Ru
EnA. Chekalin
On the timbre identity of Boris Tishchenko’s string quartets
In the Russian chamber ensemble art of the second half of the 20th century, there is a clear tendency towards a purposeful renewal of the arsenal of musical language means used. Composers (primarily the generation of the “Sixties”) and musicians-performers sought to actively assimilate and implement a wide variety of techniques and devices of the “New Music”. In this context, various timbre techniques often appeared which contributed to the enrichment of traditional musical dramaturgy, and in the future, to the formation of an independent level of dramatic development associated with the active use of timbre means.
One of the illustrative examples of the appropriate interpretation of chamber ensemble music is the creative legacy of Boris Tishchenko (1939–2010), primarily his six String Quartets. Each of them reveals very original and distinctive timbre solutions – from more or less extended episodes and individual parts of cyclical works to conceptual ideas of a multi-part whole. The use of a wide range of bow traits and playing techniques, as well as their combinations, various variants of textural presentation (especially the technique of double notes and chords, which contributes to increasing the phonic potential of chamber ensemble writing), numerous means of polyphonic saturation of the musical facture (from classical imitative counterpoint to micro-polyphony), – all of this is a significant stimulus for the consistent formation of timbre-dramatic connections (“dialogues” or “conflict clashes”), conducive to the implementation of one or another artistic concept. Among such plans, according to the interpretation of the author of this article, can be considered “discussions” or “conflict oppositions” between the traditional and the innovative captured throughout B. Tishchenko’s Fifth and Sixth String Quartets.
Key words
Boris Tishchenko, chamber ensemble creative work, string quartets, timbre potential of expression, musical-dramaturgy development.
For citation
Chekalin A. On the timbre identity of Boris Tishchenko’s string quartets. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2024. No. 2. Pp. 112–118.
