Features of the ballet work of Alfred Schnittke on the example of the ballet “Peer Gynt”

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the ballet theater of Alfred Schnittke – the least studied field ofthe composer’s work. The center of consideration is the ballet “Peer Gynt” – one of the significant stage works of the 1980s. The composer’s creative activity of the 1970–80s, aimed at finding new style solutions in the field of melody, harmony, form, polyphony, texture, is marked by the appearance of the theater and stage genre - ballet. Over the fifteen-year history of the formation of the ballet genre composer, three ballets were written: “Labyrinths”, “Sketches”, “Peer Gynt”. The article explores the multidimensional nature of the plot of the Ibsen’s drama and the image of “Peer Gynt”, who received many interpretations in theatrical, concert and multimedia compositions. The character’s multitude is emphasized by the original find of choreographer John Neumeier, which consists in transferring the struggle of opposite principles from the character’s inner world to the real scene, where seven different aspects of Peer Gynt’s personality collide in the guise of seven dancers. In order to identify the features of ballet music, a detailed analysis of the language means of some numbers is carried out: pitch, harmony, dynamics, rhythm and timbre.