Sources of Inspiration in Selected Piano Works by Sergei Slonimsky

Sergei Slonimsky is an important composer, without whom Russian music would be incomplete and less controversial. It is not easy to find composers who, with the same success, utilize virtually every existing classical and modern music genre in their compositions.His vividly imaginative compositions show a brilliant composers mastery. His music consists of a variety of images that contain an abundance of artistic information. Included in the work is a biographical background of the composer, a description of his compositional style and accomplishments. The work will focus on Slonimskys piano pieces and the extra-musical stimuli that inspired these compositions. The main emphasis of investigation will be related to the works inspired by musics sister arts - painting and sculpture (the suite Three Graces and Passing-by Beauty). The visual and sound images and the message both the artist and the composer try to convey will be compared and contrasted. The literary aspect of Slonimskys piano work, his fascination with Romanticism, and his continuation of the Russian tradition of imitating bell sounds in music will also be explored.