Енигмите на Александър Райчев
The Enigmas by Alexander Raychev

Summary/Abstract: The specific musical object and main source of inspiration for this paper are “The Enigmas by Alexander Raychev”, i.e. six piano miniatures. In the meantime, the meaning of the word “enigma” (from Old Greek – “conundrum”) implies an intention to enter into the deeper layers of the composer’s thinking. A way to analyze them is Alexander Raychev’s textbook Harmony, in which certain musical phenomena are signified not with traditional terminology but with concepts. Hence, the research method has been named with the working expression “musical concept analysis”. With its help, the following musical concepts have been observed: “absolutely parallel movements”, “symmetry”, “unified system”, “musical substance”, “expanded complicated tonal thinking” and “under the elemental pressure of the new”. They have been illustrated with an example from each Enigma. The concept analysis reaches a conclusion about the composer’s organic contemporary musical thinking, which finds strong support in his perception of musical substance.

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