its successful implementation: such a musician had to be able to skillfully build a polyphonic texture in the process of making music together, master the means of dynamics, depending on which voices and/or instruments he was playing music with; be able to transpose and read fluently from a sheet. The specifics of General-Bass accompaniment and its differences from basso continuo and basso numerato are determined. The conclusions of the study make it possible to better understand the essence, content and national characteristics of the German-Austrian concertmaster school, the foundation of which was laid in the XV-XVII centuries.

Abstract: The aim of this research is to trace back director functions in a professional activity of a piano concertmaster. The subject of the research is the work of a piano concertmaster with an ensemble composition using the stage production techniques. The author of the article analyzes a director method of working with a text, stage movements, expressivity, acting areas, etc. Kalitsky pays special attention to the organisation function of a director and piano concertmaster that is necessary for creation of a single artistic style. The author also touches upon the duality of acting and directing in an activity of a piano concertmaster. The author uses the comparative analytical methodology to analyze the activity of a director and concertmaster. He demonstrates that the ensemble model used to organize the sound and stage space is one of the most important functions in a professional activity of a piano concertmaster which can be achieved only through understanding and perception of directing techniques used to produce a stage action. The author of the article emphasizes the need in a directing approach to stage production and work of a piano concertmaster not only with ensemble partners but also for individual studying a musical text in factor, dynamic and agogical terms. Kalitsky underlines the importance of the solo performance training of a pianist for success as a director of a musical ensemble. Application of the research results in a professional activity of a concertmaster will give a better understanding of not only artistic targets faced by him or her but also organisation functions of a pianist in a musical ensemble. The author concludes that there is a need in ajdustment of current programs of piano concertmaster training in order to teach them director principles of being a pianist in a musical ensemble as well as independently seeking his or her artistic ensemble solutions.