“Variations sérieuses” for Piano by Felix Mendels-sohn as an Example of the Romantic Genre Model (The Performer’s View).
When creating his variation cycles, Mendelssohn, like his older contemporaries C. M. von Weber and F. Schubert, used the genre models developed in the works of Viennese classics – the so-called “ornamental” variations with a completed theme in the form of a period, a number of variations delimited by caesuras, and a coda (its function can be performed by the last variation). Obviously, the influence of L. van Beethoven’s genre samples on the formation of Mendelssohn’s variations’ style was decisive. Following the traditions of W. A. Mozart and L. van Beethoven, Mendels-sohn changed the tempo-rhythm during the variation cycle (in the variations by J. Haydn such changes are not observed), but did it somewhat differently. In the mostof W. A. Mozart’s and L. van Beethoven’s variation cycles, the changes of measure occur. These changes diversify the variation cycle, but fragment it. In Mendelssohn’s variations, we do not find this. Continuing the tradition repro-duced in J. Haydn’s genre samples and L. van Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C mi-nor, and derived from the variations on basso ostinato, Mendelssohn retains one measure throughout the cycle. It contributes to the greater integrity of composition. At the same time, the composer more often than W. A. Mozart and L. van Beetho-ven changes the tempo during the variation cycle. Moreover, in W. A. Mozart’s and L. van Beethoven’s cycles, the changes of tempo are mostly contrasting, but in Mendelssohn’s ones, they are mostly gradual. Due to the gradual changes of tempo, the composer seems to overcome the periodic discreteness of motion – a constant feature of classical variations, – emphasizing the through character of development. It also contributes to the greater integrity of composition. Among the three cycles of variations for piano by Mendelssohn, the “Variations sérieuses” in D minorop. 54 are the large scale of the plan, the depth of content, and the perfection of the form. While the other two cycles can be described as chamber post-classicistic compositions of the lyrical type of development, the work under study is a vivid example of deployed romantic variations of the lyrical and dramatic type. According to the imagery and semantics, the “Variations sérieuses” can be defined as a psychological music drama. The work does not imply a certain programme. This drama is not connected with the vicissitudes of historical events or collisions of the literary plot. It is an “internal”, personal drama. Obviously, the key to comprehension of the semantic essence of the “Variations sérieuses” should be sought in the genre and intonation genesis of their theme. The texture of the theme evokes a stable genre association with church music, and the intonation is marked by a noticeable influence of J. S. Bach’s works. In this context, the drama of the “Variations sérieuses” appears as moral and ethical, as a drama of a person’s spiritual self-awareness. By the peculiarities of realization of the baroque music ideas, the “Variations sérieuses” by Mendelssohn considerably differ from the 32 Variations in C minor by L. van Beethoven. In the cycle by L. van Beethoven, the influence of the baroque art is directly reflected in the genre, determining the compositional structure of the work; while in the cycle by Mendelssohn, this influence is reflected in the intonation, affecting the character of the theme. L. van Beethoven used the old form of chaconne as a genre model adequate to the idea of the work; whereas Mendelssohn appealed to the baroque intonation symbolism, thus determining the imagery and semantic content of the work. Mendelssohn’s variation cycles became an important milestone on the way to renewal of the form and genre of variations in the 19 th c. While C. M. von Weber, in his variations, used the tried classical form every time, filling it with the exqui-site and virtuous content in accordance with the aesthetics of his brilliant style, F. Schubert and Mendelssohn, in some of their works, altered this form in accor-dance with the idea of the work, laying the foundations for romantic variations with through development. F. Schubert made a decisive turn in this direction not in the separate variation cycles, but in the slow movements of the large cyclic com-positions, such as the piano Fantasy in C majorop. 15 DV 760 “Der Wanderer” and the string Quartet in D minorDV 810 “Der Tod und das Mädchen”. Mendels-sohn made such a turn in the separate cycle of “Variations sérieuses”, modifying not only the form, but also the genre. The innovation of the “Variations sérieuses” concerning the imagery content is no less important. A passionate admirer of the art of G. F. Handel and J. S. Bach, Mendelssohn became the first composer of the Romanticism era who reproduced in the concert instrumental music the traditions of Baroque art with its powerful spiritual stream. His Variations in D minorpreceded the appearance of a number of baroque-themed instrumental works by F. Liszt, J. Brahms, C. Franck, M. Re-ger, S. Rachmaninov and other composers of the 19th – early 20 th cc. This outstand-ing Mendelssohn’s work was written on an original theme, but its baroque genesis is undoubted; consequently, it in fact opens a series of romantic variation cycles on the themes of Baroque. The significance of Mendelssohn’s variations, both solo piano and ensemble ones, is not reduced to their historical role and utilitarian function in the educa-tional practice; these works are a great artistic value. They deserve wider coverage in concert programmes and are an inestimable sample for realizing the creative potential of performers.