The life and works of Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877–1952), part 2 – Classification of dance-inspired pieces

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The life and works of Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877–1952), part 2 – Classification of dance-inspired pieces

Journal Title: Notes Muzyczny - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 6

Abstract

It is widely thought that the main source of composition inspiration of Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877–1952), an artist of a Polish origin who was born and raised in the territory of the present- day Ukraine, was the need to add some variation to his concert piano repertoire1. Over time, writing music became more and more inspiring for him to finally turn into a priority element of his music activity. His whole creative output covers a few dozen pieces of different kinds, the style of which is mostly defined by the late Romantic genre that was present in the Russian music. Bortkiewicz’s compositions include, among others, an opera, symphonies, instrument concertos, orchestra and piano suites, songs, chamber works and piano miniatures. The variety of genres is not the only interesting aspect of his artistic heritage. The analysis of the currently available pieces showed that the dominant element in his creative output is the inspiration by dance. This inspiration is demonstrated in the composer’s tendency to create dance genres and stylisations, and in the use of certain selected dance elements in his works. It can also be noticed in many pieces which do not exemplify dance genres or forms and it is represented – among others – in the rhythmisation of main themes of a piece thanks to which a given fragment acquires a dynamic and dance-like character. This article touches on the problem of classification of works by Sergei Bortkiewicz inspired by dance. It was also aimed at determining the range of this inspiration in pieces varied in terms of their genres. The author has singled out the compositions which are examples of stylisations specified by the composer in the title, as well as the pieces which were not named “dance” as such but are dance stylisations nonetheless. The article also includes the compositions in which the dance element only occurs in selected spheres of a music piece. Its manifestations were analysed on the basis of the melodics, rhythm, modal structures being part of harmony and tonal basis of a piece, and texture. The research material were all Bortkiewicz’s compositions currently available.<br/><br/>

Authors and Affiliations

Agnieszka Kościelak-Nadolska

Keywords

Sergei Bortkiewicz dance

EP ID EP517747
DOI -
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