Abstract: The object of this study is the initial period of activity of the Saratov Conservatory; the subject can be called the pedagogical priorities of vocal teachers of this period under consideration. In the article, based on rare archival data, surviving printed evidence, and student memoirs, an attempt is made to restore the pedagogical priorities of the most famous and influential in the musical circles of Moscow and St. Petersburg, active participants in concert events of the Imperial Russian Musical Society: Mikhail Efimovich Medvedev - the first performer of the role of Lensky in the opera P. I. Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" and Alevtina Mikhailovna Paskhalova, who embodied the image of the Snow Maiden in the opera of the same name by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The scientific novelty of the study includes the fact that the author identifies and for the first time introduces into scientific circulation data on the pedagogical priorities of the most prominent vocal teachers who have made a significant contribution to improving the educational process of the department of academic singing. It is revealed that the pedagogical priorities of M. E. Medvedev and A. M. Paskhalova include: a fairly low type of breathing, increased attention to developing a sense of support for sound, a cautious attitude towards the development of the full range of the voice, the development of clear diction, evenness of sound production, smoothness of register transitions; soft sound attack; the ability to qualitatively vocalize various dynamic gradations of sound; the use of the “concentric” teaching method in the pedagogical process, increased attention to the education of the emotional and dramatic component of the performer’s personality. The analysis also showed that the features that distinguish the pedagogical views of the professors of the initial period of the Saratov Conservatory include the use of the repertoire of Russian composers in class work with a beginning singer.

Keywords: vocalization, romances, arias, repertoire of Russian composers, pedagogical views, methodical work, vocal and pedagogical traditions, student's memories, Saratov Conservatory, dramatic talent

Abstract: The article explores the genre of string quartet on the example of Beethoven and Shostakovich in the aspect of intonation and thematic connections, as well as the parallels of creativity of both composers. The author gives examples of thematic, interval, intonation and textural-melodic quoting of Beethoven's works in Shostakovich's quartets. Russian culture and Beethoven's influence is revealed, in particular, in relation to working with the material of Russian songs in quartets written by order of Count Razumovsky. The author reveals Shostakovich's attraction to Beethoven's work, the closeness of his compositional style and ideas in terms of conceptuality, architectonics, the use of musical and expressive means and a tendency to dynamic onslaught. The methodology of the research is based on the analysis of historical materials, musical articles, concepts of outstanding historians and music theorists. The main contribution of this study is the identification of thematic and semantic connections between the quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich. The author concludes that Shostakovich often turned to Beethoven's work, used his methods and techniques of working with the material, the structure of the cycle, included allusions to themes, intonations in his quartets, and even used whole textured excerpts from Beethoven's music – and he made it through the prism of his creative style. The novelty of the article lies in the identification of the connection between Beethoven's work and Russian music, the composer's use of melodies of Russian songs in "Russian Quartets", as well as intonation-thematic parallels between the quartets of Beethoven and Shostakovich. In addition, the article reveals the special role of the performer in the work on the quartet of both Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Keywords: Borodin Quartet, Beethoven Quartet, Russian quartet, chamber performance, semantic parallels, thematic connections, genre, string quartet, Shostakovich, Beethoven