George Kovalevsky personal open lecture: "Faustian motives in Alfred Schnittke's ballet «Peer Gynt»”

On Wednesday, March 30 at 14.00 in White Hall of Russian Institute for Art History, George Kovalevsky (PhD, research scientist, Music Department, RIAH) will present his peronal open lecture: “Faustian motives in Alfred Schnittke’s ballet «Peer Gynt»”.

The ballet “Peer Gynt” based on the play by Henrik Ibsen was commissioned by John Neumeier – an outstanding choreographer, completed in 1988 and first staged in Hamburg in February 1989. In 1990, Neumeier brought this production to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The monumental two-hour ballet, in fact, was the last great ballet score of the XX century, in which were embodied the idea of ballet symphonization initiated by Peter Tchaikovsky and continued then with great success by Sergei Prokofiev. Begining of composing the music of the ballet coincided with the completion of their acclaimed “Faust Cantata”, written in the text of the “Peoples book of Faust” It is no accident that the German and Norwegian “national” characters there has “rhyme” with each other. In his ballet Schnittke seems to sum up his most vivid creative period. During the writing of “Peer Gynt” composer experiencing severe stroke, which affected his global viewpoint and the author’s style. The author discovery in the music of ballet was a twenty-minute epic “Epilogue” in which Schnittke brilliantly copes with incredible challenge “to show the shadow of another dimension.” At the beginning of 2016, after a quarter of a century, Neumeier brought to Moscow a new version of “Peer Gynt” with great success in the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. During the lecture will show fragments from the video performance of the ballet.

All are invited to attend.