The paper focuses on the personality of Sergei Iosifovich Gessen, Russian philosopher and emigrant, who lived and worked in Czechoslovakia during the inter-war period. The main aim is to present Gessen's philosophy of pedagogy, mostly by means of his works, that were written and published during his stay in our country. This includes his articles for journal Russian school abroad, of which he was also an editor, his shorter studies but most importantly his monography Philosophical principles of pedagogy, which was partly rewritten by the author for the purpose of its Czech edition. Based on his works, we will try to formulate the topics and the principles, which Gessen emphasizes in his texts and which should be valid in his ideal pedagogical system. We will also consider, if the pedagogical topics he was analyzing are still up to date in contemporary circumstances. Keywords: Sergei Gessen, Sergius Hessen, Russian emigration, Russian philosophy, pedagogy

This treatise aims to uncover possible reasons as to why composers rework their compositions. In attempting to answer questions regarding musical and extra-musical (referential) criteria, surrounding conditions and the role performers play in acting as conduits of the aforementioned, the study focuses on three versions of Rachmaninoff’s second Piano Sonata, opus 36. The first of these was composed in 1913, the second constitutes the composer’s revision of this work in 1931, and the third, a subsequent amalgamation of both previously mentioned versions by pianist Horowitz in 1943. The research is grounded in the theoretical ideas of organicist musical structuralism and thematic/motivic transformation (Reti), musical hermeneutics and phenomenology, musical forces (Larsen) and authenticity in musical performance (Taruskin). In addition this study explores methods of critical reading that may be used to disclose the conflicting yet complementary demands of “conciseness” and “drama” contained within the parameters of the three aforementioned versions of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata Op. 36. An introductory chapter is followed by one in which a historical context provides the intertextual matrix against which the musical personae of Rachmaninoff and Horowitz, as well as the three versions of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata Op. 36, may be understood. The chapter thereafter provides a concise overview of the history of musical analysis and the Tendenzwende which signified the change from a purely positivistic analytical approach to a post-modernist perspective on musical critique, against which background a motivation is provided for the analytical approaches applied in this treatise. Chapters 4 and 5 present detailed readings of the sonata from the perspective of “conciseness” and “drama” respectively. In conclusion, the final chapter reflects on findings made and conclusion drawn, with particular reference to the authenticity debate in current musicological discourse.

This dissertation on Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op.43 is divided into four parts: 1) historical background and the state of the sources, 2) analysis, 3) semantic issues related to analysis (discourse), and 4) performance and analysis. The analytical study, which constitutes the main body of this research, demonstrates how Rachmaninoff organically produces the variations in relation to the theme, designs the large-scale tonal and formal organization, and unifies the theme and variations as a whole. The selected analytical approach is linear in orientation - that is, Schenkerian. In the course of the analysis, close attention is paid to motivic detail; the analytical chapter carefully examines how the tonal structure and motivic elements in the theme are transformed, repeated, concealed, and expanded throughout the variations. As documented by a study of the manuscripts, the analysis also facilitates insight into the genesis and structure of the Rhapsody. How Rachmaninoff develops his ideas through several notebooks - including sketches and drafts - is described. Later parts of the dissertation deal with programmatic aspects of the Rhapsody. Related to the composer's significant use of the Dies Irae melody, semantic issues concerning "love and death" are taken into account and closely related to the specific structure of the piece. Rachmaninoff's symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead, is a work which bears some intriguing resemblances to the Rhapsody in its larger structure as well as its ideology. Therefore, an interpretation of this work is provided to show the special relationship between the two pieces. The last chapter presents a discussion of two recordings of the Rhapsody by Rachmaninoff and Moiseiwitsch made in 1934 and 1938 respectively. Comparing and contrasting the different interpretations of each variation in these two historical recordings, this concluding part of the study explores ways in which analysis can be realized through performance.

The present diploma thesis deals with the life and compositional style of an important composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The work of Sergei Rachmaninoff belongs to the basic pianistic repertoire. Pianists approach it in different ways, and their concepts often differ greatly. The purpose of the the diploma thesis is to compare several interpretative performance and draw general conclusions.

The Commedia dell'arte was a form of Italian comedy prevalent from about 1560 to 1760. It was rooted in the comedy of ancient Greece and Rome, and it first appeared during the Middle Ages. An example of this is the comic opera The Love for Three Oranges, scored by Sergei Prokofiev.

