THE GENRE OF THE PIANO BALLADE IN THE WORKS OF CHINESE COMPOSERS AT THE END OF THE 20TH AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2224-0926-2025-2-53-3Keywords:
piano ballade, genre and style features, Chinese composers, Chinese musical tradition, musical culture, synthesis, narrative, musical workAbstract
The article explores the genre specificity of the piano ballad in the work of Chinese composers at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The ballad as a piano genre was formed in the European romantic tradition, in the work of Frédéric Chopin, and is distinguished by lyrical-dramatic imagery and free form. In the second half of the 20th century, Chinese composers began to turn to this genre, combining the European model with the national musical heritage. The aim of the article is to determine the genre specificity of the piano ballad in the work of Chinese composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Three landmark works are analyzed: “Ballad” op. 25 by Ye Xiaogang (1987), “Three Mountain Ballads of Southern Yunnan” by Zhang Zhao (1992), and “Ballad for Piano” by Zhu Chang-lei (2000). These works exemplify three distinct approaches to the ballade: Ye Xiaogang synthesizes Chinese melodic idioms with the romantic ballad form; Zhang Zhao relies on modal folklore elements and programmatic content; and Zhu Chang-Lei employs an innovative variational structure rich in polyphony.It was found that Chinese piano ballads retained the key features of the European genre (narrative, dramatic development, virtuosity, flexibility of musical form), and the integration of folk song intonations, national modes and programmatic images gave them a unique ethno-cultural flavor.Each composer offers a distinct take on the ballade: Ye Xiaogang fuses Chinese melodic idioms with the Romantic form; Zhang Zhao draws on ethnic imagery; and Zhu Chang-Lei adopts an rational-polyphonic approach. The evolution of the genre in Chinese musical culture is traced: from experimental attempts in the 1980s to the establishment of national features of the ballad at the beginning of the 21st century. Modern Chinese authors have enriched the ballad genre with new themes, images and compositional techniques.
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