Peculiarities of Synthesizing Processes in the Musical and Theatrical Creativity of Alexander Bakshi

The issues of art synthesis, which were deeply comprehended by theorists in the 20th century, with a new urgency arise before the researchers of the 21st century. The concept of “synthesis of arts” implies the creation of a qualitatively new artistic phenomenon that is not reducible to the sum of its components. At present, new facets of the interaction of arts have emerged, demonstrating the strengthening of the processes of internal and external integration, thinking in breadth and depth, with the involvement of non-artistic phenomena. It has been established that the nature of synthesizing processes in art depends on the ways of artistic thinking, changing throughout the history of culture.

The creativity of the composer of the late 20th and early 21st century Alexander Bakshi, working in the direction of experimental orientation, naturally grows as a reflection of complex synthetic processes, developing at the points of contact between music and theatre, literature, sculpture, new forms of actionism. In A. Bakshi’s compositions we can distinguish three models based on the synthesis of arts in the context of the specifics and features of instrumental theatre: instrumental scenes of dramatic character, the model of the Theatre of Sound, and the model of ritual and mystery. The nature and methods of synthesis are realized in each model on the basis of dialectical interspecies relations. The most striking musical-theatre projects give an idea of the evolution of his thinking in the field of diverse techniques of combinatorics and transformations of musical and sound material. It is concluded that synthesis is the defining specificity of A. Bakshi’s work, allowing him to create highly artistic, vivid and original works. Experimentation, developing along the path of synthesis, significantly expands the possibilities of music.

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