2026 № 1 (56)
The Cycle of Piano Transcriptions by I. Olovnikov Eighteen Songs-Preludes: Features of the Transformation of the Original
UDC 78.071; 78.072
LBC 85.315.3
DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-398-425
For cit.: Onoshko I.Yu. The Cycle of Piano Transcriptions by I. Olovnikov Eighteen Songs-Preludes: Features of the Transformation of the Origina. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2026, no. 1, pp. 398–425. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-398-425. (In Russian)
Onoshko Irina Yu.
PhD (in Art History), Associate Professor, Belarusian State Academy of Music, Head of the Department of Music Pedagogy and Social and Humanitarian Disciplines, 22 Petrusya Brovka Str., Minsk, 220013, Republic of Belarus
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2223-7917
The Cycle of Piano Transcriptions by I. Olovnikov Eighteen Songs-Preludes: Features of the Transformation of the Original
Abstract. The creative potential of piano professionals uniquely and originally manifests in their transcription activities. The author of the article focuses on the cycle of piano transcriptions Eighteen Songs-Preludes by the Belarusian pianist Igor Olovnikov (b. 1954). This cycle is a series of piano transcriptions-miniatures based on selected songs by the classic of the 20th-century Belarusian music Vladimir Olovnikov (1919–1996) and is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus in the Great Patriotic War and the 105th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The oeuvre of V. Olovnikov includes symphonic, chamber-instrumental, and vocal-choral works, but what brought him the greatest fame was his songs.
The article provides a brief description of the songs by the veteran composer, People’s Artist of the BSSR Vladimir Olovnikov, highlights the prerequisites for the creation of Igor Olovnikov’s series of transcriptions, compares a number of transcriptions from the cycle Eighteen Songs-Preludes with their original sources, studies the methods and techniques of transcription, and outlines the artistic tasks and results of the author’s transformation of vocal originals. In conclusion, it is noted that this cycle revives the examples of the melodic richness of the Belarusian song culture by means of the piano and is aimed at performers of different levels of training and skill.
Keywords: Belarusian piano art, transcription, song, I. Olovnikov, V. Olovnikov
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Received 04.09.2025
Revised 06.12.2025
Accepted 24.12.2025