Sound image of Peking opera in piano works of Chinese composers

Statement of the problem. Among the regional varieties of Chinese musical and dramatic art, the leading place belongs to the capital drama – Beijing (Peking) opera Jingcui, which has absorbed many elements of performances from other regions of China. This art form is considered one of the most valuable cultural treasures of China, it inspires many Chinese composers to create piano music, which presents the sound image of Peking opera. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to identify and scientifically substantiate the connections of the piano works of Chinese composers of the 20th – 21st centuries with the national traditions of Beijing opera. The article involves genre, stylistic, historical, typological, philosophical and aesthetic, comparative, structural, functional, intonation, interpretive, and systemic research methods. The vast majority of scientific works in Chinese and English are devoted to the characteristics of the original tradition of Chinese culture, in particular, to the history of the development of Peking opera, where they consider the characters’ roles, the features of makeup and costumes, and the music that accompanies the opera performance. Nevertheless, there are currently no special works that address the stated topic, which determines the scientific novelty of the results of our research. Research results. The article analyzed the piano works that embody elements of Peking opera: “Willow Earrings” from the cycle “Wanhua in Beijing” (1938) by Jiang Wenye, the fantasy “Duo Yi” (1984) and “Little Beijing Gong” by Zhu Xiaoyu (1991), the fantasy on the themes of Peking opera “Pihuang” (1995) by Zhang Zhao, “Moments from Peking Opera” (2000) and the Concerto “Er Huang” for piano and orchestra (2009) by Chen Qigang. The versatility of the piano made it possible to reflect the sound image of Peking opera as a synthetic phenomenon in all its components. The presented piano works by Chinese composers widely demonstrate the use of elements of Peking opera as the embodiment of the national style. The main components of its manifestation are the pentatonic modal basis; adherence to the traditional sequence of the tempo-rhythmic organization of sections – banshi; embodiment of the characteristics of the singing styles “sipi” and “erhuan”; principles of variation of “banqiang” of the main themes – “duoban”, “yuanban”, “erliu”, “kuaiban”, “manban”, “daoban”, “yaoban”, etc.; imitation of playing techniques of Chinese instruments that accompany singing and other scenes; reproduction of images associated with the main characters of the opera; program names of piano pieces as a reflection of vivid impressions from stage performances. Conclusion. The combination of European compositional techniques and expressive means of Peking opera in piano pieces leads to the creation of a kind of synthetic musical language containing elements of Eastern and Western music, hence, various specific types of piano texture arise, based on traditional musical models of Chinese opera. The piano, imitating the sound of percussion and string instruments participating in Chinese opera performances, as well as various manners of opera singing, reproduces their characteristic sound effects and rhythms, using all the experience of modern Western music (tonal and atonal harmony, polyphony, timbre sonorous effects, etc.). Thus, the reproduction in Chinese piano music of the deep meaning of its ancient culture, one of the symbols of which is Peking opera, occurs with the help of modern compositional techniques and methods of musical development.