Abstract: The subject of the research is the work of jazz pianist and composer Nikolai Yakovlevich Levinovsky, the creator and leader of one of the most popular jazz ensembles in the 1980s, "Allegro", a representative of Russian jazz. His performing and composing activities during the 1970s and 1980s are considered in the socio-cultural context that determines the transformation of ideological and cultural norms. The author evaluates the activity of the Philharmonic chamber jazz ensemble "Allegro" by N. Y. Levinovsky as an important factor in activating the process of institutionalization of jazz in the Soviet cultural space. The evolution of N. Levinovsky's compositional thinking, which turned in the 1980s to experiments contributing to the formation of the autoimage of Soviet jazz, is considered. The author reveals the peculiarity of N. Ya. Levinovsky's compositional thinking, the stylistic relief of whose compositions was formed by a system of interpenetration of jazz music techniques and lado-intonation structures of national cultures. Based on the analysis of concert performances and studio recordings of the Allegro jazz ensemble, the specificity of the ensemble sound is revealed, the novelty of N. Y. Levinovsky's approach to the embodiment of the stylistics of swing or jazz-rock compositions is determined. The conclusion is made that N.Y. Levinovsky's compositional work is planned to bring jazz music techniques closer to national musical traditions, which contributes to the further development of jazz art, the expansion of the geography of its popularization and productive assimilation.

Keywords: big band, rock music, jazz rock, jazz piano player, jazz composer, Russian jazz, Soviet jazz, Allegro jazz ensemble, Nikolay Yakovlevich Levinovsky, jazz festival

Abstract: The subject of the research is the concerto for piano and orchestra "Erhuang" by the contemporary Chinese-French composer Chen Qigang (1951). The work, written in the mature period of the master's work, clearly demonstrates an artistically convincing synthesis of national and European musical traditions. Chinese influences are associated primarily with the reliance on the characteristic features of the Peking Opera jingju, French influences are due to the influence of the Impressionist style of Claude Debussy and the principles of musical writing by Olivier Messiaen, whose student was Chen Qigang. The main purpose of the study is to characterize the original features of the Erhuang concerto, due to the combination of influences from the Peking Opera and French music of the 20th century. The concert "Erhuang", one of the most repertoire works in the composer's heritage and a representative example of his style, is considered for the first time in Russian musicology. The main conclusions of the study: the national traditions of the Peking Opera are presented in the concert "Erhuang" on the modal modes (pentatonic scale of zhi), metro-rhythmic (patterns of luo gu dian zi), forma (traditional variations of banqiang ti) and timbre (imitation of the instruments of the Peking Opera ensemble and their tuning system) levels; French influences manifest themselves in a colorful harmonic palette (the influence of Debussy's musical language), as well as in the reception of Messiaen's technique (the theory of additional duration, the method of irregular increase and decrease in rhythm, the principle of motivic combinatorics, the sequential change of modes of limited transposition).

Keywords: Peking Opera, modern Chinese music, Messiaen's Chinese student, lo gu rhythmic patterns, banqiang ti variations, Olivier Messiaen, Chinese musical culture, Concerto, Chen Qigang, Chinese modes

Abstract: Two chronologically close musical interpretations of the myth of the ancient titan Prometheus are considered as the subject of the study: the symphonic poem by A.N. Scriabin and the chorus by S.I. Taneyev from the cycle "Twelve Choirs for Mixed Voices to the poems of Ya.P. Polonsky". The article discusses the specifics of the interpretation of Prometheus, one of the central symbols of European culture. It is noted that over its long history, the content of the Prometheus myth has been interpreted in a wide range from a rebel who goes to self-sacrifice for humanity, to an inspired artist-creator who revealed the benefits of culture to people; from the holy great martyr and prophet of the true God, to the leader of the revolutionary masses of the people. As a result of the analysis, it is concluded that the central motive in Taneyev's work is the vocation of the artist, who goes to self-sacrifice against the forces of evil and ignorance. In Scriabin, Prometheus is interpreted as the active creative energy of the Universe, entering into a struggle with matter and transforming it. The analysis also reveals a number of stylistic parallels in the legacy of the two composers, such as philosophical conceptuality, monumentality of the idea and its implementation, striving for the transformation of a person through art, rational foundations of creativity, orientation to Western European art samples. As opposite stylistic features, the composers belong to different poles of protectiveness and innovation in art, and different approaches to the use of the literary word are noted. The influence of innovative insights of composers on the development of musical art of the XX century is emphasized.

Keywords: Interpretation, Symbol, Symphonic Poem, Choral cycle, myth, Prometheus, Scriabin, Polonsky, Taneyev, The Silver Age

Abstract: The subject of the research is the artistic phenomenon of Nicolo Grimaldi, an outstanding Italian operatic castrato of the early 18th century. The author examines the creative biography and focuses on the analysis of the stage skills of the singer, who set the bar high for dramatic art in England. Nicolo Grimaldi (1673–1732) became famous under the pseudonym Nicolini (or Nicolino). His name became widely known thanks to the legendary performances on the stage of the Royal Theater in London in 1708–1712 and 1715–1717. The reconstruction of the vocal-dramatic profile of the singer, based on reliable historical sources, required to employ a comprehensive methodology, including historical, cultural and linguistic research methods. Information about Nicolini’s life and work has been still unknown to the Russian musical community and is being published in Russian for the first time. Various sources of information about Nicolini have been preserved: music-critical reviews in London newspapers, scores and librettos of operas, essays, letters and memoirs of contemporaries who testified to the character of the artist’s vocal and acting skills. They served as material for a historical and biographical analysis, the results of which will be of interest to both practicing singers and researchers of Italian baroque opera. The historical significance of Nicolini lies in the fact that, as an excellent singer and actor, he influenced the strengthening and development of Italian opera in the early period of its existence in London.

Keywords: theater criticism, audience, vocal art, acting technique, theatre, Italian Opera, London, singer, Nicolini, Nicolo Grimaldi

Abstract: The 19th century gave the world many talented opera performers, each of whom had his own artistic charisma and unique style of vocal performance. One of these singers was the bass-baritone Antonio Tamburini, a master of interpretation of the roles of Gioacchino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Saverio Mercadante, Giovanni Paccini, Carlo Coccia and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The subject of the research is the work of the early 19th century operatic baritone Antonio Tamburini. The object of the study is the opera parts performed by Tamburini over the years of work in theaters. The relevance of the study is due to the role of Antonio Tamburini in the formation and development of the baritone art at the beginning of the 19th century, as well as the lack of knowledge of the processes that took place in opera art in the era of early romanticism. This period is covered in the musicological works of O.V. Zhestkovoy, L.A. Sadykova, I.P. Drach, G. Potter, A. Jacobshagen, J. Stark, A.E. Hoffmann, S.V. Reshetnikova, however, the mentioned works are mainly devoted to the study of the operatic performance of tenors and sopranos. The period of the birth of baritone performance was not considered in the above works, and the work of Antonio Tamburini remained unexplored, which indicates the undoubted novelty of the work. The article focuses on primary sources: the singer's creative biography, described by the 19th century music critic Castile-Blaz, contemporaries' reviews of Antonio Tamburini's stage performances. The work is dominated by historical and theoretical research methods. The main conclusion of the work is to identify the main aspects of the performing style of Antonio Tamburini, revealing the secret of the uniqueness of his art.

Keywords: improvisation, vocal part, acting talent, interpretation, performing style, vocal technique, Antonio Tamburini, basso cantante, bas-baritone, vocalization