Domestic Art of Viola Performance: H.A. Weickmann and V.R. Bakaleinikov

Domestic viola art is a multifaceted phenomenon, developing along its own individual trajectory, demonstrating outstanding achievements that have had a significant impact on the world’s artistic heritage. This historical path is a testament to the boundless talent of the musicians who participated in the creation of the performing and pedagogical school — a tradition that is carefully preserved today. The musical-historical and source studies perspectives of the research proved to be the most correct for studying the work of H.A. Weickmann and V.R. Bakaleinikov, who made a notable contribution to the formation of the artistic image of the instrument, its formation in the solo and ensemble repertoire of Russian and foreign composers. The most significant here are the original works that are evidence of the authors’ growing interest in the technical and timbre characteristics of the viola and the rethinking of its role in the space of Russian musical art.

In the center of attention are personalities, ensembles, performers, and violists’ own compositions that reveal little–known facets of their work, including H.A. Weickmann’s pieces for stringed instruments published in Germany, which demonstrate the violist’s outstanding compositional skills and melodic talent. V.R. Bakaleinikov’s vocal music, which was created for famous pop singers in the early 20th century — N.V. Plevitskaya, M.A. Karinskaya, etc. — may also be of great interest. The article contains rare memoir sources published abroad and a large amount of illustrative material taken from the collections of the Russian State Library. The work of H.A. Weickmann and V.R. Bakaleinikov, for all its diversity, followed the path of forming a national tradition in which the viola took an honorable place as an instrument with great technical and sonic possibilities. This study summarizes the scattered information about the life and work of the famous violists and creates prerequisites for their further study.

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