M. Moszkowski’s chamber music and its role in modern ensemble performance

Section 1. Modern Revisions of Musical and Historical Heritage

Abstract

Statement of the problem. Since M. Moszkowski’s musical output is associated primarily with piano music, his chamber works have unfairly remained in the shadows. This is confirmed by the analysis of scientific sources, which convinces that the main attention of researchers is focused on the composer’s piano heritage. The article attempts to establish the role of chamber music in the composer’s work, as the musician created many ensemble works for string or wind instruments and piano. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to determine the value of M. Moszkowski’s chamber music and its role in modern ensemble performance. Research methods – historical and biographical, phenomenological, genre and stylistic; repertoire and performance, and textological approaches – determine the cultural context of M. Moszkowski’s chamber music. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the study of M. Moszkowski’s chamber music as a little-studied layer of his work.

Research results. The following chamber pieces by M. Moszkowski are analyzed: Piece for Violin and Piano without opus (1865–1869), Piano Quintet (1872), Spanish Dance op. 12a, No. 1 for clarinet and piano (1876), Two Concert Pieces for Violin and Piano op. 16 and “Melody” op. 18a, No. 1 for cello and piano (1878), Three Pieces for Cello and Piano op. 29 (1882), “Guitar” op. 45a, No. 2 for cello and piano and op. 45b, No. 2 for violin and piano (1888), “Pres du Berceau” op. 58a, No. 3 for violin and piano (1896), Waltz op. 15b, No. 5 for cello and piano (1902), Suite for two violins and piano op. 71 (1903), “Quatre Morceaux” for violin and piano op. 82 (1909). It has been established that most chamber works originated as ensemble versions of the author’s solo or orchestral works. Since M. Moszkowski was not only a pianist, but also a violinist and conductor, his chamber music most clearly shows the interpretation of the piano part as an ensemble of instruments, which confirms the division of voices according to “timbre layers” due to techniques inspired by string instruments. It is in chamber music that these “string” features are particularly prominent: next to real strings, one can clearly hear how the piano imitates their orchestral and ensemble expressive specifics.

Conclusion. During the study, it was found that most of M. Moszkowski’s chamber works originated as an ensemble version of his solo or orchestral works. Thus, the ensemble genre became a kind of creative laboratory for the composer, where he experimented primarily with the composition of instruments, improving the timbre and texture of his own works. In this regard, it can be assumed that the master’s ensemble works constitute an “improved” version of his original works. In the field of modern performance practice, the significance of M. Moszkowski’s chamber work is manifested primarily in the repertoire dimension. Against the background of established, often “canonized” programs with excessive concentration on a limited range of works (primarily “great” sonatas, concertos and cycles), his music offers an alternative path: the inclusion in solo and chamber programs of works that combine high artistic quality with relative compactness of form and accessibility of technical level.