The Ensemble “Theater of New Music”: Its History, Activities and New Forms

Abstract

The article traces the history of the ensemble
“Theater of New Music” from 2010 and 2019
and defines the main stages of the ensemble’s
development: the first stage is the period of the
ensemble’s formation (2010–2012), the second
stage is the period of concerts in the form of
theatrical performances and the quest for
new forms of presentation of academic music
(2012–2015), the third is the search for new
forms of interaction between music and the
other arts (2015–2018), and the fourth is the
period of multimedia projects (since 2018). The
main forms of presentation of academic music
which were developed during the development
of the “Theater of New Music” are highlighted.
They include concerts merged with theatrical
performances, as well as multimedia projects.
The ensemble’s most significant projects during
the period between 2010 and 2019 are defined
and described in detail: the series of concerts in
the form of theatrical performances featuring
protagonists of the “Travel through Time”
arguing about music of various epochs, styles
and directions; the cycle of two concerts in the
form of theatrical performances “They Met. A
wave and a stone, poetry and prose, ice and
fire,” where the protagonists dispute about
what is the primary element in music – intellect
or emotion”; the musical performance “Early
Musical Saratov” comprised of works by 19th
and 20th century Saratov-based composers;
the international composers’ competition “Call
for Scores – 2016”, the multimedia project
“A Person with Earphones.” The ensemble
“Theater of New Music is the only ensemble in Saratov which specializes in performance of
20th and early 21st century music.