Ru
EnA. Krylova, Cui Xiwen
Piano concerto in Guo Zujun’s creative heritage: on the origin of national genre tradition
The article is devoted to the study of the origins of the piano concerto genre within the academic musical tradition of China. The historical and cultural method of research allowed us to identify a number of characteristic features that define the specific peculiarities of the adaptation of this genre in the works of Chinese composers at the earliest stage of its mastering. The concerto genre was brought to the Chinese musical tradition in the first third of the 20th century. Modern compositional practice includes dozens of works in this genre, created for a variety of instruments, including those of folk origin, such as erhu, pipa, guzheng, bamboo flute, and others. A special place in this diversity is occupied by the piano concerto. It gained recognition due to a number of features inherent in the genre: its dialogic nature, the distinctive dynamics of the relationship between the orchestra and the solo instrument, the absence of strict canons in formal structure, and the broad expressive range of concerto compositions. In studying the initial period of the introduction of the piano concerto into the context of China’s academic music, the emphasis is placed on its first examples, found in the works by A. Avshalomov, Jiang Wenye, Zhang Xiaohu, Yang Juhuai, and Guo Zujun. The time span covers the years from 1935 to 1955. The article emphasizes the special role of Guo Zujun, whose First Concerto for piano and orchestra clearly defines the characteristic features of the national model of the genre, the identification of which determines both the main content of the study and its novelty. The composition’s conceptual foundation is based on national symbolism rooted in ancient Chinese philosophy, on the complementary contrast of key themes that does not imply their radical rethinking, on the methods of developing thematic material with an emphasis on repetition and variation, as well as on folk melodies and the melodic heritage of traditional national opera (in the works of Guo Zujun – Fujian opera). Additionally, principles of program symphony and other distinctive features allow us to speak of a national interpretation of the European genre model, whose development continued in the works of composers at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Key words
Guo Zujun, piano concerto, national model of the genre, conflict-free dramaturgy, melodies of traditional Fujian opera, sound imagery.
For citation
Krylova A., Cui Xiwen. Piano concerto in Guo Zujun’s creative heritage: on the origin of national genre tradition. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 1. Pp. 84–93.