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Sergei Rachmaninoff’s (1873-1943) Vocalise, a song without words, is possibly the most well-known song by the composer, though nowadays it is most often played by instrumentalists. In this thesis I will, with a focus on Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, explore whether interpretation methods differ in the presence of versus the absence of text, and whether one can develop one’s expression through working on the latter. To do this, I read the book Singing &amp; Imagination by Thomas Hemsley to gain insight into the art of singing as a whole and then applied it to my work, as well as interviewing a total of nine people—both singers and instrumentalists—about their views on the topic to acquire a broader mass of data from which to find common themes. Through this thesis, I discovered that, though the essence of interpretation stays the same even in the absence of text, one must use their imagination to a larger extent—or, perhaps, a better choice of words: in a different way—to compensate for the lack of words that usually give the singer clear guidelines about the meaning of, for example, a certain chord. I also learned to expand my understanding of the possible expressive means of the human voice—not limiting myself to the traditional ideal of a beautiful singing voice—as singing without words forces you to find other alternatives to verbal communication. Through this work, I feel like I have gained a larger toolbox for my artistry and freed myself from the limits I so easily put myself into when trying to do everything “right”. / <p>KONSERTPROGRAM:</p><p><strong>André Previn (1929-2019) </strong></p><p>Vocalise</p><p><em>Eveliina Ainsalo, sång</em></p><p><em>Blanka Hillerud, cello</em></p><p><em>Erlend Løvgren Auestad, piano</em></p><p></p><p><strong>John Corigliano (1938) </strong></p><p><em>Three Irish Folksong Settings:</em></p><p>1. The Salley Gardens (<em>Padraic Colum</em>)</p><p>2. The Foggy Dew (<em>Anonym</em>)</p><p>3. She Moved Through the Fair (<em>William Butler Yeats</em>)</p><p><em>Eveliina Ainsalo, sång</em></p><p><em>Tiitta Moilanen, tvärflöjt</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><strong>Frank Bridge (1879-1941)</strong></p><p>Come to me in my dreams (<em>Matthew Arnold</em>)</p><p>E’en as a lovely flower (<em>Kate Kroeker</em>)</p><p></p><p><strong>Sergej Rachmaninov (1873-1943) </strong></p><p>Vocalise</p><p><em>Eveliina Ainsalo, sång</em></p><p><em>Erlend Løvgren Auestad, piano</em></p><p></p><p><em>Medverkande</em>:</p><p>Eveliina Ainsalo, sång</p><p>Blanka Hillerud, cello</p><p>Tiitta Moilanen, tvärflöjt</p><p>Erlend Løvgren Auestad, piano</p><p></p><p>Ljudfilen innehåller inspelningen av Rachmaninovs Vocalise.</p>

This study uses Bergson's concepts of duration and spontaneous (now termed episodic) memory to reveal how musical material in Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 32 No. 10 in B Minor (1910) turns back on itself in recurring remembrances of its own past, bringing the listener out of ordinary time; a process that mirrors themes both from Rachmaninoff's life, and Arnold Böcklin's Die Heimkehr, the painting that inspired this piece. Time perception slows or even suspends when one reflects on the past, either a personal past or the historical past. Musical material in the Prelude undergoes analogous time warps. In conversation with Bergson's ideas, this study illustrates the unique temporal qualities in the musical language of the Prelude, for which standard forms of analysis fail to completely capture the essence. The overall aim is to demonstrate Rachmaninoff's idiosyncratic approach to piano writing, which many have discredited as anachronistic. This study suggests a new methodology – Bergsonian musical analysis – with which to understand the concealed innovations in Rachmaninoff's piano idiom. This study of Rachmaninoff's B Minor Prelude builds on publications concerning other Bergsonian interpretations of music in pursuing a thorough investigation of one work and its relationship with broader issues in philosophy and visual art. The result is a theoretical engagement with the Prelude that establishes a new methodology to deal with Rachmaninoff's piano idiom in general. A Bergsonian analytical technique reveals the real artistry behind Rachmaninoff's compositions – not just remnants of some past romantic idiom, but an idiosyncratic musical grappling with the nature of time and memory.

The essay begins with the overview of Russian-Soviet piano music from the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. Then, biographical information about Sergei Slonimsky and an overview of his major compositions is provided. The majority of the paper focuses on Slonimsky's Sonata for Piano (1963). A brief discussion of the Sonata's compositional history is followed by the formal analysis of the overall structure of the work. Slonimsky's original principle of organization of the music is emphasized: the system of constant interrelation of the main thematic material combined with elements of the sonata-allegro form. In the analysis of the harmonic language of the piece, the composer's extensive use of Russian folk elements such as diatonic melodies, sigh motives, parallel triads, and simultaneous use of the lower third with the major triad is pointed out. The rest of the paper focuses on issues of interpretation and performance. Special notice is given to the problem of incorporating a percussive type of playing with the elements of folk cantilena singing. The paper concludes with the history of Sonata's performances and a discussion of current recordings.

Liapunov's Twelve Transcendental Etudes, although derivative in nature, have significant musical and technical value, and are sometimes strengthened by the inspiration of other composers' works. Neither highly creative nor original, LIaounov drew on forms and techniques supplied by the great pianist-composers of Western Europe, such as Schwann, Chopin, and Liszt. Not to be overlooked is the influence of his teacher and friend, Balakirev.