THE GENRE OF TRANSCRIPTION AS A DRIVER OF COMPOSER-PERFORMER SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Throughout much of its history, keyboard transcription has played an important practical role in the development of music. The transcriptions by Liszt, Thalberg, and others became the nineteenth-century equivalent of modern recordings, making vocal, orchestral, and operatic repertoire accessible to a much wider audience than had previously been possible.However, the value of transcription goes far beyond purely practical considerations. When transcriptions are assessed objectively, they often reveal a high degree of creativity and, in many cases, are aurally almost indistinguishable from original piano works. Moreover, many transcriptions sound just as convincing and organic as the orchestral, vocal, or operatic originals from which they are derived. The high demands placed on the authors of transcriptions encourage composers and performers to discover new pianistic techniques for their realization. The purpose of the article is toidentify the influence of transcription-making experience on the pianist’s performance skills. The research methodology isbased on theoretical analysis and also takes into account the extensive practical and performance experience of composer- performers. The scientific novelty of this work lies in identifying the impact of practical transcription experience on composer-performer practice. Conclusions. Considering the extraordinary popularity of piano transcription in the nineteenth century, one cannot help but be impressed by the remarkable number of such works performed and published during that period. The demand for transcriptions of various types, especially those based on operatic music, was so great that a single work could give rise to an entire series of transcriptions, ranging from simple arrangements to virtuosic transcriptions. Transcriptions dominated the sphere of music publishing throughout most of the nineteenth century, and the virtuosic transcriptions by Liszt, Thalberg, and others unquestionably ruled the concert stage. It can be said that piano transcriptions became the foundation for the emergence of the modern piano solo recital. Transcription speaks about music in its own language, illuminating the original work in a new light – one that cannot be conveyed bywords alone. It is the reflection of one artist’s ideas through the creativity of another, which stimulates a reinterpretationof the original work. It is precisely the nature of this task that makes the art of transcription a unique creative activity – a distinct form of critical commentary. The purpose of a transcription is not simply to reproduce the content of the originalwork but to recreate, reinterpret, and re-evaluate it through the imagination of its author. In the twenty-first century,the transcription genre has not only retained its popularity but continues to take on new forms of expression, opening new prospects for the further development of performance mastery.