Liu X. Music of Chinese composers for duets of traditional instruments with piano: genre-style and performing aspects

The relevance of the research is conditioned by the necessity to study the performing aspects of the music of Chinese composers for duets of traditional instruments with piano. It is determined that the genre sphere of duets folk instrument – wood and strings – with piano is quite interesting area of Chinese chamber instrumental music. In such music, the European norms of classical musical forms and the richness of the dynamic and textural capabilities of the piano are synthesized with the signs of Chinese musical language, as well as the timbre-coloristic features of the national instruments. The popularity of instrumental duets is confirmed by the mobility of the performing staff and the freedom of creativity of Chinese composers. In such music, the authors reflect a metaphorical dialogue between the cultural worlds of East and West, combining different traditions of writing and performing music. It is symptomatic that the genre sphere of duets with piano in China has significantly intensified after the 2000s, which is associated with the country's openness policy and the general globalization processes that engulfed the world at the end of the last century. The repertoire of duets traditional instruments with piano is proved, their popularity among the public and, at the same time, the lack of knowledge of such works, which serves as a weighty reason for their research. The object of research is chamber instrumental music of China of the 20th – 21st centuries. The subject of research is the works of Chinese composers for duets of traditional instruments with piano. The purpose of the study is to determine the genre-style, compositional and performing features of the music of Chinese composers for duets of traditional instruments with piano. The concept of the dissertation necessitated the systematization of scientific literature in the following areas of musicology and related fields of knowledge: scientific papers on the history and theory of chamber music and ensemble performance; researches dedicated to the history of ensemble performance in China and the features of Chinese ensemble music; researches in which the problem of interaction between Western and Eastern musical traditions is studied; scientific papers dedicated to program music; researches of the problems of performing features and interpretation of music and a wide range of studies on the history and theory of musical art. The selected research methodology, which is based on a combination of art history and interpretological approaches, general and special methods, made it possible to: understand the dynamics of the development of chamber instrumental performance in China, in particular the duet genre; to demonstrate the peculiarities of compositional writing and performance of Chinese musicians in selected duets of national instrument with piano; identify their genre characteristics; to outline the features of the performance style of Chinese musicians who turn to the duet genre; compare different ensemble interpretations of duos; consider duets of traditional instruments with piano in cultural and geographical differentiation; to study the influence of the program design on the internal activity of the works; to reveal the peculiarities of the compositional structure of selected duet opuses. In the dissertation for the first time: systematized data on duets of traditional instruments with piano by Chinese composers at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries; characteristic features of the program content of duets traditional string and wind instruments with piano by modern Chinese composers were revealed; the peculiarities of the interpretation of selected duets by Chinese musicians – bearers of the original/authentic performance tradition of music-making are defined. The concept of "instrumental duet with piano" as a piano ensemble with a solo instrument has been clarified on the basis of the corresponding parity distribution of functions between them. It was determined that chamber instrumental music of the academic model is a fairly young branch of creativity and dates back a little more than a century. During this period, Chinese composers managed to create a solid foundation for the development of this branch of music, including within the genre of duets Chinese traditional instruments with piano. It has been established that the popularity of these works is due to the role of traditional instruments in Chinese culture and the process of their academicization, which continues to this day. It was revealed that an important role in the spread of the duet genre in China was played by the appearance of the piano in the country at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the capabilities of which were highly appreciated by Chinese composers.