The genre of the piano miniature in the creative work of M. Moszkowski
Authors: Mits Oksana 
Published: May 2019

Statement of the problem. Recently, there has been growing interest in the personality of the outstanding Polish composer, pianist, teacher and conductor M. Moszkowski (1854–1925), whose creativity occupies a significant place in the history of European musical art of the second half of the nineteenth – early twentieth centuries. The multifaceted composer’s legacy of M. Moszkowski gives a large variety of materials for researchers. His piano creativity, which encompasses composing, performing, teaching and editorial activities, is an outstanding phenomenon in the European musical culture. One of the key genres of piano music by composer is a miniature. The miniatures that were created by M. Moszkowski during his life, reflects the evolution of his individual style, clearly representing his creative method, aesthetics and piano performance features. However, the question of the genre of miniatures in the work of M. Moszkowski has not been considered by the researchers yet. Thus, there is a need for scientific analysis of M. Moszkowski’s piano miniatures in the context of the general stylistic norms of his creative work. The purpose of the article is characterization of stylistic features and attempt to classify of M. Moszkowski’s piano miniature in view of the role of this genre in the Polish composer’s creativity. Methods. The methodological basis of the study is the unity of scientific approaches, among which the most important is a functional one, associated with the analysis of the genre as a typical structure. The desire to realize the fundamental principles of scientific knowledge, comprehensiveness and concrete historical approach to the study of the target problem requires the combination of musical analysis with historical-cultural, stylistic generalizations, considering piano works by M. Moszkowski in the unity of historical, ideological, stylistic and performing problems involving the conceptual apparatus of theoretical musicology and the theory of pianism. Results. The vast majority of piano pieces by M. Moszkowski are miniatures. According to their place in the performing practice, miniatures are differentiated into concert-virtuoso, pedagogical, household directions. According to the internal genre typological features, they are divided into etudes, dance pieces (waltzes, mazurkas and polonaise serve as confirmation of the musical-historical experience of romantic composers) and others. In the palette of the latter are scherzo, capriccio, fantasia-impromptu, musical moments, arabesques, barcarole, lyrical pieces – that is, almost the whole arsenal of the most common types of miniatures of the Romantic era. The analysis of piano miniatures reveals the composer’s individual attitude to tradition, free choice of figurative and stylistic priorities by him. Under consideration are the piano cycles “Spanish dances” op. 12, “Arabesque” op. 61, the piece-fantasia “Hommage &#224; Schumann” op. 5, Suite for 4 hands “From all over the World op. 23” and other miniatures that were creating throughout the life of the composer. These samples of the salon style of the late XIX century became a kind of generalization of creative searches of the previous constellation of composers – salon performers. Throughout his life, M. Moszkowski repeatedly turns to ancient forms and finds for creation of his miniatures an entirely new impulse: the small forms of the Baroque age. By rethinking, “romanticizing” them, the composer creates his own modifications of the genre models of ancient music in such works as “Canon” (op.15, op. 81, op. 83), “Rococo” op. 36, “Burre” op. 38, “Siciliana” op. 42, “Gavotte” (op. 43, op. 86), “Fugue” op. 47, “Sarabande” op. 56, “Prelude and Fugue” op. 85, as well as numerous “Minuets”. The latter carry out the traits of the aesthetics of the gallant style. Since 1900, Moszkowski prefers etudes. The arsenal of techniques he uses in these works is rich and diverse and emphasizes the artistic qualities of these compositions. Sometimes Moszkowski interprets the genre of the etude very freely: as a substitute for another genre (“Two miniatures” op. 67), as part of the cycle-diology (“Etude-Caprice” and “Improvisation”, op. 70), etc. Modern pianists seldom perform the piano music by Moszkowski. At the same time, the pieces represent a very interesting material that clearly reflects the originality of the musical language of the late romantic pianists, to which Moszkowski belonged. Perhaps, performers confused by the overload of musical material with various technical difficulties. The composer used a wide range of romantic pianistic means. The typical stylistic feature of his music is improvisation, based on the tradition of a brilliant piano style of performance with a romantically impulsive change in emotional states. The performance seems to be more unattainable, because the composer’s bold innovation in virtuoso texture is combined with a refined romantic manner of writing. This circumstance explains the fact that the works by Moszkowski were forgotten for many years. And only now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, when many values and priorities are revised, art salon style and Moszkowski’s compositions are becoming of great interest. Conclusions. The piano “workshop of miniatures” is the most important component of the composer’s legacy of M. Moszkowski, reflecting the peculiarity of the author’s aesthetic position – cultivating a positive mood, elegance, refinement, virtuosity as signs of ownership of the instrument. It is these aesthetic principles – the feeling of Beauty as preciosity, delicacy, non-conflict state of reality – formed his attitude to the genre of miniatures. M. Moszkowski’s piano miniatures marked by the features of virtuoso style creating associations with the music of F. Chopin and R. Schumann. Chopin’s influences can be traced in the choice of genres of miniatures – among them there are waltzes, polonaises, impromptu, etudes, scherzo and barcaroles. However, for M. Moszkowski, as a composer of Polish origin, was simply necessary to be “native” to the musical heritage of F. Chopin. At the same time, the “similarity” of certain techniques to Chopin’s in the piano works by Moszkowski, always appears in the updated version without duplicating the original sources. The influence of R. Schumann is manifested in the dominance of melodious lyric and playful scherzo’s spheres, the tendency toward the characteristic images and the cycling of pieces, often combined with a certain artistic idea, specified by the programmatic subtitles or by the suite principle. Moszkowski’s piano works are perfect in a form, in possessing of specifics of the piano texture and the richness of figurative thinking. Moszkowski’s miniatures represent a very high level of piano skills, technically, they often require the ability to have a good command of the instrument, but technical difficulties submit to a vivid, meaningful image. Piano miniatures by M. Moszkowski became a significant contribution to the development of Western European art of the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The numerous piano pieces by the composer, distinguished by high artistic qualities, today should rightfully take a worthy place in the concert practice of modern pianists.