Between Tradition and Experiment: the New Concerto Paradigm in Serhii Piliutikov’s Double Bass Concerto
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31318/0130-5298.2025.51.359052Keywords:
new concerto paradigm, instrumental concerto, double bass concerto, timbral dramaturgy, composer–performer interaction, works by Serhii PiliutikovAbstract
Relevance of the study. The transformation of the instrumental concerto in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is associated with a rethinking of its dramaturgical model, the role of the soloist, and the timbral organization of musical form. In contemporary Ukrainian music this process is particularly evident in the expansion of the solo repertoire for instruments that were traditionally limited to orchestral functions. Serhii Piliutikov’s Double Bass Concerto “Better Be Still When the Dragon Sings” represents a significant example of this tendency and has not previously been the subject of a comprehensive musicological study.
Main objective of the study. The aim of the research is to identify the principles of the new concerto paradigm in this composition and to reveal the specific interaction between traditional and experimental elements in its genre-dramaturgical and timbral conception.
Methodology. The research is based on an integrated methodological approach combining genre-stylistic, structural-functional and timbral-dramaturgical analysis. The genre-stylistic method made it possible to determine the relationship between the work and the historical concerto model. Structural analysis was applied to reveal the processual nature of the single-movement form and its latent three-part organization. Timbral analysis was used to examine the orchestration and the acoustic balance between the soloist and the orchestra. An interpretative approach, supported by materials of composer–performer communication, made it possible to clarify the role of the performer’s individuality and the variability of the cadenza.
Results and conclusions. The concerto is interpreted as a representative example of a contemporary type of concerto thinking in which the traditional dialogic principle is combined with a processual form, timbral dramaturgy, and an open interpretative model. A shift from purely technical virtuosity to timbral and articulatory virtuosity is revealed, as well as the personification of the solo instrument. The composer–performer interaction is defined as one of the key mechanisms of the new concerto paradigm. The work is shown to be significant for the development of the Ukrainian double bass repertoire and for the renewal of the instrumental concerto genre in contemporary musical culture.
Significance. The results of the study contribute to contemporary Ukrainian musicology and to the theory of the instrumental concerto and may be applied in academic and performing practice.
References
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