Zhou D. Genre imagery in piano music of the twentieth century (based on works by European and Chinese composers)

Basing on the philosophical, psychological and musicological ideas about the imaginative content, genre and style of music, the author deduces the definition of the genre imagery concept. Genre imagery is defined as sensual representations, emotions, mental modalities, abstract ideas, in one word – meanings, that arise in the consciousness of the listener and musician due to the influence of musical genre expressive means. The author reveals the stylistic basis of this type of artistic sense of music, notes the peculiarities of the 20th century composers’ attitude to the genre-based musical creativity, emphasizes the importance of stylization in the poetics of modern music and analyzes the manifestations of genre imagery in the works of D. Shostakovich, P. Hindemith, M. Skorik, V. Bibik, O. Messian and D. Ligeti. The important scientific task of the study is to clarify the features of the genre system of Chinese piano music development, to identify its typical genre imagery, clarify the role of the principles of genre appliqué and stylization in the historical development of this system. Based on the methods of historical periodization, genre modeling and comparative stylistic analysis, author formulates conclusions about the endogenous historical development of the genre system of Chinese piano music; its dominant genres; the special role of the creative principles of genre application (at first stages) and genre stylization (at the present stage); the predominant types of genre imagery; the transition from the stage of expansion of genre styles to synthesis in the works of contemporary composers. The obtained results make it possible to plan the development of methods for modern works mastering in the process of pianists training.