VIOLIN CONCERT IN UKRAINE AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES: THE ARTISTIC EXPLORATIONS BY JOSEPH KARBULKA

Abstract

The artistic explorations of Czech violinist Josef Karbulka are examined in the context of the violin concerto genre development in Ukraine at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with an attempt to highlight the artistʼs contribution to the formation of the Ukrainian violin art performing and compositional traditions. A little-known work from the violin repertoire, the Concerto in D minor, published in 1911, is analyzed. It is argued that over the centuries, outstanding foreign performers have made their mark on Ukrainian music, often combining performing with composing and teaching, becoming founders of violin schools and innovators in artistic and performing creativity. Among them, Karol Lipiński, Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Paweł Kochanski, and other artists occupy a special place, whose work has significantly influenced the development of the domestic music environment and, in general, European violin art. At the same time, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, other musicians, mainly of Polish and Czech origin, also made notable achievements in the artistic space of Ukraine, contributing to the expansion of performance practices, the professionalization of the musical environment, and the integration of Ukrainian culture into the European context.Among them were J. Karbulka, J. Kubelik, E. Mlynarsky, J. Perman, P. Perkovsky, F. Stupka, and a number of other violinists. The activities of these artists, which combined performing skills with pedagogical initiatives and organizational work, left a significant mark on the musical life of the 20th century.An examination of the role of Joseph Karbulkaʼs (1866–1920) Violin Concerto in D minor, published in 1911, showed that the work was one of the precursors to Karol Szymanowskiʼs compositional achievements, in particular, his First Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1916), written in collaboration with Paweł Kochanski, Serhii Bortkevychʼs Violin Concerto, created together with Czech violinist F. Smith (1916), Viktor Kosenkoʼs Violin Concerto (1919), and their followers, which initiated the development of the violin concerto genre in the 20th century.As a result of the analytical study of Josef Karbulkaʼs Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, it is argued that the artist's work combined a high technical level with lyrical expressiveness. Although the work is an example of the dominant-solo type of communicativeness of the performing parts, it sometimes shows the integration of solo and orchestral parts characteristic of the Romantic era, which indicates elements of symphonization of the genre. Among the main specific features of the work are the use of ethno-characteristic motifs and rhythmic-intonational models, as well as features of free form creation (compositional modulation, etc.), which together form the specific identity of the Concerto.The combination of performance, pedagogy, and composition in Joseph Karbulkaʼs work testifies to the artist as one of the key figures in the formation of both Ukrainian and European violin traditions at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore, we see the prospects for further research on this topic in a comparative view of the violin works by Josef Karbulka and his contemporaries, as well as in highlighting the pedagogical role of the Czech master in Ukraine.