The genre of piano transcription in the work of A. D. Kamensky

Abstract

   The article is devoted to the analysis of the genre of piano transcription in the work of the outstanding pianist, piano teacher, composer, public figure Alexander Danilovich Kamensky (1900–1952), who played an important role both in the development of Russian pianism and in the concert life of the war era. Having created a number of bright and original examples of the genre of transcription, Kamensky continues the tradition rooted in the era of romanticism. The article analyzes the transcriptions of Albéniz’s Navarra, the Introduction and intermission to the fourth act of the opera Carmen in a free concert arrangement by A. Kamensky, as well as the Fantasy Suite The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov – A. D. Kamensky. The article defines terminological differences in the designation of the transcription genre: paraphrase, concert arrangement, fantasy, etc. The pedagogical and educational value of A. D. Kamensky. The conclusion from the study is that in the work of A. D. Kamensky, it was piano transcription that played a special role. His popularization mission, guided by which the pianist held many performances, including about five hundred concerts in besieged besieged Leningrad, was decisive for him. Under those conditions, the impossibility of the permanent functioning of musical theaters and orchestras was partially compensated by the possibilities of piano transcription.