«DECLINE» OF THE POSTWAR MUSIC AVANT-GARDE IN REFLECTION OF SOVIET MUSICOLOGY

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to consider one of the main myths of Soviet musicology about the Second musical avant-garde, namely the assertion that there is no alternative to the counter avant-garde trend in the new classical music of the «capitalist» world after the crisis of serialism, and to expose this myth. Methodology. To achieve the corresponding scientific result, the following methods were used in the article, such as historical (to describe the real situation of West European musical avant-garde after the crisis of serialism, composers who worked in «counter avant-garde» and «post avant-garde» directions), comparative (for comparing the Soviet version of the history of new «capitalist» classical music with historically verified facts), and integrated (for the synthesis of factors and aspects of the phenomenon which was investigated). Scientific novelty. For the first time in the Ukrainian musicology, the problem of Soviet mythologization of the West European post-war musical avant-garde period, that is called «crisis of serialism», was considered. It is also suggested to introduce the terms «counter avant-garde» and «post avant-garde» in their literal sense to characterize the opposite groups of trends that arose after the «crisis of serialism». Conclusions. After reviewing the Soviet musicological works of the mid-1970s and early 1980s, which was about new music in the West, two main grounds for creating the myth about the «crisis of serialism» were identified. The first is to change the argumentation of criticism of new music, as compared with the 1960s, which manifested itself in the transition from the Shneerson’s comparison of «bourgeois» art with «realistic» to the emphasis on heterogeneity and ephemerality, decadence and renunciation of Western musical culture in later Soviet musicology works. The second is the deliberate silencing of the presence of followers of the second avant-garde among the younger generation of musicians after the «crisis of serialism». Facts indicate that the Darmstadt direction continued its activity in the 1970s and 1980s, which has led to the emergence of new post-serial trends, such as spectralism and «new complexity». The first was a revolution in the field of harmony and orchestration, and the second started a positive trend for modern music such as close cooperation between composers and musicians.