Toward the Origins of the Concertmaster-Pianist’s Profession: The Art of Maestro al Cembalo

The relevance of the research lies in the urgent need for modern musicology to reconstruct the profession of a concert pianist. The subject of the study is the art of maestro al cembalo. The object of the research is the work of maestro al cembalo and the features of his creative activity. The purpose of the research is to study the process of formation of the initial stage of the development of the profession of a concert pianist, which spanned the period from the late Renaissance to classicism. Research objectives: to highlight the main characteristics of joint performance using basso continuo; to provide information about the specific skills and knowledge that maestro al cembalo should have possessed; to show the importance of these musicians in the musical performances, as well as in the evolution of musical creativity; to present portraits of the most significant representatives of this profession. The author of the study focuses on the influence of the maestro al cembalo’s art on the formation of European concertmaster schools. To disclose the author's stated topic, the following methods are used: anthropological, hermeneutic, comparative-historical, theoretical, and analytical. A special contribution of the author is the search, analysis, and systematization of archival materials from Italian theaters and city archives, based on which information about the life, work, and specifics of the maestro al cembalo’s creative and pedagogical work has been introduced into scientific circulation. The main conclusions of the study show that the most important principles of professional activity of a modern pianist-concertmaster of a musical theater were formed several centuries ago. The results obtained can be applied both in conducting courses on the theory and history of performing arts and in the practical activities of modern concert pianists. The study’s conclusions allow us to form a clear picture of the initial stage of the formation of concertmaster art and trace its leading trends, which will be reflected in the subsequent development of this creative specialty.