Tradition and innovation in pieces for clarinet solo composers of the twentieth century.
Pieces for clarinet solo, like various genres of ensemble music, retain a strong connection with the tradition that has developed in other areas of instrumental music. This manifests itself in the embodiment of traditional for small forms of images (a different kind of lyric, scherzo and drama), in the predominance of monotypes, in gravitation toward small scales and simple structures, in tendency to cyclization, and finally in the presence of program elements. Despite the fact that many of the works created by composers of the 20th century have entered the performing repertoire, they have not yet found coverage in the scientific literature, which stimu-lates research and determinesthe background of the proposed topic. The objectives of the article is to reveal the peculiarity of the embodiment of the play for solo clarinet by contemporary authors, taking into account the specificity of the instrument and the complex of technical and expressive means chosen for the realization of artistic intent. The methods of research is based on an integrated approach that makes it possible to attract the scientific positions put forward in various fields of historical and theoretical musicology, as well as comparative analysis. The resultsof the conducted research showed that in the XX century works ap-peared that enriched the modern repertoire and put forward new requirements to the performer. Among them, it is necessary to name five Monologues for clarinet solo, op. 157 (1956) by Ernst Kshenek. The tiny plays filled with dramatic nature model originally theatrical situation, so vividly expressed in them an appeal to a hypotheti-cal interlocutor. Small-scale plays (24 bars each) reflect a rich palette of emotional states: from penetrating reflection, a burst of drama to a sorrowful concealed sigh. They detail dynamic, metronomic, characteristic instructions, which demonstrates the composer’s control over the performance process, down to the restriction of the sound of the whole cycle – Duration: 4 minutes. A special place in the transmission of the figurative structure of the plays takes pauses; it is remarkable that only the first play ends on the idle sonority of pianissimo, and the four subsequent ones end with «signs of silence», indicating the importance of “theatrical gesture” and silence in revealing artistic content. The expansion of ideas about the sound resources of the clarinet, while preserving the character-like plays of the figurative spheres is demonstrated by two Clair miniatures for clarinet solo by Franco Donatoni. The composition is a diptych from contrasting plays, differently embodying a program subtitle. The first of them, marked by rapid “dashes” across the entire range, creates a sparkling, blinding, radiant image, like a rainbow game in the waters of a beating fountain. Fast tempo, the predominance of loud dynamics, the heterogeneity of rhythmic figures, the filling of glissando jumps, micro-chromatics, the abundance of melisms (crossed and non-crossed forties and trills) are aimed at creating a unified mood. The second piece immerses the listener in the world of “night music” (ppppp>, ad limite dell’udibitȧ). It opens with a detailed introduc-tion that captures the ideas of the first play. Further thanks to the change in rhythmic figures, the widening of the range, the emergence of melodic relief, the introduction of articulatory techniques and methods of sound production, not only updated the themes, but there is a bright contrast, although asserting itself within the original nu-ance. As the material that opens the play, does not occur in the future, and the melodic relief in an alternative presentation throws the arch to the end, formed the contours of a three-part form with a unique frame. Paradoxically, but for all the unusual nature of its sound appearance, the diptych does not contain any discoveries in the field of sound reception techniques. Rather, its novelty is determined by a truly fantastic technical complexity, requiring from the per-former the virtuosic fine technique, large volume and rapid change of breath, special flexibility of the labial apparatus, ductility of register transitions, subtle dynamic grada-tion, and finally, sensitivity to rhythmic organization and temporal correlations. In a slightly different perspective reveals the possibilities of the clarinet as a solo instrument Salvatore Charrino in the composition Let me die before I wake. Studying the arsenal of expressive techniques of a monophonic instrument, the author reveals his unusual possibilities, maximally expanding the potential through chord technique. By combining the sequence of multiphonics, the composer creates an effect of weightless-ness, unreality, and when performing live, there is a feeling that there are more than one musician playing a single performer. The musical fabric of S. Charrino’s play unfolds in the real and overtone spaces. An important role in this is played by the tremolo technique, which, under ppp conditions, gives a certain kind of weightlessness to interval sequences. The sound idea is limited to the composer by the change of a small nona, a large third and a minor sevenths. If small intervals contribute to music a hint of expressiveness, stresses, then large thirds from c, b act as carriers of clarity, the harmonizing beginning; the play of light and shadow, instability and major stability determines the internal dynamics of events, and the fre-quency of changing structures promotes the advance of intonational events. The com-position of S. Charrino demands from the performer an irreproachable possession of the overtone and articulation technique, the successive combination of a large number of chords predetermines the technical complexity of the play. Conclusions.The solo clarinet solo attracted the attention of various composers, who, based on creative intentions and actual problems of modern practice, differently realized its possibilities. Limited only with a large scale, it provided scope for creative imagination, organically fitting into any sound context.