Abstract: The article discusses the issues of functioning, as well as samples of texts and melodies of religious-mythological songs dedicated to a representative of the Ossetian pantheon – the patron of sheep and small cattle – Falvar. The sources for this research include archival records and field materials collected by the author in 2025 in the territory of North Ossetia. The main body of materials is concentrated in the Scientific Archive of the North Ossetian Institute of Humanities and Social Research named after V. I. Abaev. The analysis also includes transcriptions of archival audio recordings stored in the phonogram archive of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House), copied in 2012 for the multimedia system "Musical Culture of the Ossetians," created within the framework of the Russian presidential grant "Origins of Culture – Preservation of Civilization." The approach to solving problems of musical-typological study of the religious-mythological song Falvaraiyza Zarga is related to the application of methods developed in the works of Russian researchers in the field of ethno-musicology. The comprehensive involvement of data from ethnography, philology, folklore studies, and ethnolinguistics ensured the study of the cult in a historical and ethnographic perspective. The relevance of the research is emphasized by the absence of specific scientific studies in this area of musical folklore. All transcriptions of the samples were made by the author of this work and are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The goal of the work is to identify the musical and poetic features of the song Falvaraiyza Zarga. As a result of the research, it was found that the studied melodies are characterized by a texture typical of the folk song polyphony of the Ossetians. The overall logic of tonality in the melodies is associated with the alternation of two tonal functions: primary and secondary. In addition, songs of this genre are characterized by a stable musical-rhythmic structure of cadences in each line of verse. The socio-cultural significance of the research is underscored by the almost complete disappearance of the cult of the patron of domestic animals, which has led to the threat of a complete loss of the layer of religious-mythological songs associated with it.

Keywords: Ossetian songs, Ossetian musical folklore, Ossetian ethnomusicology, folk beliefs, traditional culture, folk songs, religious-mythological songs, Ossetian culture, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ossetians

Abstract: The object of the study is musical journalism in Yakutia in the second half of the 20th century. The subject of the research is the musical and journalistic legacy of the first professional choir conductor from Yakutia, People's Artist of the RS (Ya), Honored Artist of the RSFSR Fevroniya Alekseevna Baisheva (1925–2017). The author examines aspects such as the classification of F.A. Baisheva's musical and journalistic legacy, the main themes, issues in her analytical articles, reviews, notes, critiques, and creative portraits. Special attention is given to specific problems in the development of musical art in Yakutia that she raised. Her role in the development of musical journalism in Yakutia is highlighted as one of the representatives of the first generations of musicians in the academic direction of the national republics of the RSFSR, who took on the mission of being guides to the world of musical art for broad segments of the population in their regions. Being bilingual, they established the foundations of musical journalism in the subjects of Russia in both Russian and their native languages; its main tasks, in addition to informing about events in musical art, included enlightenment, musical and aesthetic development, fostering good artistic taste among the population, and forming evaluative judgments about the musical culture of Yakutia. This study employs musical-historical, comparative, classificatory, and biographical methods, which help to reveal F.A. Baisheva's contribution to musical journalism in Yakutia. The primary results of the research are the following conclusions. The first professional choir conductor from Yakutia, F.A. Baisheva, left a significant musical and journalistic legacy, familiarity with which provides insight into the main processes of the development of musical culture in Yakutia in the second half of the 20th century, including the formation of musical-theatrical and choral arts, the system of music education, training personnel for the music industry, and the main issues concerning the development of classical and folk forms of music in the republic, etc. F.A. Baisheva, as a successful musical performer and choir conductor, was also an active participant in the musical journalism process in Yakutia, an author of publications who established fruitful communication links with her readership and conducted educational and, to a large extent, enlightening work, contributing to the development of musical culture in the republic.

Keywords: Yakut musical culture, music journalism, Yakut choral art, choirmaster, 100th anniversary, F.A. Baisheva, Yakut Choral Society, problems, development, Yakut musical art

