“The Feeling of the Right Path or the Method of Artistic Creativity”: About Nikolai Korndorf’s Composition In D

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the compositional technique in a major orchestral composition, In D (1998) by Nikolai Korndorf (1947–2001). A characteristic feature of this work is the specific constructive idea associated with the composer’s special approach to the choice of musical material and the means of its development. It is referred to the disclosure of the potential of one single pitch. The author of the article proposes to apply the term of the outstanding Russian painter and art theorist Vassily Kandinsky: “one-tone composition,” in order to characterize this technique. Based on the comparative method, the article provides an examination of the successive connection of this composition with one of the orchestral works from Korndorf’s early musical period and presents a description for the first time of the most important compositional principles of In D. The idea of repetition, observed in the organization of this musical composition, is interpreted by the author of the article as one of the leading elements in it. The article describes a number of other structural ideas that connect Korndorf’s musical style directly with some of the well-known 20th century compositional techniques, such as serialism and Klangfarbenmelodie. The article substantiates the point of view that the composition In D demonstrates a certain number of invariable techniques regularly found in Korndorf’s artistic method.

Keywords: Nikolai Korndorf, In D, repetitive technique, serialism, artistic method, one-tone composition