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- Title
Landschaftsmalerei versus Sonatenform. Die symphonischen Dichtungen Miške und Jūra von M. K. Čiurlionis.
- Authors
Keym, Stefan
- Abstract
The symphonic poems Miške and Jūra by čiurlionis are analyzed in the context of the 19th-century symphonic tradition. Both works evoke a landscape in the mould of the sonata form. By this, they refer especially to German and Polish models of symphonic landscape painting (Mendelssohn, Raff, Noskowski). However, čiurlionis treats the sonata form in a very personal way. The originality of his symphonic poems consists of not so much motivic material as of its disposition and formal evolution that comes close to Ferruccio Busoni's ideal of a "freely" evolving landscape-like "Urmusik". In Miške (In the Forest), the sonata form is combined with features of a symmetrical arch structure. The first part of the work shifts gradually from the introduction to the main theme group. In Jūra (The Sea) there are no clear First and Second themes at all but two groups of constantly evolving motives tied together by abstract melodic and diastematic relationships. There are much more than two tonalities already in the "exposition". The recapitulation surprises by introducing two new thematic protagonists. The coda presents two highly contrasting endings. The ambiguity of form and character underlines the modernity of the work. A folk song citation and a folk-like melody point to a patriotic subtext of Jura. Probably, Ciurlionis was influenced at this point by his Polish teacher Noskowski.
- Subjects
LITERARY criticism; SYMPHONIC poem; MUSICAL form; LANDSCAPE painting; SONATA form; NATIONAL music; BUSONI, Ferruccio, 1866-1924
- Publication
Musicology of Lithuania / Lietuvos muzikologija, 2009, Issue 10, p8
- ISSN
1392-9313
- Publication type
Article