Abstract: Nowadays, Asian pianists occupy an increasingly prominent place in the world of classical piano performance. Their interpretation of European music is drawing attention from researchers worldwide. This paper examines one of the brightest representatives—outstanding British pianist of Chinese descent, Fou Ts'ong (1934–2020). After winning the third prize at the 1955 International Chopin Competition and receiving the Polish Radio Prize for his mazurka performances, Fou Ts'ong became famous and began his performing career, which lasted for more than sixty years. His interpretation of Mozart's music particularly draws attention. Therefore, this article analyzes the distinctive features of Fou Ts'ong’s interpretation of Mozart's music, focusing on the Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major (KV. 482). The research methods used in this study include comparative analysis, structural-functional analysis, and cultural-historical approaches. The author also employs literary-textual and musical-textual methods and relies on fundamental principles of historiographical methodology, specifically sociocultural, historical-chronological, and biographical approaches. Fou Ts'ong’s performance is compared with the interpretations of two distinguished European pianists, Alfred Brendel and András Schiff, who are considered authorities in the music of the composer. This article presents a comprehensive study for the first time on the influence of both Chinese and Western cultures in shaping Fu Cong's performing style when interpreting Mozart's works, which constitutes the scientific novelty of this study. The analysis shows that Fou Ts'ong's interpretation of Mozart represents a synthesis of Chinese and Western performing aesthetics. In his performance, two key layers can be traced: the European line—dramaturgy, elegance, operatic foundation, pedaling technique, and improvisational qualities; and the Chinese context—intonation according to the laws of the Chinese language, spontaneous harmony, and philosophical undertones (Taoism, Zhuangzi). The study reveals that Fou Ts'ong’s interpretation of Mozart integrates Chinese and Western performing traditions.

Keywords: Fou Ts'ong, interpretation of Mozart, piano performance, comparative analysis, piano school, A. Brendel, A. Schiff, piano concerto, national art, Chinese culture

Abstract: The aim of the study is to analyze the path of Chinese pop music, the prerequisites for its development at the present stage as a historical path of national musical art, on one hand, and as a path of necessary organic borrowing from the achievements of Western culture, on the other. Thus, the main content of the research includes important historical facts, achievements of Chinese musical art, along with the main trends of cross-cultural influence – how they ultimately affect the phenomena of pop music, particularly in relation to two figures – more or less "balancing" in their creativity the two aforementioned principles. The subject of the study is the characteristics of Chinese pop music, determined by specific historical trends – which seems quite relevant in an era of significant cultural dialogue and simultaneously the necessity of ecological culture. The methodology of the research is connected with the broadest approach to culture as a historically evolving system, logically interacting with other cultural systems, including for the necessary filling of gaps. Such a system gives rise to certain phenomena of art that can and should be studied through the creative and biographical characteristics of individuals. The scientific novelty of the work is due both to the in-depth, detailed analysis of manifestations of national and cross-cultural beginnings in Chinese pop art and to the reference to significant personalities. The results obtained allow for the conclusion that pop music as a positive genre, born out of the modern type of society, must in one way or another fully reflect national characteristics, combining them with other elements within the framework of a significant cultural dialogue at the current stage – in necessary proportions. For modernizing non-European countries, and especially for China with its powerful achievements, such "connections" represent a particular path, a special complexity, which is illustrated by the examples of specific creative figures who have more or less organically realized themselves in the pop niche.

Keywords: history of Chinese music, Chinese pop music, type of performer, cultural differences, European classical music, influence of classical music on pop, Zhu Jian'er, Zhou Xuan, mass culture, ecology of national culture

Abstract: This article examines the specific adaptations of Puccini's opera Turandot within the aesthetics and practices of various forms of Chinese theatre (Peking opera, Sichuan opera), as well as the mechanisms of cultural transmission and the transformation of meanings in the process of intercultural dialogue. The aim of the analysis is to convey real traditional Chinese concepts and cultural characteristics through the prism of Turandot. This study provides a comparative analysis of two productions of Turandot directed by Zhang Yimou, as well as versions of Sichuan opera and Peking opera. The focus is on plot lines, characterization, personality traits, and other aspects of expression. The results obtained can be applied to the analysis of other cases of intercultural adaptation of works of art and contribute to the development of a theory of intercultural communication in the arts. Research Method and Methodology: Comparative analysis of the original work and its Chinese stage interpretations, elements of receptive aesthetics, cultural and art historical analysis of theatrical productions, and a semiotic approach to the study of the sign systems of various operatic traditions. Novelty of the Study and Its Conclusions: This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the systemic semantic transformations that arise during the adaptation of Puccini's verismo opera to Chinese theatrical forms. Key strategies for adapting European cultural material and its reinterpretation within the context of the national artistic tradition are identified. It is demonstrated that the Chinese versions of the opera Turandot are not simple adaptations, but represent the creation of a new artistic phenomenon in which the fairy-tale plot serves as the basis for the expression of unique aesthetic and philosophical concepts. The scientific significance of the study lies in its systematization of specific mechanisms of cultural adaptation in opera, using Chinese interpretations of Puccini's work, thereby expanding understanding of intercultural communication processes in the arts and contributing to the study of contemporary forms of cultural transfer.

Keywords: Verism, Theatrical semiotics, National identity, Zhang Yimou, Chinese theater, Cultural adaptation, Intercultural communication, Sichuan Opera, Opera Turandot, Peking Opera