Piano Pieces by M.P. Mussorgsky. Article I. Dancing, Opera Scenes, Scherzo

The article is devoted to the little–studied part of the piano heritage of M.P. Musorgsky — dance genres (Polka and Hopak), a Fair scene from the opera Sorochinskaya Fair and several plays written in the genre of Scherzo and Schercino. An attempt has been made to comprehensively present and analyze Musorgsky’s piano opuses, which are not part of large cyclic forms. The issues of genre specificity, piano stylistics and performance interpretation are discussed. The formal structure of the plays is considered by referring to the theoretical systems of A.B. Marx, I.V. Sposobin and L.A. Mazel. Textual issues are an important component of the article, since referring to the composer’s autographs makes it possible to identify features lost in publications of the XIX–XX centuries. It is concluded that the specific symphonic pianism was one of the characteristic essential properties of Mussorgsky’s piano style, expressed in various compositions (or versions of one composition) with varying degrees of strength. The study and publication were initiated by the ongoing work at the State Institute of Art Studies on the publication of the Complete Academic Collection of Works by M.P. Musorgsky.