PIANOLA AND ITS ROLE IN THE MUSICAL CULTURE OF THE PAST AND PRESENT
UDC index:
781.91
DOI: 10.31773/2078-1768-2019-47-83-92.
Article ID in the RSCI:
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Information about authors: Borodin Boris Borisovich, Dr of Art History, Professor, Department Chair of History and Theory of Performing Arts, Ural State Mussorgsky’s Conservatoire, Member of the Union of Composers of Russia (Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation). E-mail: bbborodin@mail.ru
Annotation: The topicality of the proposed article is determined by the fact that the mechanical forte-piano occupied a prominent place in the musical culture of the first third of the 20th century. This instrument recently has increasingly been included in the field of attention of foreign researchers in connection with the study of the phonographic heritage of outstanding pianists of the past and the early stages of sound recording development. This area is undeservedly overlooked in the domestic art history. The purpose of this study is to overcome the existing information gap by summarizing data from foreign sources available for the author. According to the principle of action, a mechanical piano cannot be attributed to audio-recording technologies, since an automatic action is recorded, but not an acoustic phenomenon. However, at the same time, this musical instrument is a sound-reproducing apparatus, to a certain extent preserving the intentions of musicians participating in the process of fixing and reproducing the performance of a musical work. Pianola is one of the varieties of the mechanical piano, which is controlled by the operator-pianolist. It is a means of disseminating the musical works of a wide genre range (from fashion dances to symphonies and operas), a musical instrument sounding in concert halls, a device providing new opportunities for the realization of composer’s ideas. This article discusses about numerous examples of pianola design features and its functions. A special section is devoted to a role of a pianola in musical culture of modernity: composing work of Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) and performing art of pianolist Rex Lawson. It is concluded that pianola in modern concert life becomes a peculiar attribute of the HIP practice, along with instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Keywords: Pianola, Piano rolls, pianolist, Aeolian Company, duo-art, Igor Stravinsky, Conlon Nancarrow, Rex Lawson.
DOI: 10.31773/2078-1768-2019-47-83-92.
Article ID in the RSCI:
Article file: Download
Information about authors: Borodin Boris Borisovich, Dr of Art History, Professor, Department Chair of History and Theory of Performing Arts, Ural State Mussorgsky’s Conservatoire, Member of the Union of Composers of Russia (Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation). E-mail: bbborodin@mail.ru
Annotation: The topicality of the proposed article is determined by the fact that the mechanical forte-piano occupied a prominent place in the musical culture of the first third of the 20th century. This instrument recently has increasingly been included in the field of attention of foreign researchers in connection with the study of the phonographic heritage of outstanding pianists of the past and the early stages of sound recording development. This area is undeservedly overlooked in the domestic art history. The purpose of this study is to overcome the existing information gap by summarizing data from foreign sources available for the author. According to the principle of action, a mechanical piano cannot be attributed to audio-recording technologies, since an automatic action is recorded, but not an acoustic phenomenon. However, at the same time, this musical instrument is a sound-reproducing apparatus, to a certain extent preserving the intentions of musicians participating in the process of fixing and reproducing the performance of a musical work. Pianola is one of the varieties of the mechanical piano, which is controlled by the operator-pianolist. It is a means of disseminating the musical works of a wide genre range (from fashion dances to symphonies and operas), a musical instrument sounding in concert halls, a device providing new opportunities for the realization of composer’s ideas. This article discusses about numerous examples of pianola design features and its functions. A special section is devoted to a role of a pianola in musical culture of modernity: composing work of Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) and performing art of pianolist Rex Lawson. It is concluded that pianola in modern concert life becomes a peculiar attribute of the HIP practice, along with instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Keywords: Pianola, Piano rolls, pianolist, Aeolian Company, duo-art, Igor Stravinsky, Conlon Nancarrow, Rex Lawson.
