The Russian musical art of the early 20th century: Evolution

The essay is dedicated to the study of the development of Russian musical art during the transitional period (1890s-1920s). The content of each stage (decade) is examined in detail, taking into account the interpretation, semantic content and stylistic expression of the problems under consideration. In particular, the first stage (1890s) shows a movement towards new horizons, and the inertia of the established ethical and aesthetic principles of the 19th century is overcome. The key ideas of the second stage (1900s) are the emergence of a heroic-lyrical concept and the long-felt end of the Classical era. The third stage (1910s) was marked by radical and irreversible shifts in the entire structure of Russian musical art, which essentially meant the birth of the Modern. Within the framework of the final, fourth stage (1920s), the features and properties characteristic of musical art in the 1910s were brought to their conceivable limit, often receiving a hyperbolic expression; nevertheless, subsequent development was directed towards gradual stabilization, balancing, and rejection of excesses and extremes, thus outlining a movement towards an optimal rhythm of life. As a result, the principles of the next historical period began to form.